With all due respect (and I give it very little), I think this is a terrible idea. The Army already has something it calls a "World Class Athlete Program," or WCAP:
A better plan would be to pay the education for kids who go to college for cyber security and computer engineering if they serve in the military. We can then get some bright anti hackers protecting us.
With all due respect (and I give it very little), I think this is a terrible idea. The Army already has something it calls a "World Class Athlete Program," or WCAP:
Dave Maloney thinks it would be a great way for the armed forces to get talented people into the armed forces and to solve much of the college debt/ college sports cost problem. There would be no military requirement while in college, just aferwards and has been discussed high up in Congress.
I was a non-scholarship NCAA athlete and I always wanted to join the military. Couldn’t afford school so I enlisted. Would’ve gladly accepted this option...
I assume these student athletes would be commissioning as officers (on account of their bachelors degree). Great pay, free housing on base or a housing allowance, good retirement, 30 days off a year and healthcare.
"genocidal murderers" "war machine" ???? America's military is the ONLY reason you have the freedom to express your ignorance on a running blog
I really hope you are 13 years old. U.S. military does not fight for freedom. U.S. military fights to put in place leaders of other nations who will do business with U.S. government, allow U.S. to build military bases on their soil and U.S. aids nations who will allow U.S. corporations to do business in their nation. Freedom has zero to do with actions of U.S. military.
the regular elite special forces o.k. like space force, cia, police, highway troopers, smoke jumpers, nsa, state patrol, parole, army, navy, school resource officers, air force, Hawaii Five-Oh, navy, forrestry, SWAT, Border Patrol, you name the other 100,000 acronyms... but the the United States Marines whose soldiers all get killed 1st every effing time and it's always secret and they list it on the news as a 'training accident off the coast of North Carolina' when the marines dudes gets wasted in Iran.
Anyone who thinks this is a good idea should volunteer at the VA for a month or so and then see if you’re still ok with encouraging anyone to join the military.
Very interesting idea—having served on active duty the last 25 years and as former D2 runner ( had a 4-year ROTC scholarship and on XC scholarship)….to be successful in the military you need to be able to multitask in stressful conditions….just as college athletes must balance academics with athletics. I would argue to have 2x tracks one for enlisted and one for officers…..having a job post college is a plus and no better way to prepare for life..prior service folks do pretty well I. Corporate America.
A lot of hate here for the military. I agree with most posters that this isn't really the best use of military funding as ROTC Programs basically already fill this billet and you can enter the military as an officer vice an enlisted person, which offers a better quality of life/career path.
Additionally, the GI Bill already exists, so enlisted personnel can serve their minimum 4 year contract and then go to the school of their choice. This may prevent them from participating in the NCAA Athletic System, but I think having the military fund the already engorged NCAA is a bad idea as most of the "athletes" would probably find themselves on lower tier teams.
Finally, using a kids desire to participate in sports as a entry way into the military is also not a great recipe for success as the military is not exactly a fun time if you don't have the drive/desire to join. Coming from a 4 year sports program/college environment, seeing all your friends continue as civilians, and then finding yourself at boot camp and then on a ship for a year would likely worsen the already bad suicide conditions military members face.
You know as well as I do, if you encourage folks to join U.S. military, more than a few will get their face blown off, more than a few will end up a stump in a wheelchair and many will leave U.S. military with full use of all their limbs but will experience chronic depression for the remainder of their lives. As both of us know, there are many office pogues who serve their 25 years and suffer none. What about the others?
A lot of hate here for the military. I agree with most posters that this isn't really the best use of military funding as ROTC Programs basically already fill this billet and you can enter the military as an officer vice an enlisted person, which offers a better quality of life/career path.
Additionally, the GI Bill already exists, so enlisted personnel can serve their minimum 4 year contract and then go to the school of their choice. This may prevent them from participating in the NCAA Athletic System, but I think having the military fund the already engorged NCAA is a bad idea as most of the "athletes" would probably find themselves on lower tier teams.
Finally, using a kids desire to participate in sports as a entry way into the military is also not a great recipe for success as the military is not exactly a fun time if you don't have the drive/desire to join. Coming from a 4 year sports program/college environment, seeing all your friends continue as civilians, and then finding yourself at boot camp and then on a ship for a year would likely worsen the already bad suicide conditions military members face.
Well, I have been proven wrong...several times over. Maybe next time I'll read the link I provided more closely.
I'm not sure what you mean by "hate for the military." I don't hate the military. I think the idea is flawed. Non-military institutions are a better place to develop talent. They are better suited to it because the military shouldn't be a place to develop individual excellence. It should train soldiers to fight in the event of a war.
Whoever thinks this idea will work lacks common sense, critical thinking, and intelligence. Here’s the problem: even if the military offered the scholarships very few would take it because they don’t want to go into the military. If anything people would take the scholarships then refuse to go into the military after and say I didn’t know there were strings attached. Then what? You send them a $200k bill to pay the military back? Put them in jail? Arrest them and haul them off to boot camp against their will? This is the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard. Not to mention the military already offers to pay for college education. So it’s no change at all. The timing might be slightly different by a year but big whoop. Take a year off, go to boot camp. Come back to college free is the current system.
As a high-school senior, you enlist, but your service is deferred by 4-5 years. In the intervening time, you are participating in a non-revenue generating sport, binge drinking in the offseason, and taking watered-down classes with other dumb jocks. Then, when you're eligibility is up, you get shipped off to the desert to blow up some brown kids.
I destroyed my body just to be able to compete in college. Now I'm glad I didn't also destroy my future.
Does the U.S. Military really have a hard time filling it’s officer ranks with smart, semi-athletic, in shape people?
My experience (about thirty years ago) was that ROTC scholarships and service academy appointments were relatively hard to get and that most officers are in pretty good shape. I would guess the average ROTC scholarship student at any given college is a better student than the average athlete at the same college.
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