Fixing the Service Academies

Clint says:

I assume this tirade marks the end of Dr. Fleming’s tenure at the Academy… Queue my tirad-ical response-

Consider the enormous institutional disadvantages facing the service academies in any sport with a nominal professional league:
-A post-graduate committment of up to 7 years;
-The inability of cadets/midshipmen to transfer in with advanced placement or other college credits or to leave prior to four years of schooling;
-A rigorous curriculum;
-Size restrictions; and
-General underrepresentation of urban/minority in the officer corp.

It seems astonishing that the service academies continue to compete in Division 1 athletics at all. I don’t condone many of the practices discussed in the article. Add to the list above more sophisticated high school scouting/recruiting generally and 2 ongoing wars, though, and it seems unlikely that the academies could attract another David Robinson or Roger Staubach anytime soon.

I am sure that at some point in acquiring a PhD and teaching introductory english courses, Dr. Fleming came to the profound conclusion that grades are more important than meaningful participation on sports teams in determining the viability of a military officer. I am much less sure on that point. Anyone who agrees with Fleming should watch the interviews with the Cadets & Midshipment following the Army/Navy football game each year and then try to claim with a straight face that there aren’t substantial leadership benefits developed through a season of gutting it out on a football field agsinst bigger, faster competition with a group of people you will be serving in uniform with.

It is worth noting that, depending on the student, grades at the service academies are virtually irrelevant. While they play a role in slotting occupations (pilot, military police, etc), they have next to no value in their post-academy military career or their post-military career (in both cases, the academy cachet is obviously far more important, and the additional cachet of playing a sport is more likely to be determinative than a grade in Dr. Fleming’s English 101 course).

The reason, then, that many students sacrifice years of their lives at the Naval Academy Prep School or tens of college credits via AP classes or time spent at another university, is that they are committed to serving and their acceptance is the critical element. Considering the high GPA and SAT scores of academy students, their primary motivation for attending an academy is not, as Fleming seems to assume, academic greatness or collegiate well-roundedness. If so, many could qualify for more elite universities that would offer opportunities for better paying jobs upon graduation. The students are, instead, motivated by a desire to college at no cost and to serve in the armed forces. For a cadet interested in working in intelligence or as an MP, there is very little motivation to go above and beyond basic graduation requirements.

Dr. Fleming, in his attempts to “bridge the military-civilian divide,” would be well-served to look a little closer at the motivations of his students and their institution before denigrating the Academy that pays his bills.Report