The Military Academy Essay Research Paper Duty

The Military Academy Essay, Research Paper

Duty, Honor, Country

There are many military academies in the United States. It never occurred to me that I would be interested in the military after reading Ender s Game written by Scott Card; a book about a kid that saved earth from the buggers. War games, all the boys are organized into armies (Card 17). That s how it is in the military. Hard work. Studies Military history. Strategy and tactics (Card 17). I know a couple of things about the military but I want to know about the schools. I saw a few movies of battles and wars. In movies it depicted the cadets as disciplined individuals that fought for their country. I want to know about the best military academy in the US and how it performs today.

As I was about to start my research I went online and searched for military schools and I got a number of results on military schools, but one that stood out was an academy called West Point. I hoped to find a lot of information about this academy. I didn t waste any time going to the library so I went straight to Barnes and Nobles and bought a book titled Duty, Honor, Country A History of West Point. I was thrilled because it was exactly what I was looking for. Charles Dickens once said In this beautiful place, the fairest among the fair and lovely Highlands of the North River, shut in by deep green heights and ruined forts is the Military School of America (Ambrose inside cover).

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The launch of this academy was due to America s knowledge with the military. West Point looked upon the direction of Europeans; for their guidance and inspiration but most importantly it gave them examples of what should be avoided. They adapted the ideas of the Europeans and made use of them by extracting the usable experience and creating it into their own institution (Ambrose 1).

Americans recognized the need for an academy. The first who wanted this was Colonial Knox of the artillery (weaponry). Before the war he owned The London Book Store in Boston. He was also a member of a militia company. By himself he studied science and engineering, and when the war began he was signed up to join the army around the Boston area. Later on, George Washington made him a chief of artillery. He was very organized and called many academies for the instruction of the art military (Ambrose 9). I wasn t really excited about all of this so I turned to the cadet life chapter. The faculties pushed, hammered and pulled the boys to be perfect Christian gentlemen. The methods they used were clear: attendance at church, cold rooms in the winter, hot in the summer, mediocre food, and no leisure time. The academy didn t just want the boys to be perfect Christian gentleman; they wanted Christian soldiers with honor, duty, loyalty and courage. This was accentuated here more than anywhere else (Ambrose 147). For Cadets the rules were much stricter and the lives were worse than for a college student. The worst was yet to come, the superintendents and their faculties made the system even harsher (147).

The faculty made it hard for the cadets because they wanted to turn then into finished soldiers. Thayer who was one of the faculty forbade the soldiers to drink, chew tobacco, play chess or cards, gamble, read novels, watch romances or plays, bathe in the river and other things. And if one of them broke the rules they would have extra tours of duty. One Cadet by the name of George Cushing walked guard all one September Sunday for defacing public

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property he had his feet on the table in his room. Other cadets experienced the same incidents for having cards or kicking a horse. Occasionally the cadets would fight back and Thayer would have to give out warnings against shuffling, groaning or creating a disturbance through services (150). I think this is too weird, why would they do this to the poor cadets, treat them like rats. I don t know, but maybe the end result will show.

The cadets furniture consisted of an iron bedstead, a table, a straight-backed chair, a mirror, a lamp, a mattress and blanket. During the winter, the rooms got so cold that they couldn t study in them, and in the summer the rooms got extremely hot that others got headaches (153).

I wanted to know what was happening now at West Point. So I went on the Internet and found an official site about the school. The history of the academy goes all the way back to the Revolutionary War (USMA www).

The Academy is located approximately 50 miles north of New York City on the Hudson River. It was found about two centuries ago, the Military Academy has accomplished its mission by developing cadets in four critical areas: intellectual, physical, military, and moral-ethical – a four-year process called the “West Point Experience.” (USMA www).

A challenging Academic Program that consists of a sample of 31 courses provides a balanced education in the arts and sciences. This course establishes the foundation for elective courses that give cadets greater depth in the field of study or an optional major. All cadets receive a Bachelor of Science degree, which is designed specifically to meet the intellectual requirements of a commissioned officer in today’s Army. Classes are small,

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usually less than 18, and the faculty to student ratio is 1:8 (USMA www). That is a lot of courses a c