This one ought to solicit some interesting blow back... "more rigorous institutions?" There is a disconnect somewhere.
By Thomas E. Ricks, Washington Post
Sunday, April 19, 2009
"Want to trim the federal budget and improve the military at the same time? Shut down West Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academy, and use some of the savings to expand ROTC scholarships."
"After covering the U.S. military for nearly two decades, I've concluded that graduates of the service academies don't stand out compared to other officers. Yet producing them is more than twice as expensive as taking in graduates of civilian schools ($300,000 per West Point product vs. $130,000 for ROTC student). On top of the economic advantage, I've been told by some commanders that they prefer officers who come out of ROTC programs, because they tend to be better educated and less cynical about the military."
"This is no knock on the academies' graduates. They are crackerjack smart and dedicated to national service. They remind me of the best of the Ivy League, but too often they're getting community-college educations."
"Why not send young people to more rigorous institutions on full scholarships, and then, upon graduation, give them a military education at a short-term military school?"
more here...
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