Posted on 04/12/2007 8:59:57 PM PDT by PAUL REVERE TODAY
WASHINGTON, April 11 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army is struggling to convince recent West Point graduates to make the military their career. Recent graduates of the U.S. Military Academy are exiting active duty at the highest rate in more than three decades, the Boston Globe reported Wednesday. Many military specialists say repeated tours in Iraq are driving out some of the Army's best and brightest young officers.
Of the 903 officers who graduated from West Point in 2001, nearly 46 percent left the service in 2006. More than 54 percent of the 935 graduates in the class of 2000 had left active duty by this January, Army statistics showed.
In most years during the last three decades, between 10 percent and 30 percent of West Point graduates opted out after their mandatory five years of service, the newspaper reported.
Good post.
The same thing that is on everyone elses mind. If someone goes to west Point at age 18, by the time their commitment is up they would be 27. People change change drastically during those nine years.
Arioch7
Arioch7.
The sheer ignorance of your comment is overwhelming! It is obvious that you know nothing about the Academy or its admission process. Get educated before you make such moronic statements. Much as I hate Bill Clinton, he had nothing to do with the selection of cadets at West Point. Additionally, if you think those kids don't earn every penny's worth of their education - while at West Point and later in the active Army - you are sadly mistaken. Get a clue before making such stupid statements.
Actually, pretty much what I said.
Welcome to FR.
It doesn’t demean every USMA grad of that time period; it demeans the wankers who are bailing out now.
Got a shipment to Baghdad - anything I can add for you?
Hi mad! It's pretty quiet in Baggy-ville today. I appreciate your very sweet offer and if I think of anything, I'll contact you.
Maybe one of those snazzy Mercedes convertibles? Armored, of course. ;-)
Whom are you kidding? Not me.
Well then thank you for gracing us with your brilliance.
Power to the people, comrade!
Brilliant letters to the editor today in reaction to that story. For example:
The motivations of West Point grads
April 16, 2007
BRYAN BENDER'S April 11 front-page story, "West Point grads exit service at a high rate," is a blatant example of advocacy journalism in its most destructive form. He claims that relatively low retention rates at the end of the service commitment period for recent graduates indicates to "many military specialists that repeated tours in Iraq are prematurely driving out some of the Army's top young officers."
Although Bender offers statistics to prove that current retention rates are low, nowhere does he offer similar material to support his claim that one military specialist, let alone many, believes rates are low because of repeated tours of duty in Iraq.
In fact, the only support Bender offers comes deep into his story, and not from a person identified as a military specialist, but a senator from Rhode Island, Jack Reed. I mean no disrespect to Senator Reed, a retired Army captain and West Point graduate, but his claim is anecdotal at best.
Why would Bender use statistics to prove the first part of his claim and not the second and more important part of it? Bender and the Globe would do well to remember that correlation does not imply causation.
ROBERT POTHIER
Bradford
The writer is a member of US Naval Academy's class of 1992.
If they want to go to West Point, make it a 6 to 8 year commitment. I’d like to see the numbers on how many female officers opted out after the initial 5 years.
Any number of things. The service requirement is five years, not a lifetime.
Anytime.
Back in my day, most who left after two years left voluntarily.
"Bailing out" is serving your service commitment and opting to leave the service? You've got to be joking.
If five years isn’t enough, raise the obligation. Otherwise, I don’t see the problem.
In the Navy, at least, only SWOs, Suppos, and NRL officers get the 5 year commitment. Others, like nukes and aviators, face service commitments of up to 7-8 years, which work out to close to 10 years in reality, because (for aviators, at least) the time doesn't start ticking off until you receive your wings.
Yeah.
"Bailing Out", as in making a departure not previously planned.
When I graduated from the Blue Zoo, the thought of sticking around for anything less than 30 years was incomprehensible.
Five years later, after a confluence of unfortunate events beyond my control, I ended up as a "gopher" for a pack of civil servants who exemplified every bad stereotype of civil servants.
My choices at that point were:
1. "Bail Out".
2. Volunteer for "World-wide Remote".
Having just gotten married, Option 2 didn't look particularly attractive.
So I "Bailed Out" shortly after completing my Active Duty Service Commitment.
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