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| -Short Attention Span Theater- | |
| Afghan Enrolls in West Point | |
| 2005-06-24 | |
| WEST POINT, N.Y. - Like other new cadets reporting to West Point this summer, Shoaib Yosoufzai is bracing for the ice-water shock of a military education — the marching, the drilling, the cramming, the shouting. But the trim 20-year-old acknowledges carrying an additional burden as the academy's first cadet from Afghanistan. "I am an ambassador of my country," Yosoufzai said after arriving at the U.S. Military Academy this week. "It will be a challenge for me." Less than four years after toppling the Taliban, the United States is providing a military education to the young Afghani under a program that takes in cadets from around the world. By Monday, Yosoufzai's thick mop of black hair will be shaved down and the Pashto speaker will be taking orders barked in English. He said the change is worth it for the chance to serve his country as a military officer in four years. "I think the experience that I carry from the United States will help my people and my country," he said. Yosoufzai is a walking symbol of the relationship between the venerable Hudson Valley training ground and the faraway country now struggling with a surge in violence. This is an AP story, after all. West Point officers have provided tips to Afghan officials starting their own national military academy and a delegation toured West Point a little over a year ago. Among the visitors was Yosoufzai's father, Col. Hamdullah Yosoufzai, who is now dean of academic programs at the country's fledgling military academy. Yosoufzai, then a sophomore at Kabul University, wanted to follow his father's footsteps to help his country's military become more professional. He could have pursued a military academy education in Kabul where his family lives, but instead applied to West Point, which he calls the top military academy in the world. He comes to the academy under the international cadet program designed to generate goodwill and inculcate American military ethics and values abroad. The long-running program has taken in cadets from dozens of countries, from Nigeria to Singapore to Croatia. Past international graduates of West Point include former Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza (`46), former Philippine President Fidel Ramos (`50), former Costa Rican President Jose Maria Figueres (`79), and a son of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Hun Manet (`99). Any good guys come out of it, AP? This year, 21 international cadets are coming to West Point. Romans said the international slots are very competitive, and Yosoufzai was ultimately accepted on the strength of his application, not his family connections. Yosoufzai has been making three-mile runs and lifting weights to prepare for the summer shakedown. But he faces other hurdles unique to foreign students. Yosoufzai came stateside last fall to improve imperfect English skills at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The early move also softened the culture shock — things like switching from a diet heavy on the staples of bread and rice to America's bounty of burgers and bagels and the like. Yosoufzai seems unfazed by the tough haul ahead. Although he will be the only cadet entering the Afghan army after graduating in four years, he still sees himself as just one more link in a long gray line. "I'm not alone," he said. "If they can make it, I can make it." Good luck, kid. I hope you make it, and then fall off the AP radar screen by doing good!
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| Posted by:Bobby |
| #2 The Air Force Academy and Anapolis also admit cadets from other countries. It a good program and usually fosters better ties with future military leaders and sometimes future Dictators. I wish Cadet Yosoufzai all the best and good luck on his studies. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-06-24 13:58 |
| #1 I understand Pashto is even more reentrant that Java. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-06-24 13:15 |