Are Service Academies the best way to become O-7 - O-10 officers?

Whil I was there, a fellow BattO was a SUNY Maritime NROTC grad (his ring rivaled any SA ring in size) and a Duke NROTC grad.
 
@BDHuff09 my pot isn't stirred. My post sounded like it was I guess. Like I wrote above though, a small number of Marine generals are academy grads which may be due to the small number of academy grads in the Corps. I suppose it is ironic an academy grad is CO at Brown Field in the context of this conversation, but filling a billet regardless of pedigree was probably the priority when the colonel was assigned.

I also thought academy grads would be assigned to all billets in Annapolis but that is not so. I was once in the personnel numbers game and saw either a billet filled or a billet empty. The Fleet is always more upset about an empty billet. Anyway, I didn't mean to sound all snippy.

USNA cherry-picks staff officers and instructors for USNA, all commissioning sources. Supe and Dant to date have been grads, as far as I know. I had no idea I could go there for duty until I was nominated to go for multiple interviews there, as part of a “package,” so this OCS grad found herself a BattO after making it through the vetting process.
I'm pretty sure that there has been one non-USNA alumni who served as Commandant.
 
I omitted to mention that you could be the hottest runner in your pack, and while in command, as the saying goes, you are “only one 17-year-old from disaster.” That means you could be on an apparently sure path to GOFO rank, and one of the sailors under your command chooses to do something that hazards the ship, crew or mission. The CO is accountable for the decisions of all, and it only takes one error to undo a glittering career.
Boy is that accurate! When you become a commander...that's one of the scenarios that results in long nights and lost sleep: the loss of one of your members (the WORST scenario, the dreaded call in the middle of the night: boss...we've had a tragedy..." and the "once in a lifetime stupid move" that ends your command.

My classmates that made that massive step from 0-6 to 0-7 (I didn't)...to a man/woman said they didn't expect the call they received...they were pretty sure they were doing a good job but the call from the boss telling them that the President had sent their name to the Senate...came as a surprise.

And in MY class from USAFA we have about 19 AF flag officers (including the current Chief of Staff) and two USN flag officers! Wasn't it special when US Naval Special Warfare (SEAL) were commanded by RAdm Brian Losey and RAdm Scott Moore...both USAFA Class of '83! (And RAdm Moore...my high school classmate as well.)

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
I'm pretty sure that there has been one non-USNA alumni who served as Commandant.

For fun, I pulled up the wiki list - so many famous names of those who went on to flag rank, or who had ships named after them.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commandant_of_midshipmen

@OldRetSWO Any thoughts on who any non-grads might be? I only spot-checked a few, and all were grads. You’ve got me thinking.
I just did a quick alumni assoc check on who I thought it was and he is not an alum: Capt Jack Darby who was "Dant" in the late 70's
 
I omitted to mention that you could be the hottest runner in your pack, and while in command, as the saying goes, you are “only one 17-year-old from disaster.” That means you could be on an apparently sure path to GOFO rank, and one of the sailors under your command chooses to do something that hazards the ship, crew or mission. The CO is accountable for the decisions of all, and it only takes one error to undo a glittering career.
Boy is that accurate! When you become a commander...that's one of the scenarios that results in long nights and lost sleep: the loss of one of your members (the WORST scenario, the dreaded call in the middle of the night: boss...we've had a tragedy..." and the "once in a lifetime stupid move" that ends your command.

My classmates that made that massive step from 0-6 to 0-7 (I didn't)...to a man/woman said they didn't expect the call they received...they were pretty sure they were doing a good job but the call from the boss telling them that the President had sent their name to the Senate...came as a surprise.

And in MY class from USAFA we have about 15 AF flag officers (including the current Chief of Staff) and two USN flag officers! Wasn't it special when US Naval Special Warfare (SEAL) were commanded by RAdm Brian Losey and RAdm Scott Moore...both USAFA Class of '83!

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83

Both of your seals worked for VADM Bob Harward USNA "79" who was "my" plebe during the first semester of my 3/C year.

My USNA class had 32 flag officers including 4 four stars serving at the same time.
 
Do screw with a Marine and his post!!!!

There was a Supe at USNA, who while walking back through Gate 1 in its former configuration, at night, in company with a group of friends, in civilian clothes, refused to show his ID card to the enlisted Marine at the Gate, energetically expressing himself the Marine should know who he was. The Marine, quite rightly, stood firm. There was some kind of physical contact, if I recall correctly. That Supe was gone within a day or so, his career as a flag officer permanently marred.[/QUOTE]
 
Back
Top