Getting rid of Annapolis & West Point?

[PropAddict]

Our democracy will survive only if it's citizens are involved, IMHO.

Right. And an educated populace is a big part of that. If only we had a place with a mission like:

To develop Midshipmen morally, mentally and physically and to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, honor and loyalty in order to provide graduates who are dedicated to a career of naval service and have potential for future development in mind and character to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.

 

[The Chief]

If you weren't casting aspersions on the idea ...

Looked at my post again and neither was I casting aspersions on VP Al Gore. I was serious. While he did not invent the Internet, not sure he ever said he did, rather what I understand he said was the he "facilitated" the Internet. This is indeed true, sans his intervention I think we would not have an Internet as we know it today. More via PM if you are interested. I did have a front row seat on this.

 

[DanMa1156]

Right. And an educated populace is a big part of that. If only we had a place with a mission like:

To develop Midshipmen morally, mentally and physically and to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, honor and loyalty in order to provide graduates who are dedicated to a career of naval service and have potential for future development in mind and character to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.

Believe it or not, they just changed the mission statement... it now reads as

To develop Midshipmen morally, mentally and physically and to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, honor and loyalty in order to graduate leaders who are dedicated to a career of naval service and have potential for future development in mind and character to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.

I'm sure I'll fumble this over plebe summer and the plebes will be right and I will (now) be wrong.

Still, your point remains the same.

 

[phrogdriver]

Looked at my post again and neither was I casting aspersions on VP Al Gore. I was serious. While he did not invent the Internet, not sure he ever said he did, rather what I understand he said was the he "facilitated" the Internet. This is indeed true, sans his intervention I think we would not have an Internet as we know it today. More via PM if you are interested. I did have a front row seat on this.

Chief,

I really had no intentions of starting a fight with you.

While I "support and defend the Constitution of the United States ... and ...obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me," I too have severe misgivings about some of the policies of the current administration. I disagree with many of his policies, but I think he is acting in a manner that he believes is in the country's best interests.

I'm just a little wary of many people, and not you in particular, making comments, often in a very snarky way, about the intentions of the CinC. I think that when many conservatives make remarks that make it sound as if President Obama is standing up the KGB they make it easy for the Left to lampoon and ostracize them. When they bring up sideshows like the birth certificate and secret Muslim business, other conservatives and libertarians are lumped in with them. This makes it harder to stage legitimate opposition to liberal policies.

I'm not saying that you're one of these people, but a lot of people on the site are engaged in silliness like that, and your GRU allusion made me lash out a little.

Also, sorry for insulting your intelligence about the military nature of the GRU. I just thought that since the issue raised was increasing civilian service, the KGB would be a more appropriate reference!:icon_wink

 

[phrogpilot73]

The myth of the "Boat School Good Ol' Boys Network" is a persistent but unfounded rumor. It just doesn't exist. It ain't Skull and Bones. I wish I did have a secret network of information and influence to tap into, but it either doesn't exist or they forgot to send me the password. The only thing being a Boat Schooler has ever got me is persistent letters from the Alumni Association asking for money.

Spoken like someone still on active duty.

Once you leave active duty and seek employment in the civilian sector, there's a shitload of benefits to being a Boat Schooler. From the Service Academy Business Resource Directory, to job fairs, to being told/asked during a job interview: "you graduated from the Academy and you're a Marine Officer. Are you going to move down or commute?"

The saying that it's a good place to be from is very true when you depart active duty.

I'm just hoping that their sterling academic reputation gives me a handicap with civilian employers for my absolutely shitty GPA.

Employers don't give two shits about GPAs.

 

[KBayDog]

Once you leave active duty and seek employment in the civilian sector, there's a shitload of benefits to being a Boat Schooler.

Yeah, such as: For the first time in your life, you're not the laughing stock of the Ready Room.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Spoken like someone still on active duty.

Once you leave active duty and seek employment in the civilian sector, there's a shitload of benefits to being a Boat Schooler. From the Service Academy Business Resource Directory, to job fairs, to being told/asked during a job interview: "you graduated from the Academy and you're a Marine Officer. Are you going to move down or commute?"

The saying that it's a good place to be from is very true when you depart active duty.

But that's different from what people seem to be implying when they refer to this supposed Ol' Boys Network.

When I go in for an interview and they're impressed that I went there, that's one thing. It's a good school with a good reputation, but it's no different than if I went to, say, Harvard or Stanford or MIT and then put on a uniform.

When I go in for an interview and they say, "Admiral so-and-so from the Alumni Association called our boss and said to hook you up, so here's a company car and my daughter's phone number," then I'll believe in the USNAOBN.

Employers don't give two shits about GPAs.

Thank the living fuzzy Christ. I knew my Company Officer was lying to me...

 

[MasterBates]

Back in the dark days pre-USN (back about 2000 or so) I was interviewing for a job. I got asked what my WGA was (think funny GPA system my school used). It was an 87, about a 3.5 depending on whose scale you use.

Second question they asked: Can you actually build things and make them work, unlike some of these 4.0 clowns who can't even find the dipstick under their hood? (Interview was to work for GM in the R&D labs developing small diesel engines). I proceeded to talk about building mutuant trucks from scrap and a jet powered go-kart out of a go kart and a toyota supra turbocharger.

I got the job, offer was $55k and a company car.

GPA ain't everything.

But when I got home, there was a message to call LT W from NRD Boston. Just got picked up for BDCP.

The rest is history. There's much more to life than GPA.

 

[exhelodrvr]

Employers don't give two shits about GPAs.

I disagree with that - when you are going through 40 applications, for one position, you have to filter out the great majority of them, because you don't have time to interview everybody. And for recent graduates, GPA (taking the school into account) is one of the few ways to do that. Once someone has been in the work force for awhile, it doesn't matter.

 

[phrogpilot73]

When I go in for an interview and they're impressed that I went there, that's one thing. It's a good school with a good reputation, but it's no different than if I went to, say, Harvard or Stanford or MIT and then put on a uniform.

I don't know if Harvard, Stanford and MIT have directories of companies that prefer to higher their graduates. The service academies do.

Once someone has been in the work force for awhile, it doesn't matter.

That's what I was referring to. Uncle Fester is senior enough that his grade point doesn't matter. My application for employment didn't even have a place for GPA.

 

[phrogdriver]

Most universities do a lot for the new graduates. Many will still help older grads. Most of your big ones will help with alumni networking, which is more valuable the better the school. I think academy guys would be more likely to hook each other up in the civilian sector, whereas for most other schools, a common affiliation is just a foot in the door or icebreaker.

 

[cfam]

I'm sure this isn't just an academy thing, but from what I've seen so far, there definitely is a pretty tight network among alums that played varsity sports, especially football. The Staubach Company, prior to its merger, springs to mind. Tom Lynch, one of Staubach's executives, was on the football team with Staubach, and they hired Lamar Owens as soon as the Navy seperated him.

 

[xj220]

Lamar Owens as soon as the Navy fucked him

That was a shitty, shitty situation.

 

[cfam]

^+1 Great guy.