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2. I never said anything about semesters abroad. Affluent people from the coasts travel the world because that's what affluent people from the coasts do. Some of it's just because it's easier to fly to Paris or London from NY than it is to Des Moines from NY, some of it's just because traveling is a way of life. That background, in and of itself, is useful. So are the accompanying language skills.

I guess I misunderstood your reference here:

Why wouldn't cadets who spent the summer of their jr. year traveling in the ME or Africa be more ready?

The reference to cadets and junior year threw me. Mea Culpa.

3. Since we are obviously talking in broad statistical generalizations, I'm not certain why some were bringing up specific individuals and their backgrounds. But if you're going to do that you might as well mention the origins of Petraeus, Odierno and McChrystal. But agreed that's all irrelevant.

I made specific reference to the leadership involved in Abu Grahib in response to your statement regarding lives lost due to retarded prison guards. I stand by my contention that this mess was a direct result of poor training and leadership, therefore I found that the background of the leaders involved was relevant. I referenced alma maters to demonstrate that east coast educations did not prepare these officers to inculcate cultural awareness in the soldiers for whom they were responsible

4. No one addressed a major point. No one. The coasts are filled with millions of first generation immigrants from around the world...places where the Army will end up. They have valuable language skills and cultural knowledge. We ignore the coasts to our detriment. (And I completely disagree with the statement that "cultural sensitivity is unnecessary for COIN." That's so wrong it's not even wrong.)

I believe my response was that I did not believe recruiting on college campuses was the best way to reach this demagraphic.