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Home Front: WoT
West Point struggling to find qualified applicants
2009-02-26
But not because of a dearth of applications ....
Posted by:

#7  I suppose there is a reason why there is a saying that one of the most dangerous people in the world is a lieutenant with a screwdriver. The other one is a corporal with a clipboard.
Posted by: crosspatch   2009-02-26 22:07  

#6  Yep, nothing like being an NCO or Junior NCO and being asked to drop off an Officer's dry-cleaning. (against the regs and true story)
Posted by: GinzaNoodleGirl35   2009-02-26 21:57  

#5  my dad did pretty well as a young NCO in the 101st back in the early 60s and was rewarded by his Bn C.O. w/going to West Point to help train plebes (or whatever they call them now) over a summer period or some such. He said after his summer at West Point and dealing w/the Army's future officer classes he decided not to re-enlist when his time came. He didn't like the false sense of entitlement they had.

We only get about 11% of our officers from the naval academy. They get a bad rap to - I've known several of them and think they were 50/50 as far as peers go, I can see why our enlisted would think they were assholes. A couple were real arrogant. Arrogance is the scourge of the modern military. (or of any military at any time in history.)
Posted by: Whineper Prince aka Broadhead6   2009-02-26 21:49  

#4  [as in the closing credits in Animal House]...now senior negotiator for the UAW.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2009-02-26 20:36  

#3  Truthfully, if someone wants an Army career, they should be discouraged from going to West Point. Graduates of that institution are looked at with suspicion, at best, and distaste or outright enmity. The smarter ones hide their ring and never bring up where they came from.

Importantly, it is less institutional prejudice than the exposure to bad behavior, based in bad training, of academy graduates. Many of them are lacking in tact, have a bad attitude, treat enlisted personnel poorly, and offend their superiors.

Those with the wit to hide their history could get by, but the few who loudly announced their status were some of the worst, most despised officers I ever met.

One in particular was amazing. He made it a point to offend not one, but four war heroes, insulted several community VIPs, embarrassed his senior rater, openly despised senior NCOs, and treated junior NCOs as his personal servants.

The man was positively gifted. I'm surprised he never got fragged.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2009-02-26 19:25  

#2  Would you want your future career dependent on the whims of the current Commander in Chief?
Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie   2009-02-26 15:35  

#1  Another source for West Point is the United States Military Academy Preparatory School, a program for enlisted personnel.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2009-02-26 15:21  

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