Noooo... parents are far more helpful than current cadets and midshipmen!
I know you are only half tongue-in-cheek on this, so I'll play, also partially in jest:
This is because parents can only reflect second hand information from little Johnny/Suzie, heavily colored by emotion, pride, and concern.
Meanwhile the cadets live in a world of perfect information, with no scuttlebut, and are totally objective.
Yep, got it
Loud and clear, stay in your lane!
The reality is that there are topics where really only current cadets understand. Not parents, not grads, no one who is not living it that moment. These are largely things related to the cadet experience.
And there are other topics where the cadets largely are ill-informed. Just not on their radar, no current info feeds, etc.
The current topic (CBT & cadet life) is one that really only current cadets have any recent info, and virtually none of them participate. (1-2%??? Maybe)
But it's largely an abstract discussion as there is virtually zero chance that a cadet can influence the decisions, etc. So most will not bother, and accept the decisions & politics, and move on.
I know this is my cadet's position. And, in fact, he would question why a cadet would be spending time posting on this forum instead of being off at training, etc or on leave. His suspicion: Someone stuck on STAP/SGR and bored. Don't get me wrong, he willingly works with candidates from our state to help them with "life at USMA" questions, preparation, etc. Just has very little patience and zero desire for the abstract debates and dialogs on SAF.
So not many cadets participating. Serving officers with first hand experience of current (2013-2015, much less 2016) cadet performance in the real world are even rarer. And likely to be second hand unless they had one for CTLT, etc. Or were USMA staff. But opinions from officers in general about what is important (fitness, selection, etc) sure would count quite a bit.
Likewise, there are other topics (Admissions process, budgets, this year's acceptance/report/CBT attrition figures, etc) that current cadets have very little view or concern. And many parents have as much or more understanding as the average cadet. And some parents have very detailed understanding on these items due to their involvement in various aspects & roles.
Ex: Cow Loans- USAA does a wonderful job briefing parents through the parent clubs. I know as fact that the average parent in our state understands this topic far more than our cadets do. Not a good thing, just the way it is. Yes, cadets are briefed as a group. Counselors are available. But most do not have context or interest (no pun intended) to understand the cow loan.
Some parents also have better viability to separations (voluntary & otherwise) than their cadets do. Boards, etc. Unless a cadet is directly involved, they know little about these areas. But parents usually hear the details, albeit from the separated cadet or their parents. I'll say it: a parent who has gone through boards or separation with their cadet is far more informed than 95% of the current cadets. It's also a topic parent clubs are briefed on by USMA, which gets cascaded.
Major command and policy changes are also usually available to involved parents well in advance of cadets learning of them.
This does not make anyone special, just the nature of the beast. There are multiple camps which can add to the dialog on SAF. Just need to be aware of when it is fact based vs scuttlebut. Or worse, parental emotions!!
So I understand the humor and point, yet also accept the reality that even for areas where cadets are the best source for answers, less than a handful of current cadets participate in the forum on a regular basis.
If only current cadets and recent grads answered, it'd be a very quiet forum.
