Attending a Service Academy Worth It?

In an attempt to answer OP's question:

First of all, do you want to be an officer in the U.S. military?

If yes, do you want to exchange some of the typical college experiences (whatever that may mean to you) for some better funded training opportunities and a slight advantage in receiving your first job and duty station of choice within the military?

If yes to the second question, a service academy could be worth it for you, I would look more into them. If no, then ROTC or OCS are also viable avenues to get to where you may want to be as an officer in the military.

At the end of the day, ROTC, OCS, and service academies all produce officers of arguably similar quality - and as with all things, it is what you make of it. Each commissioning source brings its own strengths and weaknesses to the table to diversify the force.

As I alluded to above, the real advantage of commissioning through a service academy is that there are more government dollars that go into your commissioning, which means you get to do some cooler, more realistic training than some of the ROTC counterparts who have to 'play army' or whatever, and the process for determining your job in the military is a little more easy to understand. You would also come out with a bit of a larger network of second lieutenant friends since you went to school with 25% of them or whatever the number is. You would not necessarily be a better leader or officer just for having been breathing at a service academy for 4 years, though, contrary to what some grads may tell you.

I am currently a cadet at USMA, and specifically the one who got letsrun famous a year ago for an embarrassing article claiming that I was 30 seconds away from a world record or something. I can speak a little to what my experience has been like over the past 4 years, but I can't necessarily speak to the actual Army life and how all that works, seeing as I'm not there yet. Take that as you will.

Damn he used the word libtard??!? Hahaha that's hilarious!

I also find the fact that you made multiple posts under different names spewing incoherent shit ending with libtard.

Sorry that you barely graduated high school with a 2.0 GPA and now you are a brainless sheep working for the government for less than minimum wage. No need to get butthurt over the fact that you couldn't attend college and that you actually believe that you are important or making a difference.

congrats, I hope you get your E-2 promotion soon.

Jayz wrote:

Damn he used the word libtard??!? Hahaha that's hilarious!

I also find the fact that you made multiple posts under different names spewing incoherent shit ending with libtard.

Sorry that you barely graduated high school with a 2.0 GPA and now you are a brainless sheep working for the government for less than minimum wage. No need to get butthurt over the fact that you couldn't attend college and that you actually believe that you are important or making a difference.

congrats, I hope you get your E-2 promotion soon.

Ha ha. You probably just made my coffee for me at Starbucks libtard.

I left you a dollar tip. Here is another tip...go back to high school you flunky.

As someone who attended a service academy but left after a year I can say that it depends on the person. I met some of the most impressive people that I've ever met there, and I'm glad that those who defend our country include people like this. Integrity is stressed. Like anywhere there are bad apples with whom/under whom I wouldn't want to serve. Some of the most valuable leadership lessons I learned there in fact came from bad leaders (as in "I will never do that to my people as an officer").

That being said, if you're going there for a free education and don't want to be in the military it's not "free." You only get so many years of life, why would you want to spend 9+ years doing something you don't want to do? I ran D1 elsewhere after leaving USNA and I'm impressed that the service academy guys do as well as they do. Plebe year (first year) you don't get much sleep, plebe summer takes the place of a lot of your summer training, and you are always super busy.

Also, if I were considering going in right now I would wonder about our foreign policy and the role I would play in it. We need a military to defend our country. Think about the other stuff we've been doing. We invade Iraq, set up a government that we then allow to enshrine in their constitution that "there will be no laws contrary to Islam," then we announce that we're going to withdraw forces because Obama thinks that's politically expedient (and despite warnings of what happens in a power vacuum, especially in the Islamic world), proceed to create that power vacuum, watch Christians, Yazidis and the "wrong" type of Muslims get slaughtered by Islamists and then declare that the whole thing doesn't have anything to do with Islam. So where we do have a responsibility (since we precipitated the whole tragedy) to intervene and the ability to set up a clear and defined mission we don't, but when it comes to a preemptive war with ill-defined and even questionable goals (who wants to set up an Islamic state?) we're on it. I'm not at all denigrating the service of our service members, I'm just saying in the current climate I'd personally be less than motivated to join up.

Hobby jogger.

X fit the fake one wrote:

Hobby jogger.

...are hobby joggers.

markschultz25 wrote:

I read a lot of testimonials, depressing ones, about life at the service academies. Are the 4 years of misery worth the reward?

Sure. You'll get to command no-loads like wanker's mate libtard-basher.

ringknocker wrote:

markschultz25 wrote:

I read a lot of testimonials, depressing ones, about life at the service academies. Are the 4 years of misery worth the reward?

Sure. You'll get to command no-loads like wanker's mate libtard-basher.

...your moms face. Son.

Looks like my world travels have produced a few ba$tard$.

Now that is American Imperialism!

adkellas wrote:

I am currently a cadet at USMA...

If you're ever in Nashville, look me up and I'll buy you dinner... even if you chose the Army over the Air Force. :) Thanks for serving.

Well, as expected this topic took some strange detours. Here is a non-troll response from a USNA grad.

BLUF: For me it was worth it because I really enjoy being a Marine Corps Officer and it will look pretty good on a resume if/when I get out. It really depends on the individual and his/her personality and goals. Every commissioning source (Service Academy, OCS, ROTC, mustang, etc) have pros and cons and produce good officers. The military in general is not for everyone and that’s fine.

I did not enjoy my time at the Academy but would not consider it miserable. I looked at with a “Cs get degrees” philosophy and just coasted by to get my commission. If I could go back I would have taken advantage of the copious leadership, athletic, and educational opportunities it offers. I think they would have improved my Academy experience AND made me a better officer. So here are a few general observations from a boat schooler’s perspective. Can’t speak to the other academies but I’m sure many things will carry over.

Pros:

- Top notch education. USNA consistently ranks among top American universities (whether or not those rankings are worth anything is a whole different debate). The STEM majors are more demanding but the humanities programs are pretty strong as well. All Midshipmen graduate with a Bachelor of Science Degree due to number of STEM core classes. I have a BS in English.

- Leadership Opportunities. After your first year, everyone has the opportunity to assume leadership positions within the Brigade. Peer leadership isn’t easy and you learn a lot. You also get to do some interesting training over the summer.

- It’s *free*. At least in terms of financial cost. You owe Uncle Sam a minimum of 5 years active service after graduating. Pilots often owe much more due to the long training pipeline.

- You can leave. If you don’t like during your first two years you can leave with no penalty. Most credits will transfer over to civilian schools.

- Guaranteed Job. I really enjoy being a USMC Officer and the pay and benefits are very good. By the time your commitment is up you will be making about $86,500/year (assuming O3, 5 years of service, Camp Pendleton BAH). Much of that is tax free.

Cons:

- Heavy course load. I carried 19 credits nearly every semester. One semester as a junior I carried 21 and I carried 16 for my final semester.

- Limited free time. In addition to the academic load you have mandatory meals, intramural athletics, parade practices, lectures, football games…. The list goes on. Summers are dedicated to military training.

- Limited freedom. You get more privileges every year but, by and large, your freedom to do what you want is limited. This shouldn’t surprise anyone.

- Payback. If you fail out or get kicked out after your second year you may have to pay the government back. If you hate your job after graduating you are stuck there for 5 years. When the government invests in you it expects something in return.

- Career options. You get a say in what your job is when you graduate but not the final say. I had a few buddies who wanted to be pilots and SEALS…. they are submariners and ship drivers now. And they don’t always take your major into consideration when I assigning you a job. I’ve seen plenty of computer science majors serving as comptrollers (accountants) and econ majors serving as communication officers.