Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => Politics => Topic started by: freakazoid on June 19, 2018, 09:42:24 PM
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https://americanmilitarynews.com/2017/10/exclusive-former-west-point-professors-letter-exposes-corruption-cheating-and-failing-standards-full-letter/
Talks about the very falling standards at West Point. :'(
Found this when trying to find an article I read somewhere, I thought it was posted from here, about how there had been problems of insubordination about him before that went ignored; and I still can't find this article.
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What a depressing article.
My immediate reaction is that, as Commander-in-Chief, Trump should immediately replace the entire administration at the USMA.
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My immediate reaction is that, as Commander-in-Chief, Trump should immediately replace the entire administration at the USMA.
Agreed.
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Man. I had grabbed a quote from near the beginning of the article to post here as an example of what I thought was screwed up, but then reading the rest of the article, I would have had to quote pretty much the entire article. One example is as bad as another there.
I'm not sure which is worse - them letting disciplinary problem children skate through, or letting illiterates pass through. Having either in command of troops (and their lives) in theater somewhere is scary.
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I'm not sure which is worse - them letting disciplinary problem children skate through, or letting illiterates pass through.
Never mind "skate through. Why are they admitting functional illiterates in the first place? Winning football games is NOT the core mission of the United States Military Academy.
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Never mind "skate through. Why are they admitting functional illiterates in the first place? Winning football games is NOT the core mission of the United States Military Academy.
...................but...but they beat Navy!
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Once you understand and accept the fact that most schools, from high school through college, have become nothing more than a life support system for sports teams this all makes sense.
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I know some colleges are more angry at teachers who catch cheaters, than the cheaters themselves. To the point of punishing the teacher, and doing nothing to the cheating students.
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Rapone is now out of the Army...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2018/06/19/a-west-point-grad-wrote-communism-will-win-in-his-cap-the-army-kicked-him-out/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.b802ff622744
First, disclosure. I'm a part of the Long Grey Line. A lot of grads look at West Point these days, compare it to their days, and complain that the Academy is getting soft. I've heard a lot of complaints from Old Grads about the who things are now... no more walking hours as punishment, the decision to allow cadets to wear casual clothing on some class days, the opening of the Firstie Club (a bar on campus open to seniors "Firsties"... as signs that the Corps has gone to Hell in a hand basket. Having read the letter, I've got to wonder how much of this is an old grad complaining that things aren't as tough as they used to be.
My son went through the application process for USNA and USMA last year. I got to meet a lot of candidates, Midshipmen, and Cadets along the way, especially when I got tours of both schools as a candidate's parent. The Cadets and Middies I talked with were what we would hope for... intelligent young men and women, committed to serving this country, patriotic to the core. I wouldn't worry too much about this.
Oh, and if West Point is truly ignoring the academic standards to bring in top football players, they are doing a poor job of it. They can barely beat Navy.
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Here's another disturbing write-up on West Point.
https://amgreatness.com/2018/06/15/the-new-model-military/
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Yup, way overdue cor a plague carrying asteroid strike.
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Oh, and if West Point is truly ignoring the academic standards to bring in top football players, they are doing a poor job of it. They can barely beat Navy.
Well, Navy has been fearless in their defense lately; blocking tankers, cargo ships, fishing boats, Japanese tugboats, Japan itself...
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Rapone is now out of the Army...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2018/06/19/a-west-point-grad-wrote-communism-will-win-in-his-cap-the-army-kicked-him-out/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.b802ff622744
First, disclosure. I'm a part of the Long Grey Line. A lot of grads look at West Point these days, compare it to their days, and complain that the Academy is getting soft. I've heard a lot of complaints from Old Grads about the who things are now... no more walking hours as punishment, the decision to allow cadets to wear casual clothing on some class days, the opening of the Firstie Club (a bar on campus open to seniors "Firsties"... as signs that the Corps has gone to Hell in a hand basket. Having read the letter, I've got to wonder how much of this is an old grad complaining that things aren't as tough as they used to be.
My son went through the application process for USNA and USMA last year. I got to meet a lot of candidates, Midshipmen, and Cadets along the way, especially when I got tours of both schools as a candidate's parent. The Cadets and Middies I talked with were what we would hope for... intelligent young men and women, committed to serving this country, patriotic to the core. I wouldn't worry too much about this.
Oh, and if West Point is truly ignoring the academic standards to bring in top football players, they are doing a poor job of it. They can barely beat Navy.
