Is it because life is miserable, you are miserable, West Point is miserable, the people are miserable, the Yearlings as apart from people are miserable, the snow is miserable, the classes are miserable, reveille is miserable, marching is miserable, training is miserable, the sky is miserable? Been there. Done that. So has everyone else who has gone before you.
Now listen up. They are. And no one will ever think any less of you if you decide to make a success in a different direction of life. That's part of growing up. Part of becoming an adult. But Number 4 isn't a good reason. At least not an adult reason. At least not yet. That's what the first year is for. You are in a dark fog now, a fog known by every other cadet--Plebe and upper-class alike, both present and prior classes, every graduate and non-graduate. It is after Christmas, Christmas Leave, and before Spring.
It is Gloom Period. Don't even think of a rational decision now. You STAY until the end of the year. You stay four months.
You stay through Spring, and then May. Then your options are anything you want. Do anything any earlier and you will always wonder " What if?
For you will have quit in the middle of the Lesson, No one has that right. That right, that choice, that decision is yours alone. West Point is only for those who live the life, walk the walk, dream the dream. And sometimes that takes time. Take that time. Never quit until you've beat the system. Then your life's your own, and no one can ever take it from you. From Craig Mitchell, X-'62 An ex-cadet in the class of , found in academics, currently a parent of a '04 cadet, I want to share with other parents some thoughts on leaving West Point.
These are thoughts about what I missed by not staying and what I endured after leaving. From grade 2 to grade 12, I shared the same classroom with a boyhood friend whose Dad was a grad who survived Bataan to be killed in the mistaken sinking of a Japanese POW ship by U. His passion for WP and its motto duty, honor, country affected me from an early age and by grade 9 became my goal as well as his.
We both gained competitive nominations from our congressman and reported to WP on the appointed day. During the train ride to WP we shared an oath that WP would have to throw us out because neither of us would ever quit. I suspect that many others made a similar oath that day and countless new cadets have done so since. I was a good plebe, shy, a little short of 'spoony', never in trouble, never on the area. Roommates Dan Buttolph and Dave Windom were my very best friends.
I don't recall there ever being angry words among us. We cooperated fully against the system and the of course, the TAC. They left the Army after 5 years of active duty, but still remained in Individual Ready Reserve status as a part of the 8 year commitment. The regulartory reference is AR , United States Military Acadmy Chapter 7, "The foregoing provisions [military service obligation] will be applied in accordance with the following guidance: 1 Term 1 of the second class year will commence at noon on the first day of regularly scheduled academic classes following the summer training period.
As an exception, the second class year for a cadet who is designated a potential mid-year graduate will commence at noon on the first day of regularly scheduled classes in the term following the advancement of that cadet to the second class. FalconsRock Parent 5-Year Member. Joined Mar 2, Messages EndangeredQuake said:. Emotions aside and all, she said loosely paraphrasing her I don't want you to sign a 10 year commitment and have no way out Click to expand Joined Aug 15, Messages Consider what you want to do, not what your mom wants you to do.
Sure take commitment into consideration but in the end it's you that's going to be drastically changing your life based on where you go to college and what you do at college. Keep your best interest in mind and reasonably decide if a commitment like military service is for you. If it is go ahead and apply. If not you may want to rethink what college you want to go to. Keep in mind that Mom's trepidation is probably about much more that getting into a commitment you can't get out of.
Even with the two year grace period that will occur. She's probably more concerned that the commitment is to the military and her child could be hurt or worse. I know that's what bugged my wife until we brought her around. Padre Parent. Joined Sep 29, Messages So let me make sure this is clear.
LongAgoPlebe Year Member. Joined Jul 25, Messages That is correct. People can attend the service academies for two academic years without incurring a service or a financial obligation other than the initial fee, which I understand varies among the SAs. The SAs, as you can imagine, collect scads of data on why people separate or are disenrolled, and very, very few individuals game the system.
It's just too difficult a path for two years, for young people to think they'll just coast through a service academy for a couple of years' worth of free tuition, room and board.
That alone is enough of a reality check for some people. Fall below satisfactory performance in any one of physical, academic, or military performance, and you're reviewed for continued enrollment. This is not an easy system to game. On the other hand, and despite excellent information available today on the internet, learning about a system or an experience is not the same as having that experience.
Most forumites know that I was appointed to USNA, completed my plebe year, and voluntarily separated - not because I was unsat. In fact I had a 3. It was not until I was immersed in that environment, for a "long" time longest in my short life , that I was able to figure out I did not want to be a USN officer. The way I'd put it now is, nothing had ever been hard for me prior to USNA, and I wanted to be in an environment and with other people who wanted to do hard things.
That was the wrong reason for me to attend, obviously - but I could not have figured that out without being there. For these and so many other reasons, the two-year, no-commitment timespan is a very, very good idea and a wise investment of taxpayers' money and, more important, our young, bright, motivated peoples' time.
I plan on making a later post about the practical technicalities involved with the transfer application process. I also saw your post on serviceacademyforums. This path is not for everyone. About 10 months ago, I decided against affirming and left USMA to complete my education at a civilian university. The purpose of this post is to give some insight into the factors I considered when making my decision to leave. When I was debating my decision I scoured the internet to find the stories of others who chose to leave.
No two people have identical reasons for leaving or staying, but I hope my story can provide another perspective to those struggling with the decision. My first piece of advice for is to think about your goals early and often. Keep a journal and write down your thoughts: the good and the bad. Looking back on your doubts, failures, insecurities, and fears is just as important as remembering the laughter, success, and camaraderie when evaluating the decision to stay or leave. Trying to remember past emotional states is difficult; having a physical record of your emotions and thoughts is extremely helpful when making any life decision.
At a minimum, you should know or be working to figure out what ultimate goal you would like to achieve and how your current activities are helping you to get closer to that goal. Ideally, when you entered West Point, you should have had a solid idea of why you want to be in the Army, what you want to do in the Army, and so on. The mistake I made in high school was confusing West Point with my end destination.
In high school I was so focused on getting into West Point, so sure that it was what I wanted—no, needed to do—that I failed to realize West Point and college in general is just a stepping stone to a future career and life. Some cadets come because their parents want them to.
Some come because they want to play a sport. Some come because it is free. In the end it is not important why you come West Point. The reasons you stay or leave are a million times more important. Treat deciding to affirm like an entirely separate decision from your initial decision to attend. The amount of time and effort you put into your application and your first two years at the academy should have absolutely no bearing on the decision to stay or leave.
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