Logo May 11, 2009
Posted by midswatch in Home.comments closed
Finals are finished, so I’ve had a little time to try to make a logo. In order to put it up, I have to post it somewhere online first–this is the only place I can put it!
Beat Army, Yes–Bulldoze West Point, No May 4, 2009
Posted by midswatch in Navy, Writing.Tags: Beat Army, Naval Academy, Service Academies, Thomas Ricks, Washington Post, West Point
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I can hit my brother. He can hit me. But if YOU hit my brother, watch out. I’m coming at you!
It is ingrained in our psyche, BEAT ARMY. From Induction Day on, the plebes learn to thirst for the victory over West Point. For my entire first year of college, I yelled, “Go Navy, Beat Army!” every time I squared a corner. I drank concoctions of ketchup, soy sauce, milk, mustard, hot sauce, and mayonnaise, labeled Beat Army’s, all in order to show my devotion to the cause of… you guessed it, beating Army. I take pride in saying that I have never witnessed a Navy defeat at the famous Army-Navy Football game. I’ll even say it right now, GO NAVY! BEAT ARMY!
Like with siblings, Army, Navy, and Air Force all compete for dominance. Who’s the better athlete, student, or warrior? Sister academies fight for prestige, but in the end we all stand on the same side of the line—United States military. So when Tom Ricks writes an article entitled, “Why We Should Get Rid of West Point,” it obviously stirs some talk around the Naval Academy.
Read it for yourself: click here to view “Why We Should Get Rid of West Point.”
I am not going to give a rebuttal. I don’t have time because I have my second of three finals in a 24-hour period this afternoon (six finals total.) But I will point out that Mr. Ricks fails to do what I have been taught to do since my freshman year of high school. He neglects to support his claims. The academies provide community-college educations? The war colleges are second-rate? Where is the supporting evidence? Send us to “more rigorous institutions”? Please at least explain how other places are more rigorous. I believe the topic warrants more than four brief paragraphs.
Instead of writing a response about why West Point is fine right where it is, I’ll direct you to read a good article from a current cadet, class of 2011. Click here: “In Defense of West Point: A Cadet Responds to Thomas Ricks.”
Maybe Mr. Ricks needed a story. Perhaps he wanted some attention, or he decided to cause a debate. He succeeded at all three—but at the cost of good journalism.
