Close The Academies?

Tom Ricks courts great unpopularity.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/16/AR2009041603483.html

Of course, if they do this, Notre Dame might never win another football game.

 

Eeeee.

 

I agreed with his underlying premise: the military academies are ineffective and inefficient.
A complete overhaul and modernization might be in better order than elimination, but elimination should definitely be an option.

 

If we wait 100 years, Starfleet Academy will open up and make it moot.

 

Ricks makes a good argument. My question would be how many colleges/universities have ROTC programs, since many were disbanded during Nam?

 

Interesting premise that will never, ever happen.

 

I agree. Very interesting premise. Especially in that he shows the huge difference between the academy grad officer and the ROTC grad officer. But, just as you say, will never happen.

 

Ricks knows his stuff and even he seems to doubt it will ever happen. What might be a better idea is to expand the service academies for other types of national service, add a school for people interested in foreign service, domestic community service, FEMA, law enforcement with the same requirements for scholarship, seven years of indentured servitude.

 

Sorry for the 3-month old bump, but Forbes thinks the academies are doing pretty well.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/02/best-colleges-ratings-opinions-ranking-2009_land.html