USNA's Fleming in NY Times OpEd

mom3boys said:
I am surprised one is allowed to slam one's employer in a national paper and still have a job...I think I want to work there, too! :biggrin:
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Why are you surprised?:confused:

1) He (Flemming) is under constant scrutiny, go read the Commander Salamander Blog, they (the USNA) are trying to push him out.
2) He's only voicing his opinion on an "Opinion Page" and; he's a registered Democrat voicing his opinion, just like thousands of other Democrat teachers :wink:
3) I don't see anyone disputing his facts now, or for that matter, in years.

My opinion, I see merritt in having Service Academies and, D-1 or D-3 football! Your choice.
 
USNA Fleming in NYT OPED

Chockstrock,

Totally agree here, also make those Cadets and Midshipmen, who have the complete right to just walk away after two, just walk away. They should change policy if you don't want to be there either pay back, all the money spent on you to this point. Or put them in the enlisted ranks.

RGK
 
Having BTDT, I profoundly disagree with the idea that the Service Academies should be done away with.

That said, a lot of what he says is spot-on. I've often said that the USNA catalog has got to be the finest piece of propaganda ever conceived and sent to print.

Oh, well....
 
Dr. Fleming has written a rebuttal in the comment section at the end of Rajiv Srinivasan's blog post. His airy dismissal of the writer's post as "undergraduate vitriol" is illustrative of his condescension and arrogance. This passage is telling: "My POV is not that of one intense young man in a combat zone (and hat’s off to him, obviously) who wants to convince himself he did the right thing by going to West Point. It’s that of someone who’s lived in the belly of the beast for 23 years and talked to countless young officers, formerly my students and now in combat or in the fleet, whether on the whole, the experience is positive or negative, and whether it’s worth it to the taxpayer." Although he presumes to comment on ALL of the academies, Dr. Fleming's experience is limited to USNA, right? And he has never served in the military, correct?

There are few things more infuriating than a tenured academic shilling a book under the guise of "speaking truth to power". . . And honestly, if he really feels that he is "in the belly of the beast," why doesn't he have the integrity to leave? (oops, I forgot, there's that tenure thing . . .)
 
I thought that they young officer made some great points. Flemmings arrogance is upsetting because he is a teacher who has influence over the students he teaches. I surely hope his students don't here this talk during class.
 
...that of someone who’s lived in the belly of the beast for 23 years and talked to countless young officers, formerly my students and now in combat or in the fleet, whether on the whole, the experience is positive or negative, and whether it’s worth it to the taxpayer.
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Let's see...smart kid takes Fleming's class, reads his book or otherwise learns his opinion about the NA. Some years later same kid; now - now an Officer with his own opinion - strolls back onto the Yard. Which kid is more likely to seek out the good Dr.? The one who agrees? Or the one who thinks him a jerk? His sample is hardly representative.
 
Buddy said:
There are few things more infuriating than a tenured academic shilling a book under the guise of "speaking truth to power". . . And honestly, if he really feels that he is "in the belly of the beast," why doesn't he have the integrity to leave? (oops, I forgot, there's that tenure thing . . .)
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That sounds like more that 95% of the last 30 or 40 years of the NYT's best sellers list lol
 
bruno said:
This young Officer has a few things to say in rebuttal to Dr Fleming. I believe he is absolutely on the right track - Fleming maybe not so much. Note that one is writing with his butt on the line while one is writing from the sanctuary of tenure- take a stab at which one deserves our respect and our attention more.
http://rajivsrinivasan.wordpress.co...tive-point-average-rebuttal-to-bruce-fleming/
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I'd just add, that I can't think of ROTC or OTS/OCS officers that I knew on active duty who would argue as Fleming does. As some of you may know from other postings, I went to VMI and was commissioned via AFROTC (left the service in 2003). I think that each of the commissioning sources brings a unique perspective to the officer corps, and I would never advocate getting rid of SAs. Really, that is an absurd proposition. I served with USAFA, ROTC, and OTS guys up at Minot, and there were winners and losers in each group. I also found that USAFA guys did not have a general attitude of superiority. I think they might have come on active duty with perceptions about ROTC guys (and ROTC guys had perceptions about them), but the reality of active duty tends to weed that out. For instance, I'm not sure USAFA guys fully realized the vastly different experiences one can have and still be an ROTC graduate. ROTC at an SMC like VMI is WAY different than at a large state school. Also, ROTC at a state school is pretty darn different than ROTC at a consortium school, with 7 or 8 cadets commuting to a smaller detachment that serves several universities. Conversly, I think OTS and ROTC folks who might have come in with negative perceptions of USAFA pretty much lost those perceptions once we started to serve with the zoomies. Operating weapon systems and leading airmen, with the responsibility that entails, tends to make junior officers realize that everyone is in the same boat. Besides, there are more important things to complain about, like senior leadership. :shake:
An earlier poster mentioned that only those with a TWE stuffed somewhere think it's a good idea to get rid of SAs. Well, I had a nice TWE from West Point (I changed goals to the USAF at VMI), and I think that SAs are vital to producing a diverse (in the sense of experiences) officer corps. The traditions of the SAs should be preserved, and Dr. Fleming represents a minority opinion.
 
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