Eden,
I appreciate your thoughtful response and could nod my head through much of the logic...

- Losing 2-3 2LTs per year will not make a big dent in that year groups population.
- Yes this will raise awareness of the academy.
- Back in the day some grads went straight into civilian life, but its role has changed.

Concur on all... but

- Service to nation as a cornerstone ethic has not changed, and this is, if not a nation, an Military at War.
- Not sure that the awareness this type of attention gains is the image the Academy needs. Unlike pop culture icons, not all publicity is good publicity.
- The Academy has changed, despite its most nostalgic yearnings, it is no longer a hard science institution (sorry AOG). USMA provides a liberal arts education to its graduates - and that is dead on what its graduates require to lead in the contemporary environment.

I am not a wax nostalgic about the good ole traditions of Hudson High, but the last core ethic that the Academy should bend away from is its mission to graduate leaders committed to life of service to the Nation. Some things should remain non-negotiable - this is one.

This policy is a BAD decision.

There is an aporpo saying that you can't blame a dog for being dog... Well you can't blame a 21 yr old for being a 21 yr old, I think Caleb Campbell will regret this decision. The USMA education does not end on Miche Field on a Spring Day, it continues as they struggle to apply the lessons they learned.

Funny, I usually become less riled about a topic as time passes... This one just makes me more disappointed by the hour.

That's really all I have to say about that.

Live well and row