IGX

Gorbachev wrote:Milosz, you're the sort of half-wit who would carry out a Code Red, aren't you? Did you even watch the movie??

nafod wrote:

Grandpa's Spells wrote:You don't become a junior officer, where you have no authority and limited right to speech, to change military culture. If the goal is calling attention to a perceived problem, he's going about it the right way.

You don't become a senior officer with the ability to change things without first being a junior officer. And as a JO you do have real authority, just over a small group. You get to set the example for them. The group gets bigger as you get more senior.

milosz wrote:

Gorbachev wrote:Milosz, you're the sort of half-wit who would carry out a Code Red, aren't you? Did you even watch the movie??

I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'm an atheist who doesn't respond well to orders. I accommodated this by never joining the military.

Ed Zachary wrote:Why is most "kids" want to make a stand when it's someone else footing the bill?

This is almost as stupid as a recruit thinking he should try to change how basic training is run while still in basic. You are in the military you don't have the same rights as a civilian. Sounds to me like he decided the military wasn't for him and now he's trying to make a personal stand as he washes out.

And couldn't he just transfer to another college without all the gnashing of teeth and tearing of robes? I'm not familiar with West Point's polilcy on transfers.

Terry B. wrote:If a cadet had quit and signaled an alarm about fundamentalist Muslims who were steadily increasing their grip on power in a service academy, people would be up in arms and lining up to congratulate the whistleblower for his courage. However, it's evangelical Christians that he is talking about so he is going to be called an idiot and his reports tossed aside.

Terry B. wrote:...steadily increasing their grip on power in a service academy.

Grandpa's Spells wrote:

milosz wrote:Smart enough to get into West Point but too stupid to realize that a not-insignificant percentage of officers (and future officers) are religious nuts? My sympathy is lacking.

The decision to go to West Point is made at 17, and they have a super-persuasive recruiting effort that makes zero mention of religion. I imagine fundie angle surprises the hell out of may new cadets.

nafod wrote:

Terry B. wrote:...steadily increasing their grip on power in a service academy.

No religion is steadily increasing their grip on power here. It is the painful loosening of it that you are seeing. Couple of Lesbians just got married in the West Point chapel. There's a gay student group at Naval Academy. That hardly aligns with your meme.

Batboy2/75 wrote:Eliminate the service acedemies; they are counter to our Republican form of government. It's nothing more than a patronage system, where pols hand out favors to people.

BucketHead wrote:I never remember any of this religious bs at the Naval Academy, at all.

Of course, once I joined the Marines, fundies were everywhere.

I think there's a long culture of Onward Christian Soldiers in the ground forces. Makes sense when you think of a young man who has to consciously decide to put their very life at risk. A purpose is pretty much a necessity - and Purpose is one of the best purposes.

BucketHead wrote:

Batboy2/75 wrote:Eliminate the service acedemies; they are counter to our Republican form of government. It's nothing more than a patronage system, where pols hand out favors to people.

I don't disagree to get rid of the Academies, even though they served me very well. However your political favor system comment, I would argue, is completely inaccurate.

Though anecdotal, of the 100 or so good friends I had in my class, I can't think of one that had a politically connected family in any way. They were all just hard working kids that were good at a lot of things, but usually not exceptional at any. Granted, Gary Hart nominated me because I said I could get him a date with this babe from Florida, but I was an anomaly.

Turdacious wrote:

Alfred_E._Neuman wrote:While I completely agree with him on his views about Christianity being blatantly favored by the service academies in direct opposition to the Constitution, he should have known this going in. The military does not want free thinkers and Humanists. They want order followers, pure and simple. Even at the highest level of military education they aren't looking for radicals questioning orders. And if any one thing on the planet prepares one for blind following, it's religion. No surprise having a strong religious affiliation, especially a Christian one, would be favored at a military academy

Complete horseshit-- mindless order followers are never effective military leaders at any level.

BucketHead wrote:

Turdacious wrote:

Alfred_E._Neuman wrote:While I completely agree with him on his views about Christianity being blatantly favored by the service academies in direct opposition to the Constitution, he should have known this going in. The military does not want free thinkers and Humanists. They want order followers, pure and simple. Even at the highest level of military education they aren't looking for radicals questioning orders. And if any one thing on the planet prepares one for blind following, it's religion. No surprise having a strong religious affiliation, especially a Christian one, would be favored at a military academy

Complete horseshit-- mindless order followers are never effective military leaders at any level.

I'm not sure where you got your conclusion, but my experience is there are very few free thinkers above the rank of O-3. I would say Alfred's broad brush is reasonably accurate.

Terry B. wrote:If a cadet had quit and signaled an alarm about fundamentalist Muslims who were steadily increasing their grip on power in a service academy, people would be up in arms and lining up to congratulate the whistleblower for his courage. However, it's evangelical Christians that he is talking about so he is going to be called an idiot and his reports tossed aside.

I admire the kid's stand though would hope that he would have had enough stories to string together into a complete book that would help repay the cost of his education.

powerlifter54 wrote:

Terry B. wrote:i suspect another impending ass kicking today from Navy was the real cause of his mental anguish.