Hi folks. Scoutpilot here with your weekly sanity check.
First, there is no "easy" Beast. Beast Barracks, as it used to officially be known, is incredibly difficult in its own way every single year. It is a physical and mental showdown with oneself. In this way, it is designed to take the majority of New Cadets beyond their point of failure in various arenas of life. Please do not give in to the idea that the pendulum of Beast swings from hard to easy and back again, because in reality, there is no pendulum. The only folks who find that the difficulty changes is the leadership. For almost all New Cadets, Cadet Basic Training will be an experience that forges and tempers them for the journey ahead.
Secondly, please don't believe the notion that "this class is big so they'll try to weed people out." It's not true, because professional military leadership does not subscribe to such ethically questionable behavior. The standards are set by the commandant and upheld by the cadre. The standards reflect what the Army needs from young leaders. They do not flex with the class size in an attempt to reach a number. If West Point was concerned about the size of the class in any significant way, they would simply have not admitted as many New Cadets. Rest assured that there is a plan in place. It is a well honed plan designed to produce leaders. It is not designed with attrition as as a goal.
Thirdly, the "guy in charge of Beast" is ultimately the commandant. The Cadet Regimental Commander, though he commands the regiment, is not empowered to set the budget for Cadet Basic Training, or to dictate training standards. In the end, the Commandant of Cadets is the "guy in charge." He is an expert and he is a professional, and you can also rest assured that his wealth of experience will result in an exceptional training program for you this summer. It will not result in extra "hazing" (hazing does not occur), or attempts to rid the Corps of a number of New Cadets. Those who meet the standards--the standards we keep as an Army and as an Academy--will not make it. Those who do, will. Believe me, if all 1395 New Cadets meet the standard, the Commandant will happily welcome 1395 of them to the Corps on Acceptance Day.
Lastly, the rules (such as the "5 chews" rule that was mentioned) are always meticulously enforced in Cadet Basic Training. Three to five chews is not a means of punishment. It teaches proper conduct and manners. Every rule has a purpose, and for this reason they are all enforced. Trust me when I tell you that nowhere at West Point is anyone sitting and saying "this class is so big...we must count every chew!!!" Rather, someone is saying "we will do our very best to train every last New Cadet to meet or exceed the standards expected of every member of the Long Gray Line."
Hopefully, this puts folks a bit at ease. Welcome to Cadet Basic Training.