Full disclosure - I'm an '84 Navy grad.
The Academies maintain a lot of the institutional and cultural tradition for the various branches. There simply isn't the same degree of immersion in American military cultural heritage in programs at civilian schools. The Academies also attract a much higher percentage of high achievers than you'd otherwise get entering the military.
There is a reason that every major military power has equivalent institutions to develop a professional officer Corps. To the extent there were issues with DEI at the Academies during the Biden and Obama Administrations, the military services have to follow the orders of the President and his appointees. Those problems would (and did) exist in the rest of the military, including ROTC programs and places like VMI and the Citadel, even if you got rid of the military academies.
Very good. I do believe every appointee needs a recommendation from their congressman. It would suggest every congressional district is entitled to one, even the deep blue ones with a far left representative. Since the midwest and the south have a higher military representation I can see an attitude conflict when appointees with their own agenda get rubber stamped through the process and thereby control people they may look down on. It’s vetting and different jurisdictions look at things differently.
*Lee and Grant and Eisenhower and Patton and Schwarzkopf and Nimitz and Mitscher and Halsey and on and on?*
And Westmorland?
Colin Powell was a 90 day wonder and an ‘affirmative action baby’.
**The days of a military education and engineering degrees has been adapted to females, so now a lot of meaningless, non-military courses are offered to make it easier for the girls.**
No way Hegseth gonna put a stop to that $hit.