Coming soon to a platoon near you!
Posted on 02/26/2007 12:27:56 PM PST by BohDaThone
Harvard Goes to War
On Tuesday night, David Gergen moderated a forum at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government that featured five Harvard veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The event was billed as a special tribute to the roughly 100 veterans of those wars who are currently enrolled at the Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, and the audience was overwhelmingly supportive of the troops, if not their mission--at least there was no visible evidence of antiwar sentiment.
The evening began with a moment of silence for those who had given their lives in the service of their country and featured a uniformed ROTC color guard, rifles and all, which, despite the nature of the event, seemed somewhat out of place given that Harvard hasn't allowed ROTC on its campus since the late 1960s.
Once the discussion got underway, the soldiers and Marines on stage pulled no punches in addressing the situation on the ground, even though Lieutenant General Douglas E. Lute, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was sitting right in the front row. One Marine, who had been severly wounded in Ramadi, spoke about his unit's role in the Iraqi elections of October 2005--the polling station was attacked 9 times and only 12 votes were cast. In the next election in December, his unit stayed away from the polls and more than 50,000 votes were cast.
Another Marine, Captain Maura Sullivan, had served in Falluja. She spoke eloquently about the challenges of being a female officer in a combat zone, but her tone belied her claim that gender wasn't an issue. She was simply more passionate, emotional, and empathetic than the other speakers. I don't think women should serve in combat, but I walked away from the event thinking that such traits would be an asset more than a liablity.
Gergen himself was downbeat on our chances for success in Iraq, and kept asking the troops questions that were framed by references to "crumbling support at home." But the soldiers and Marines insisted that they "didn't pay attnetion to what was going on outside" Iraq. And there was some support among them for the surge.
Of course, in the People's Republic of Cambridge, an event conceived with the sole purpose of honoring the service of Harvard's students and alums could not pass without the expression of some antimilitary (though not antiwar) sentiment. What was surprising, however, was that that sentiment came not from students, or faculty, but a member of the press. It was left to Don MacGillis, who identified himself as a reporter for the Boston Globe, to ask these junior officers why it was that the military had not yet integrated homosexuals into its ranks.
As the Harvard Crimson reported, "after some in the audience gasped and murmured, panelists responded that they were uninvolved with decisions to implement such policies."
The troops handled it well, though Gergen, who was at the White House when "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was implemented, defended the policy as something that had represented real progress at the time. He also said that he thought homosexuals would likely be integrated into the military by the next administration.
It was a pleasure to see just how bright and capable these junior officers were, and one couldn't help but be impressed by their uniform desire to get back to their comrades in Iraq. Funny enough, they all seemed to consider Harvard to be a tougher duty than combat--they spoke of the intense guilt they felt at leaving their buddies behind.
But if Harvard has embraced these veterans returned from combat, it still shuns those who would follow in their footsteps. Harvard undergrads have to make the trek to MIT to serve in ROTC, their service honored only when they make a useful prop for Kennedy School forums.
I'd love to know the number of people who attended Harvard and then swore the oath.
Anyone doubt there's an order of magnitude difference?
Oh please, do you think it would be advertised as "Welcome to our propoganda stunt, where we can put showcase some warfighters who will reinforce the view that the war is unwinable or a mistake"?
Huck Farvard.
David Rodham Gergen speaks.
That's Hillary's arm up Gergen's butt working his jaw...
That's my take. Courage, Duty, Honor ,Service. Then Hah-Hah Vard. At least this raises the moral and intellectual level of the school.
I contend that for the most part places like Harvard may creat e liberals of those who had no strong feelings about political issues before they went in, but otherwise acts as a tool to magnify and hone ones existing position. Someone who is conservative going in will emerge even more conservative, a liberal will emerge more liberal.
Coming soon to a platoon near you!
Jerkin the Gergen.
So, David Rodham Gergen, who exactly do you believe will be the President in that administration?
A lot more than just Billary's arm has been up 'No Gag' Gergen's butt.
I'd buy that guy dinner anytime.
I was just quoting the article as written. I know from perusing the Alumni mag that there are a visible number of recent grads serving. Also, a fair number of B School and KSG students are Harvard College grads who have spent some time out of school. But I grant that I can't quote you numbers.
Let's not change my question with your answer. I was addressing your "For those who will, at every opportunity, dump on absolutely everything Harvardian..." comment.
I know from perusing the Alumni mag that there are a visible number of recent grads serving.
Fair enough, I'd love to read those. As I told JVB, I'd buy those folks dinner anytime.
Also, a fair number of B School and KSG students are Harvard College grads who have spent some time out of school.
How many swore the oath after graduating Harvard College?
But I grant that I can't quote you numbers.
Do you think it's more or less than the military members currently enrolled in the B-School and KSG? A little less or a lot less?
I do have sympathy for Harvard males. Current or alumni, they'll all have to pee siting down once the new president gets in.
HUCK FARVARD
http://www.advocatesforrotc.org/harvard/coverage.htm
2. There are several links to ROTC commissioning ceremonies (This was one of Summers's "sins" -- he attended every one). Usually 6-10 commissioned each year straight out of college. Many of the other folks mentioned in articles joined later, or not from ROTC.
e.g., two sons of hawkish officials -- Raphael Cohen '04, son of Elliot Cohen, a militry writer, and Owen West, son of Bing West, pentagon official; Jim Meeks ' 02, wounded in Fallujah. A couple of dozen other specific names, just garnered quickly from the web.
3. I don't have official figures at my fingertips, but a little research looks like these numbers are not out of line with the country as a whole. One article says roughly 6-8,000 ROTC grads per year, giving Harvard roughly 1 in 1,000. Cf. Harvard College's enrollment of 6,000 v. some 10,000,000 college students.
4. These are all folks "swearing the oath" after H college.
5. Frankly, I was surprised that the original article had a number as large as 100 from just the B-School and K-School. I don't know if that is accurate.
6. My real point is, despite your eloquent Pig Latin disdain for H, it is neither fair nor accurate to assume that military service is grossly unusual, even among very recent grads. The sins of the professors should not be visited on every graduate.
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