Posted on 04/19/2009 12:22:35 PM PDT by Radix
Edited on 04/19/2009 2:01:16 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Want to trim the federal budget and improve the military at the same time? Shut down West Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academy, and use some of the savings to expand ROTC scholarships.
After covering the U.S. military for nearly two decades, I've concluded that graduates of the service academies don't stand out compared to other officers. Yet producing them is more than twice as expensive as taking in graduates of civilian schools ($300,000 per West Point product vs. $130,000 for ROTC student). On top of the economic advantage, I've been told by some commanders that they prefer officers who come out of ROTC programs, because they tend to be better educated and less cynical about the military.
This is no knock on the academies' graduates. They are crackerjack smart and dedicated to national service. They remind me of the best of the Ivy League, but too often they're getting community-college educations. Although West Point's history and social science departments provided much intellectual firepower in rethinking the U.S. approach to Iraq, most of West Point's faculty lacks doctorates. Why not send young people to more rigorous institutions on full scholarships, and then, upon graduation, give them a military education at a short-term military school? Not only do ROTC graduates make fine officers -- three of the last six chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reached the military that way -- they also would be educated alongside future doctors, judges, teachers, executives, mayors and members of Congress. That would be good for both the military and the society it protects.
Prepare for the slave draft??
He’s your typical liberal. If it ain’t broken, then break it. The military is the only American institution that ain’t broken yet, and he’s gotta do the honors.
Instead of getting rid of West Point, why don’t we get rid of Congress?
Winning solution, Brilliant.
Brilliant point.
****** “I wonder if this military genius ever served” *****
More likely the genius believes that they are nothing but domestic terrorist training camps.
TT
OTOH, the kids that go to the service academies, and their parents, won’t feel so extra special if they have to go through a regular university’s ROTC program.
Thomas E. Ricks is a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and author of “The Gamble,” about the Iraq war from 2006 to 2008.
Ricks thinks future military officers should be taught by more PhD profs and attend civilian universities where their views will be challenged. Closing the service academies is a radical view and would weaken our military, obviously Ricks’ intent.
Wow, history is happening fast. Karl would be proud. Maybe we could change them to “social service officer education training facilities”.
Likely not, if he did he would know that these are some of the best people.
The country would be better off if Harvard, Yale and Columbia were axed instead.
It is in preparation for the Obamacorps to take over the facilities.
Which strikes me as a very good thing.
You’ve got my vote. If we diont get5 rid of it limit their time in session to 2 months. and pay them for those 2 mopnths only.
How about we stop funding abortions and ACORN and quadruple the budget for all military academies.
really, Mike. You’ve gotta ditch this rational thinking crap. ;)
Briefly in the Navy; he appears to be a toady of the CNAS, an organization formed in 2007 by Michele Flournoy, a Clenton admin retread and Kurt Campbell, a Kissenger disciple;; looks like more wagon circling — the natives must be geting restless.
It's strange that the example that he gives -- General Petraeus -- undercuts his argument: Petraeus went to West Point before Princeton Graduate School.
If you plan on making a career out of the military, four years at a service academy followed by graduate study at a civilian institution would provide you with a more rigorous training than four years at a civilian college followed by a short term military school.
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