Classof83
10-Year Member
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
- Messages
- 166
Over the years I’ve read many posts by students considering an academy appointment vrsus an ROTC scholarship. I’m offering this narrative as one point of consideration to help students who are undecided on whether to accept an academy appointment, specifically USMA, or to choose the ROTC scholarship option.
While the vast majority of cadets will thankfully never face a medical disqualification, a few of them will given that the list of potential medical disqualifications barring commissioning is very long and given the end of recent conflicts, the enforcement of standards is becoming more strict. Given recent posts on this forum and in other social media platforms, this possibility of being separated in the senior year for a medical disqualification is becoming increasingly common at West Point. My cadet’s experience may provide insight. Despite several congressional inquiries, legal assistance, and civilian medical evaluations supporting medical stability and testimonials from former cadets with the same medical condition who under previous West Point commands and at other service academies (as recent as May of 2021) were allowed to graduate and commission, the West Point administration is separating my medically disqualified senior cadet (who was told they would probably be separated with four days of the initial diagnosis and then summarily ordered off post within two weeks). This is despite having completed all summer military training with only two semesters of academic coursework not completed, leaving the academic future in limbo.
I’ve spoken to many West Point classmates and many other graduates of other service academies as well as active and retired members of the military. To a person, the consensus is that senior (Firstie) cadets who are medically disqualified but medically stable should be allowed to graduate. Graduation of senior cadets given a medical disqualification was not uncommon in the past. The USMA Superintendent has in fact the full authority under Army Regulation 150-1 to graduate medically disqualified seniors. This has been confirmed by the USMA command. For the last few years, however, I had been hearing rumors that there would no longer be “golden handshakes” which, as far as I can gather, is defined as allowing cadets to graduate from USMA given a medical disqualification which bars commissioning. The policy of separating medically disqualified senior cadets seems to have reached a certain level of public notoriety including the West Point Board of Visitors. Disenrollment of seniors due to medical disqualification was mentioned at the last meeting of the West Point Board of Visitors in December of 2020. From the minutes of that meeting (https://tinyurl.com/hj8664zd, p. 8), it is recorded that LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster asked the question as to whether the current medical waiver process at West Point was, “meeting the standards and not excluding people that may deserve a waiver.” The answer provided unfortunately was vague.
Four years ago my cadet had the choice between USMA and a ROTC scholarship which one university combined into an offer of a four year full room, board and tuition scholarship. West Point was chosen. Now in retrospect, given a medical disqualification discovered in the senior year and separation from West Point without any aid or assistance in transferring, with competitive universities advising that placement in their programs would occur somewhere early in the junior year, the choice is questionable. The placement by other competitive universities is unfortunate but understandable. Despite majoring in a STEM field, West Point places many of the major courses into the senior year (with military and PE course frontloaded). Had the ROTC scholarship been taken and a civilian university attended, dismissal from the ROTC program would have still been the result given the medical disqualification but completing the university degree would have been independent of the ROTC enrollment.
Again, just one cadet’s story who made the choice to attend USMA versus accept a “full-ride” ROTC scholarship. The categorical stance against allowing medically disqualified seniors to graduate may just be related to West Point given the example provided of a senior with the same medical disqualification being allowed to graduate (and commission) at another service academy just this last May. I hope this long narrative helps inform the decision of graduating high school students. You are welcome to make posts in response to this narrative, but I won’t be adding additional detail (e.g. the disqualifying medical condition other than we did not have advance knowledge of this condition before it surfaced, etc.).
While the vast majority of cadets will thankfully never face a medical disqualification, a few of them will given that the list of potential medical disqualifications barring commissioning is very long and given the end of recent conflicts, the enforcement of standards is becoming more strict. Given recent posts on this forum and in other social media platforms, this possibility of being separated in the senior year for a medical disqualification is becoming increasingly common at West Point. My cadet’s experience may provide insight. Despite several congressional inquiries, legal assistance, and civilian medical evaluations supporting medical stability and testimonials from former cadets with the same medical condition who under previous West Point commands and at other service academies (as recent as May of 2021) were allowed to graduate and commission, the West Point administration is separating my medically disqualified senior cadet (who was told they would probably be separated with four days of the initial diagnosis and then summarily ordered off post within two weeks). This is despite having completed all summer military training with only two semesters of academic coursework not completed, leaving the academic future in limbo.
I’ve spoken to many West Point classmates and many other graduates of other service academies as well as active and retired members of the military. To a person, the consensus is that senior (Firstie) cadets who are medically disqualified but medically stable should be allowed to graduate. Graduation of senior cadets given a medical disqualification was not uncommon in the past. The USMA Superintendent has in fact the full authority under Army Regulation 150-1 to graduate medically disqualified seniors. This has been confirmed by the USMA command. For the last few years, however, I had been hearing rumors that there would no longer be “golden handshakes” which, as far as I can gather, is defined as allowing cadets to graduate from USMA given a medical disqualification which bars commissioning. The policy of separating medically disqualified senior cadets seems to have reached a certain level of public notoriety including the West Point Board of Visitors. Disenrollment of seniors due to medical disqualification was mentioned at the last meeting of the West Point Board of Visitors in December of 2020. From the minutes of that meeting (https://tinyurl.com/hj8664zd, p. 8), it is recorded that LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster asked the question as to whether the current medical waiver process at West Point was, “meeting the standards and not excluding people that may deserve a waiver.” The answer provided unfortunately was vague.
Four years ago my cadet had the choice between USMA and a ROTC scholarship which one university combined into an offer of a four year full room, board and tuition scholarship. West Point was chosen. Now in retrospect, given a medical disqualification discovered in the senior year and separation from West Point without any aid or assistance in transferring, with competitive universities advising that placement in their programs would occur somewhere early in the junior year, the choice is questionable. The placement by other competitive universities is unfortunate but understandable. Despite majoring in a STEM field, West Point places many of the major courses into the senior year (with military and PE course frontloaded). Had the ROTC scholarship been taken and a civilian university attended, dismissal from the ROTC program would have still been the result given the medical disqualification but completing the university degree would have been independent of the ROTC enrollment.
Again, just one cadet’s story who made the choice to attend USMA versus accept a “full-ride” ROTC scholarship. The categorical stance against allowing medically disqualified seniors to graduate may just be related to West Point given the example provided of a senior with the same medical disqualification being allowed to graduate (and commission) at another service academy just this last May. I hope this long narrative helps inform the decision of graduating high school students. You are welcome to make posts in response to this narrative, but I won’t be adding additional detail (e.g. the disqualifying medical condition other than we did not have advance knowledge of this condition before it surfaced, etc.).