Plebes who try to befriend firsties and other upperclassmen on FB get drilled all the time. Loose privileges and get extra rates etc----no way will i do anything to add crap to his adjustment.
First off, I cannot imagine why a plebe would want to befriend a firstie. Unless things have changed drastically, the class distinction system demands separation and any plebe who crosses that boundary uninvited is asking for grief. Something that should have been ingrained in them the first day.
I do however have an issue --it is the perception of differences with in the academy and the fact is -it is and always will be that way.
Let me ask a military distinctive question---if all mids/cadets or whatever are all going through the exact same proven to be effective system guaranteed to provide the different branches exempliary officers--why are there different punishments for different companies. Why dont they punished the whole academy -if it is supposed to be all about the unit and brotherhood?
If they all go through the same drills and are expected to be unified and depend on each other completely -answer and be advised only to and by the people who require they be addressed by sir or mam--why such different distinctions?
When an enlisted is at basic do they let one group do things and train with weapons they do not allow others to be trained with?
In the Navy, within what is really a very short time after graduating, officers will be expected to take their SEAL team, their jet, their division, their ship, or their submarine over the horizon for extended periods of time and make decisions on their own. This demands a special type of leadership and a special type of training to achieve that leadership.
First off, at USNA, if one person made all the decisions, that would deprive all the others of the decision making process. If one person made all the decisions, it would deprive those being affected of the comparative evaluation of the results of those decisions by observing their shipmates in a sister unit. And USNA is first and foremost, a leadership lab.
Additionally, the leader of any Naval unit bears tremendous responsibility and accountability. With that comes the demand for total loyalty from each and every one under them. These precepts are grown and nourished in the leadership lab that is USNA. Therefore, standardization between units which would require a tremendous amount of management and effort is not even a priority.
The result is units that are totally unique. When an Ensign walks down the pier and walks up the brow to his first ship, the one across the pier could, and probably is, a totally different atmosphere. His could change overnight from good to bad. Naval units are living breathing homogenous units, each unique in its own way and each capable of change depending on the dynamics of its leaders.
I read something recently that, due to the increased focus on smaller units in the Army that USMA is changing some of its leadership training to produce a more independent thinking graduate.
While we were delighted to have him home, I had to come to the realization that this was HIS time off and he had to "recharge his batteries" in a way that would benefit him when he returned to West Point. He doesn't really belong to me anymore, he belongs to Uncle Sam. Yes, I miss him terribly but my job has now changed to cheerleader and I'm no longer the head coach.
