Article: The United States Air Force Academy Doesn’t Train Warriors Anymore.

This really got under the skins of many 4th class female cadets, especially since most of his "facts" were wrong and opinion.
Example, Gen Johnson is class of 81, not 80, first class with women. The cadets still refer to the ramp as the "Bring me Men" ramp. And, the same name poem, is part of required knowledge to this day.
Ask any cadet that has succeeded in Jack's Valley assault course, if they are not still taught warrior ethos.
 
Capri120 said:
. The cadets still refer to the ramp as the "Bring me Men" ramp. And, the same name poem, is part of required knowledge to this day.
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Nope, it's the Core Values Ramp (CVR if you're feeling frisky.) Civilians can't get there. And the poem hasn't been required knowledge for at least the last four years.

This guy seems to base his criticisms on USAFA on three things:

1)We have a coffee shop.
2)We have been indoctrinated in the "PC gibberish" of the AF Core Values.
3)He had some negative experiences with some rude cadets (coincidentally, I have too.)

I don't know. I like coffee. I'll let you all know how many millennial snowflakes from my class melt on May 25th.
 
Disclaimer: I am not a USAFA grad but the subject article is nothing more than "we had it harder in the old corps than you guys do today!" Please! I have a son who is a USMC officer 30+ years after I was on active duty and I take every opportunity to point out how easy he has it. However, it is a fact that on November 10, 1775 the second man who signed onto to the USMC roster in Tun Tavern was already getting lectures of how hard it was in the Old Corps!

The article's author is quick to cite examples yet does little to prove his point. His lack of tact and decorum in addressing the Superintendent is an indictment of his lack of professionalism and respect for the institution he disparages.

Truth is, if he had been complimentary of the current USAFA, I would have been taking all kinds of license with the use of the words "warrior" and "Air Force" in the same sentence. But instead, I find myself compelled to call him out for his obvious blindness created by a old corps mentality.
 
I'm not sure if we can really describe the military that I, Bullet, Flieger, and others entered in the 70's and 80's as harder, easier, better, etc. But we can definitely all agree that it is "DIFFERENT".

But that's not just an "Academy" thing. The entire MILITARY today is "Different". The entire country and society is "Different". Has a lot of that happened because of "Political Correctness"? Most definitely. In my opinion, political correctness has been a major social downfall of our entire society and culture. I don't expect anyone under the age of 30 to actually understand or agree with that statement.

Most people in that age/generation, have no idea of what Political Correctness actually means. To many of the younger generation, it's simply considered NORMAL. If not, "Socially Acceptable". They have no idea what society went through to get to this "Politically Correct" world that we live in today. They weren't around to see race riots, civil rights demonstrations, ERA, etc. that I and others of my generation say. These are the things that moved us to where we are today.

Don't get me wrong. Most of those social issues 40-50 years ago definitely needed changing. Unfortunately, in both the academia world; and when the government is involved; both entities tend to go "TOO FAR to the other EXTREME". That is why I've always said that the PC culture has been a major social downfall of our society. The bad part, is that some of us can see the same thing happening today, but the younger generation can't see it; and the older generation has given up and doesn't care any longer. A good example today would be with the group "Black Lives Matter". According to social etiquette, academia, NAACP, many politicians (Who have a totally different motive), and some others; this group has a very legitimate gripe and their "RACIAL" issues need to be addressed. However, if you were to actually do an individual social survey of the country, you'd find that "Black Lives Matter; NAACP, Universities, etc." don't represent the MAJORITY of the people. They don't even represent the majority of Black Americans. But the media and politicians would never allow that info to be accepted as truth. And that is how it's been for decades. Problems arise that need to be addressed, and those in power and academia and the media overreact and take it to the far extreme in the other direction.

And that is why our military, the academy, the civilian work place, and society in general, is what it is today. It isn't better or worse. It's simple "Different". It's a more politically correct world. Again; not just the academy; but the entire military and our society as a whole. When I went to college, I didn't need a "SAFE SPACE" because some people's opinions "Hurt my Feelings". I didn't get to forgo finals because I was "Stressed out because of who the new elected president was". If someone said something I didn't like or agree with, too bad. That was their opinion, and I had mine. But again; today's generation have been indoctrinated into believing that freedom of speech only exists as long as everyone AGREES with what's being said. So to today's generation, this is NORMAL. It's what they've been taught. It's WRONG...... but they don't know it. And unfortunately, very few individuals of that generation, "No matter how well educated they are", can argue this in an educated manner. Because they simply don't know. They have nothing to compare it to. They didn't exist prior. They can only go on what is told to them through academia, the media, and government. And don't get me wrong; it didn't START with my generation. This type of social engineering and change has been going on since the beginning of time. The difference is; the type of "Political Correctness" we have today, is relatively new. It's only been evolving for about 50 years. Prior to that, we didn't have the mass media, so social engineering was at a much slower pace.

But the most important thing, in my opinion, is that the men and women who are trained at our academies and in our military, are prepared to fight and win if necessary. Fortunately, due to technological innovations and improvements, fighting a war today is also "Different". It doesn't rely as much on the soldier on the ground with a rifle in their hands. Or a low flying aircraft in a dog fight. So in that regard, I believe even with a more politically correct society, country, academy, and military; it won't have as much of a negative affect on our military members as some might fear. Because the "Art of War" has also changed because of the same reasons that have made our society and military change.
 
Christcorp said:
I'm not sure if we can really describe the military that I, Bullet, Flieger, and others entered in the 70's and 80's as harder, easier, better, etc. But we can definitely all agree that it is "DIFFERENT".
Click to expand...

So, so true. When DH and I were in, the AF was quite different than when our fathers were in. I have watched over the last 30 years, since I separated active duty, the AF and other military branches change. I have never been away from the AF - dependent, active duty, reserve, and DOD contractor working hand-in-hand with AF ops, mx, SPO, etc. So, now with our sons and daughters in the AF, it IS DIFFERENT; good and/or bad.

However, as Christcorp said, even the military must change with the times due to technology, social pressure, and the civilian leadership's direction to the military leadership.
 
In Part 2 of his article, the author will be complaining about how the cadets now use the internet to access journals and research reports, and that they are using computers for typing papers. Oh, and of course those silly cell phone thingies.
We could even go back and question the need for the Air Force - the Army Air Corps worked just fine prior to 1947.
 
I think the author had a point of two... Tops. I suspect his main goal in writing that article was to garner hits on his website. His link was clearly listed at the end of his rant. But that's my take. I too am not a fan of political correctness. But in all honestly, some of it was needed.

The "Bring Me Men" ramp verbiage was based off of Sam Walter Foss's poem https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Coming_American . It was a benign poem having little to do with being a "warrior". So the author didn't need to laugh and later feel saddened. In actuality, it was taken down after the 2003 sexual assault scandal (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_United_States_Air_Force_Academy_sexual_assault_scandal ). IMHO, there was too much of a machismo mentality in that era. So much so, if you were sexually assaulted, you were pressured not to come forward.

The pendulum always swings back and over compensates. I think we just saw that in this past election.
 
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