"What It's Like at West Point"

[x SF med]

Well, to begin with, I'm not a junior field grade anymore, I'm a very "middle" field grade, thank you very much. And I did try to recruit an SF NCO to come work here and keep both me and the cadets straight, still working that angle.

Junior, Middle... still MI and Field Grade.... oh, second part of the plan.... SF NCO at West Point... nothing could go wrong there either... no cadets could get hurt in the filming of this documentary...:wall::wall:

 

[Kraut783]

SF NCO on staff at West Point famous last words "watch this..."

Marauder...might have to hit you up on that tour sometime in 2014

 

[Viper1]

I have a reflective belt hanging on the bannister with my dog leash and such. I normally use it when I am walking the dog on a really dark night just to make sure that I don't get hit by the idiots....errr, I mean drivers.... on the road. One of the Team Sergeants I know came to the party last month and the first thing he said when he walked through the door was "still can't get away from the reflective belts, can ya?"

West Point is definitely up there on college rankings. It's also a made military career unless the graduate steps on his crank.

Graduation doesn't mean a made career. Especially since my class only has 25% of 900 graduates still left in service after 8 years.

 

[compforce]

Graduation doesn't mean a made career. Especially since my class only has 25% of 900 graduates still left in service after 8 years.

Yes, but is the attrition out of choice, medical drops or because they got passed over for promotion and forced out? I would contend that very few USMA grads get unlucky enough to end up out of the service while they are still willing and able to perform their duties. Just because a grad has a made career doesn't mean they will choose to pursue it. The retention rate for USMA grads is way down, not because they can't make it in the Army, but rather because they are choosing to go to more lucrative careers in the civilian sector. Here's a pretty good paper on the subject from BG (R) Cheadle

http://www.west-point.org/publications/retention-whitepaper/RetentionPaperRev3.pdf

edit to fix his rank

 

[compforce]

I started thinking about this after I posted. I want to make it clear that I respect the hell out of anyone that has graduated USMA. It's the equivalent of an Ivy League education. Very few people are capable of getting through the education or even the application process. The ones that I've met are universally well spoken, thoughtful and work very hard for their employer, whether in the military or civilian sector. Whether my comment on the "made" career is due to a great work ethic that USMA teaches or because of the (real or not) perception of an advantage is immaterial. The fact is that, like most Ivy League graduates, graduates of USMA have a leg up in the work force regardless of whether in the private or public sector. Success is theirs to lose.

 

[Viper1]

No offense taken. However, a lot of ROTC grads have earned their way to being "made men" as well. Key word is "earned".

 

[x SF med]

Graduation doesn't mean a made career. Especially since my class only has 25% of 900 graduates still left in service after 8 years.

Bah... what do you know, you had all that USMA stuff wiped from memory once you finished the MacKall Graduate Program...:-"

 

[racing_kitty]

I met quite a few USMA grads over the course of my career who were only going to do what they had to do in the line of obligated service and get out. A couple of them were even from the pre-OIF days (late 2001-2002). Not everyone who goes through the Point is going to be a lifer, either.