Posted on 12/06/2012 8:21:03 AM PST by crosshairs
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- A cadet quitting West Point less than six months before graduation says he could no longer be part of a culture that promotes prayers and religious activities and disrespects nonreligious cadets. Blake Page announced his decision to quit the U.S. Military Academy this week in a much-discussed online post that echoed the sentiments of soldiers and airmen at other military installations.
The 24-year-old told The Associated Press that a determination this semester that he could not become an officer because of clinical depression played a role in his public protest against what he calls the unconstitutional prevalence of religion in the military. "I've been trying since I found that out: What can I do? What can I possibly do to initiate the change that I want to see and so many other people want to see?" Page said. "I realized that this is one way I can make that change happen." Page criticized a culture where cadets stand silently for prayers, where nonreligious cadets were jokingly called "heathens" by instructors at basic training and where one officer told him he'd never be a leader until he filled the hole in his heart. In announcing his resignation this week on The Huffington Post, he denounced "criminals" in the military who violate the oaths they swore to defend the Constitution.
"I don't want to be a part of West Point knowing that the leadership here is OK with just shrugging off and shirking off respect and good order and discipline and obeying the law and defending the Constitution and doing their job," he told the AP. West Point officials on Wednesday disputed those assertions.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
This sounds like it could be good news for anybody who would have had to shave a foxhole with him. He’d probably pull a Belcher.
Quitter.
Hmmm, what is a creator?
Bump!
Not to go all gung ho about it, but in my day this sniveling brat would have awakened from a sudden slumber in a cow pasture with two black eyes and would have had to pick his teeth out of his next bowel movement.
God Bless the Memory of all that was!
24 years old? Smells like another Fluke agitator. Why drop out 6 months before graduation? How long has be been there? Most people go to college at 18-19 so where was he before WP?
Why doesn’t he get the bill for the schooling he’s received at taxpayer expense? West Point isn’t cheap. Page is the one who violated his contract and he ought to find out that actions have consequences.
No loss here. The military doesn’t need someone with these flaws in the ranks.
Because basic training instructors never mock or criticize anyone else for anything, right? I thought was part of the drill -- needling the trainee to force them to keep their composure under duress?
Agreed.
A lot of his units are probably non-transferable. He’ll basically have to start over.
One more pantywaste out.
“He plans to remain an activist on the role of religion in the military.”
...he’ll end up doing the lecture circuit with Fluke for the libs. You’ll see these 2 idiots at college campuses everywhere within 6 months.
Just like “Speaker””Boner”
Does the article specifically state that he is not going to be required to reimburse the government? If not, then this 'individual' is likely to have a rather rude awakening in a few months...
the infowarrior
In 16 years of service, I was never once pressured into prayer or to attend services.
This guy had admitted emotional issues. The Army is better off without him.
He didn’t really quit. He was medically disqualified and took to the opportunity to get his 15 minutes of fame on huffington post.
I hope that he gets better and chooses a less public way of dealing with his problems.
"Every G** d*** day!"
While the majority, probably, of incoming people enter a service academy directly from high school, not a few of them take a more circuitous route. For example, he could've spent a year at another school prepping for entrance, including the Military Academy Prep School. Or maybe he did a year at another college or university, hoping to get into West Point after that. Or maybe he was an enlisted man before he was nominated and sent to West Point.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.