Be that as it may, the fact that Mr. Rapone and his beliefs were well known to the Faculty, Army, and Fellow Cadets during his time at West Point, clearly indicates a broken system.* And not just the "easing up" (Walking Hours, Casual Clothing, etc), but willfully ignoring a disciplinary problem in Mr. Rapone. If the USMA was willing to look past him, what else are they overlooking? He seems to be a symptom of larger problem.
The Ring-knockers I worked and served with were all tactically and technically proficient. A bit socially awkward, at times, around soldiers, which I attributed to living in a "bubble" the previous 4 years. But I never had a question as to their sense of loyalty, duty, and honor.
*- And it's those things that differentiate West Point from State U. It demands more from it's "students" then any other college in the US (and maybe the world). If the USMA is not going to have an Honor Code nor any semblance of tradition, then sell it to New York and let the state run it as part of SUNY.
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Scout...uh, Amy... have you seen these?
http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=75021
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2017/09/report-west-point-professor-rasheed-hosein-who-mentored-socialist-organizer-army-officer-placed-on-admin-leave/
Ignore the articles. The pictures are what caught my eye. Rapone is wearing Ranger scrolls in these pictures. That means he was in one of the battalions before he went to West Point, which also means he went through some significant security clearance/background checks before he even started his application to West Point. Unless good Mr. Rapone developed his taste for communism after he began his four years on the Hudson, someone dropped the ball before he traded his blues for grey.
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Scout...uh, Amy... have you seen these?
http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=75021
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2017/09/report-west-point-professor-rasheed-hosein-who-mentored-socialist-organizer-army-officer-placed-on-admin-leave/
Ignore the articles. The pictures are what caught my eye. Rapone is wearing Ranger scrolls in these pictures. That means he was in one of the battalions before he went to West Point, which also means he went through some significant security clearance/background checks before he even started his application to West Point. Unless good Mr. Rapone developed his taste for communism after he began his four years on the Hudson, someone dropped the ball before he traded his blues for grey.
Scuttlebutt on the veterans groups I monitor says he was a sh*tbird then and somebody let him skate, or kicked him out of the Regiment to make him someone else's problem.
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Scuttlebutt on the veterans groups I monitor says he was a sh*tbird then and somebody let him skate, or kicked him out of the Regiment to make him someone else's problem.
If that's the case, enough strings could have been pulled to get him an appointment, either to make certain he completely went away from the Regiment, or thinking he would flunk out.
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Yes, he was RFS'd while in one of the battalions. IIRC, he never went to Ranger school, just RIP when he was enlisted. And since he deployed with one of the battalions, he is entitled to wear the scroll. Keep in mind that Ranger units deployed on ad hoc short term basis, meaning week(s) to a couple months. Not year long, like Big Army units.
It's also my understanding that he used his combat scroll to deflect criticism and that he traded on that scroll to get his appointment.
Either way he had 5 years of info on his FB page, so it wasn't in his senior year that he suddenly converted. He should have been booted long ago..
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Yes, he was RFS'd while in one of the battalions. IIRC, he never went to Ranger school, just RIP when he was enlisted. And since he deployed with one of the battalions, he is entitled to wear the scroll. Keep in mind that Ranger units deployed on ad hoc short term basis, meaning week(s) to a couple months. Not year long, like Big Army units.
It's also my understanding that he used his combat scroll to deflect criticism and that he traded on that scroll to get his appointment.
Either way he had 5 years of info on his FB page, so it wasn't in his senior year that he suddenly converted. He should have been booted long ago..
No disagreement from me. In my day, a prior service cadet would get a bit of a break from the cadet chain of command. I'm guessing the scroll, the CIB, and the rest for him a pretty big break, even from some of the junior officers. Bet he rode that scroll for all it was worth.
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Yes, he was RFS'd while in one of the battalions.
RFS?
IIRC, he never went to Ranger school, just RIP when he was enlisted.
He died and was reincarnated to attend West Point?
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RFS?
Remote file system; they took his brain out, but forgot to issue him a login to the NAS that stores higher functions. Explains a lot, really.
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RFS?
The Rangers maintain more stringent standards for their personnel. If at any point a Ranger is deemed to be failing to meet these standards he may be relieved and removed from the Regiment. This is commonly referred to as being RFSed, short for "Released For Standards". A Ranger can be RFS'd for virtually any reason, ranging from lack of motivation to disciplinary problems.
He died and was reincarnated to attend West Point?
Ranger Indoctrination Program- was a 2 week long course (NOT Ranger School) for E-1 to E-4's new to the Army and the Ranger (battalions). Ranger School is a leadership school. RIP was to test if a new soldier was fit mentally and physically to serve in a Ranger Battalion.
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Edit: nevermind, managed to bypass the blocking.