West Point Class of 1976

Although it is nice to recognize the current efforts made by the generals from the class of 1976 at USMA, I think it is more important to recognize some of the earlier commanders of Afghanistan and Iraq. They had a far more difficult job as commanders since the war at their earlier stages were less stable than they are now. Individuals like LTG Sanchez, GEN Casey, GEN Franks, Admiral Fallon were commanding at far more difficult stages of the wars. It is easier to look at GEN Odierno and Gen Petraeus and say that they are doing an outstanding job when in reality their jobs have become less difficult than that of the previous commanders.

On a different note, GEN McChrystal was a poor choice as the commander of Afghanistan. Gen Mckiernan was a highly respected individual and known for his integrity, the same kind of integrity that GEN McChyrstal lacks. I have no doubt in his ability as a SF commander, but bringing this kind of talent as a commander of war only gives a negative image to the people of Afghanistan. GEN Mckiernan was known for winning hearts and minds of the elders. McChyrstal's reputation as an assassin will not win the hearts and minds of the people of Afghanistan.

GEN Odierno is doing an excellent job in Iraq and I applaud his efforts there.
 
morningdark said:
Although it is nice to recognize the current efforts made by the generals from the class of 1976 at USMA, I think it is more important to recognize some of the earlier commanders of Afghanistan and Iraq.
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This article is not just about recognition, it is about where they came from. A class that was probably exponentially less qualified than the classes of today, a country racked with the 'defeat' of the Vietnam war, anti-military attitudes prevalent, and a class decimated by the largest cheating scandal in the history of the SAs. This is why this article is here, not to debate the relative merits of our military commanders. They all deserve recognition. Different ones bring different strengths, and weaknesses, to the table.
 
People saw those classes as less qualified and seem to harp on the cheating scandal way too much to make their point. If anything these men are the most dedicated and most determined of them all since they came to West Point while the Army was least popular. They didn't come for themselves, but came because they understood the value of service... no matter how hard it was. This shows the character and determination that these men had in becoming true career military officers. They didn't come to service because the economy went bad or anything like that. I can only see why the class of 76 would be on the more promising side.
 
morningdark said:
People saw those classes as less qualified and seem to harp on the cheating scandal way too much to make their point. If anything these men are the most dedicated and most determined of them all since they came to West Point while the Army was least popular. They didn't come for themselves, but came because they understood the value of service... no matter how hard it was. This shows the character and determination that these men had in becoming true career military officers. They didn't come to service because the economy went bad or anything like that. I can only see why the class of 76 would be on the more promising side.
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Great post. Why didn't you say this the first time?
 
mombee said:
This article is not just about recognition, it is about where they came from. A class that was probably exponentially less qualified than the classes of today, a country racked with the 'defeat' of the Vietnam war, anti-military attitudes prevalent, and a class decimated by the largest cheating scandal in the history of the SAs. This is why this article is here, not to debate the relative merits of our military commanders. They all deserve recognition. Different ones bring different strengths, and weaknesses, to the table.
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The Class of 1977 was the class decimated by the cheating scandal, not 76!
 
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