West Point faculty member worries it is failing to prepare tomorrow’s officers
Here is an interesting article for all from Tom Rick’s blog, The Best Defense:
By Maj. Fernando Lujan, U.S. Army
Best Defense guest columnistI graduated from West Point in 1998, served several combat tours, then received a master’s degree from the Harvard Kennedy School so that I could instruct the cadets in politics, policy, and strategy. I have worked on the West Point faculty for two years, and this summer I’ll return to the operational Army in Afghanistan. From my own limited perspective, I can say that the Academy is falling heartbreakingly short of its potential to prepare young officers.
While West Point has recently made an effort to change with the times by adding a handful of elective courses in counterinsurgency, expanding its foreign immersion programs, and hosting several high level conferences on key Army issues, the founding principle of the cadet system remains the same: We lecture the cadets on professionalism but we practice bureaucracy. To summarize the difference, professional cultures debate, discuss, and continually innovate to stay effective in the changing world. Bureaucracies churn out ever-restrictive rules and seek to capture every eventuality in codified routines.
Consider this: From day one at the academy every possible situation that a cadet could conceivably encounter is accounted for by strict regulations. Not sure how many inches should be between your coat hangers, whether you can hold your girlfriend’s hand on campus, or how your socks should be marked? Consult the regulations. Moreover, all activity is subjected to the cadet performance system, which essentially assigns a grade to every measurable event in a cadet’s life (think shoe shines, pushups and pop quizzes) then ruthlessly ranks the entire class from first to last. Cadets at the top of the list get the jobs and postings they want after graduation. Those near the bottom end up driving trucks at Fort Polk, Louisiana….
I think more and more people are starting to confront the realities and downfalls of our academy brothers. We heard over and over how ROTC cadets can stand toe-to-toe with USMA, and many times outperform and outlast them in the “real Army.”
I know at least every other new USMA lieutenant I meet is already “done” with the Army, only looking forward to the end of their contract…in five years. I think the restricted education and liberal freedom at the academy is truley burning them out before they even start.
Any other anecdotes?
~Spartz"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strength. When you go through hardship and decide not to surrender, that is strength."
-Arnold Schwarzenegger
June 18th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
Every Academy guy I’ve talked to is gonna be done with the army after his 5, but then again, every ROTC guy I’ve talked to says the same. So, maybe it’s just the army.
Maybe I should start an article on the “Grass is always greener” complex that everyone seems to have. Everywhere is so high speed but where you currently are. Looking back, I’m realizing that ROTC really wasn’t that jacked up…which is scary.
But hey, I’m in a heavy unit. All I have to do is go to a light unit and see the light…right?
June 25th, 2010 at 12:34 am
Cas, I agree 100 percent. Both new WP LT’s in my battery cannot wait for their 5 years to be up. And my future is definitely up in the air after this deployment.
You should DEFINITELY do a Grass is Greener article. Yes, looking back, and looking around, ROTC (at least at Illinois) was far from as jacked up as we thought. Honestly, as cadets we would have been some badass soldiers compared to the masses.
Come to the light fight, where you always need a new pair of shoes! Or in my case, a new right foot…
September 7th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
Hey just found this by creeping on Facebook, and I must say I am impressed.
Kind of compiling thoughts from lots of articles: My opinion is that we all joined during a time of war and expected everything to be GO GO GO from the minute we were pinned, whether we realized it or not. Now we are in a state of transition, at least in Iraq, and nothing seems to be so shiny and awesome any more. Where’s all the shootin stuff and blowing crap up at???
I think the real test for the new LTs and young officers is to be what we agreed to be; disciplined and professional soldiers, ready to put on our boots everyday even if that means we spend those days in garrison, or waiting for the bad guys to do something stupid again.
Having just received my Commission, and being a good 3 years removed from the Army, good ol’ Ed Delay, I understand it’s easy for me to make statements. However, I like to tell myself that I made this choice and I am mature enough to accept the responsibilities. To say that brand new officers are “done” with 5 years left on their contracts, is very demoralizing to the future cadet and officer corps, and doesn’t paint a pretty picture for our level of patriotism.
Maybe instead of the grass being greener on the other side, we should put our university tested brain boxes to work, and make the grass greener where we stand.
Hope all you guys are doing well, and good luck for those of you on deployment.