Anonymous wrote:Re the PP below -- this is all accurate. Please remember that every Cadet/Mid is also, from the date of execution of the oath, an active-duty member of the US Armed Forces. Issues with local police? Reportable, and the Academies will find out. Essentially the Cadet/Mis/Plebe summer and the entire 4th Class/First year period is conducted on basic-training discipline. Serious disciplinary infractions (what the services, not you, regard as serious) can be punished by criminal prosecution. The Cadets/Mids are paid while in the Academies, as junior/mid enlistees (the cash is largely held in a forced savings system until graduation). There are active-duty assignments most of each summer, and these are required. The Cadet's/Mid's records are considered military personnel records, not strictly Buckley Amendment, and much will be available to future commanding officers. Unhappy? Kid may not be able to drop out, and if permitted to drop out, may owe a simply staggering refund for deemed value, may owe active or reserve time as an enlistee, and leaving w/o being successfully commissioned may impose eligibility issues later on as to civilian Federal employment. Kid has a personal issue while a Cadet/Mid? There are limitations on Academy physician/counselor/chaplain privacy rights, and the Cadet/Mid command is often notified. Want to volunteer for your Democratic member of Congress's campaign? Guess what -- you're subject to the Hatch Act. The service obligation ranges from six to eight years active duty, plus additional obligations for those who are trained to fly, and there are recall/IRR obligations that can last for ten further years. Decided on a major? Not so fast -- allocations of majors are subject to the needs and discretion of the service, so for instance a certain percentage of USMA graduates are required to be engineers. A kid doesn't go to a service academy -- a kid joins the service as a service academy Cadet/Mid. These are excellent colleges, but in each case they are also active-duty military bases, and the students are members of the service, subject to the orders of the command.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sister graduated from the USAFA. The academies have an exchange program between them so she did a semester at West Point (hated it - very dark, depressing, violent) and a semester at USNA (not as depressing but not welcoming toward women). She did experience some gender discrimination at USAF. Guys broke into her room at night to grope her and her roommate at least once. She got her degree and served her five years. She says if she had to do it again she wouldn't but at the same time the military culture is ingrained in her.

West Point as "dark, depressing"?!?!?

Friends and family members who have attended all three schools.

IMO, the three schools are visually very representative of their services. West Point is gray stone, sitting high on the Hudson River. Beautiful, imposing and yes, dark in the winter. Reminds me of the solidness of an army. USAFA is in the mountains. Chapel is visual reminder of contrails of jets aiming skyward. USNA, for those of you that have been there, appropriately sits on the water. White buildings, blue-ish roofs emblematic of the sea.

Make no doubt about it, this is the military and they are not only educating these young men and women, they are preparing them to defend the nation. And, after 10yrs at war, no young person should enter one of these academies thinking that there isn't at least a halfway decent chance of being in a combat zone at some point. Yes, sneaking a pizza in is a major rule breaker. A family member got significant demerits and had to "walk tours" when he was caught kissing another (female) midshipman. There are rules and uniforms and codes of honor that are taken seriously.

They are all beautiful places with amazing educations. They've also had their share of honor problems over the past decade with incidents of sexual misconduct and cheating. Things that likely happen at colleges all over this country, but make front page news because these are the military academies and we expect more of these future officers.

Anonymous wrote:Numerically you have a better chance of getting a Senatorial nomination, since every state has 2 Senators regardless of population. Each Congressional district has roughly the same population so it makes no difference whether you live in the 4th district of Maryland or the 38th district of California in terms of sheer numbers. It might be the case that the competition is tougher in particular districts based on the level of interest in that area in attending the academies, though.