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U. S. Military Academies

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ScriptOhio

ScriptOhio

Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
This is surprising......

Esper says military academy athletes can delay service to go pro, reversing Mattis decision

Athletes attending U.S. military academies can now delay entry into the armed forces upon graduation to play professional sports if they make the cut.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper signed a memo last week that allows students attending service academies such as West Point and the Naval Academy to seek a waiver that would delay their entry into the armed forces so they could play professional sports.

The waiver would have to be approved by the defense secretary, and the athletes must eventually fulfill their military obligation or repay the cost of their education.

President Trump asked Esper in May to come up with a policy to allow athletes to play professional sports upon graduation.

Other service academy graduates can elect to attend prestigious graduate school programs and also delay entry into the armed forces.

The decision reverses a policy by former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who argued that the academies exist to train military officers, period.

Entire article: https://www.foxnews.com/sports/espe...delay-service-go-pro-reverses-mattis-decision

Re: The waiver would have to be approved by the defense secretary, and the athletes must eventually fulfill their military obligation or repay the cost of their education.

Re: The active duty obligation is the nation's return on a West Point graduate's fully funded, four-year college education that is valued in excess of $225,000.
Degree: Bachelor's degree

Just sayin': We aren't talking about too many athletes here, there hasn't been a "Roger Staubach" or "David Robinson" in a military academy for decades now. However, it would probably be a wise idea for any of these athletes to take out an insurance policy to cover that amount in case they (for what ever reason) are unable to fulfill their military obligation after playing their professional sport.
 
i love the “or repay the cost” portion of this.

the Military Academies are very highly regarded academically. if a brilliant mind wants a degree from West Point, he should be able to get it. If he is willing, and can, pay for it, let him do it.
 
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Makes sense to me. I know a couple kids have delayed their service while doing postgrad at MIT or John Hopkins. It's not uncommon...
Previously they'd let those with NFL aspirations do the reserve gig. But that just doesnt make a lot of sense to me... demands of pro sports are pretty heavy. There's little chance they're a productive officer.
I'm sure that route is still open if they'd prefer it.
This also removes recruiting penalty... if a kid is good enough to play NFL, they'll have that opportunity and military will be around.
There's few enough athletes to handle it case by case imo.
 
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kujirakira said:
Makes sense to me. I know a couple kids have delayed their service while doing postgrad at MIT or John Hopkins. It's not uncommon...
Previously they'd let those with NFL aspirations do the reserve gig. But that just doesnt make a lot of sense to me... demands of pro sports are pretty heavy. There's little chance they're a productive officer.
I'm sure that route is still open if they'd prefer it.
This also removes recruiting penalty... if a kid is good enough to play NFL, they'll have that opportunity and military will be around.
There's few enough athletes to handle it case by case imo.
Click to expand...

Hiding talent in the reserves has been with us for some time - Reds Centerfielder, Bobby Tolan, comes instantly to mind, as does OSU HOFer, Dave Foley, New York Jets, and there were plenty more. I had been out covering troops ion the field in Vietnam where infantry companies were often between 50 and 70% of their authorized strength, meanwhile, Guard and Reserve units had been authorized to go to 150% strength and some went above that.
 
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Interestingly, there’s a guy who plays in the Premier Lacrosse League who is a West Pointer (recent grad). Seems as though Army gives him the weekend off to go play lacrosse. Admittedly, not exactly the same as a 160 game MLB schedule... but still pretty solid of them to let him ditch a bunch of weekends every summer to play in the PLL.

One of the kids I’ve coached for years is committed to Army in the ‘21 class. Of note, he’s playing in the Shoe this weekend (FOGO for Culver Military Academy) against Nick Meyers US U19 national team. Wish I could be there to watch.
 
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cincibuck said:
Hiding talent in the reserves has been with us for some time - Reds Centerfielder, Bobby Tolan, comes instantly to mind, as does OSU HOFer, Dave Foley, New York Jets, and there were plenty more. I had been out covering troops ion the field in Vietnam where infantry companies were often between 50 and 70% of their authorized strength, meanwhile, Guard and Reserve units had been authorized to go to 150% strength and some went above that.
Click to expand...

Guard and Reserve were different animals back in 'Nam. Champagne Units... to be honest, I find running to Canada and bone spurs to be less offensive than playing flyboy at home while others died. I'd call it Stolen Valor for such a person to use their fake "military service" as a propaganda piece.

"I particularly condemn the way our political leaders supplied the manpower for that war. The Policies - determing who would be drafted and who would be deferred, who would serve and who would escape, who would die and who would live - were an antidemocratic disgrace. I can never forgive a leadership that said, in effect: These young men - poorer, less educated, less privileged - are expendable (someone described them as "economic cannon fodder"), but the rest are too good to risk. I am angry that so many of the sons of the powerful and well placed ... managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units. Of the many tragedies of Vietnam, this raw class discrimination strikes me as the most damaging to the ideal that all Americans are created equal."
- Colin Powell, 1995

This has not been the case in GWOT. Reserve and Guard units have participated and through varied ways -- both as whole units and providing individuals to fill shortfalls in Active units.
 
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sparcboxbuck said:
Interestingly, there’s a guy who plays in the Premier Lacrosse League who is a West Pointer (recent grad). Seems as though Army gives him the weekend off to go play lacrosse. Admittedly, not exactly the same as a 160 game MLB schedule... but still pretty solid of them to let him ditch a bunch of weekends every summer to play in the PLL.

One of the kids I’ve coached for years is committed to Army in the ‘21 class. Of note, he’s playing in the Shoe this weekend (FOGO for Culver Military Academy) against Nick Meyers US U19 national team. Wish I could be there to watch.
Click to expand...
Best friend’s younger brother played lacrosse at Culver’s then went to Army (not for lacrosse). Smart kid.
 
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Glad to see this change.

I was a Freshman at Air Force when Schlegel transferred. Always assumed the opportunity to go pro was a big part of the reason why. The three service academies (sorry, Merchant Marine and Coast Guard Academies, but you don't count) graduate about 1,000 cadets each annually. Would not be a big deal for (less than) a handful of the 3,000 grads to delay their service to chase a pro sports career.

That said, you do not incur any commitment - financial or service-related - until you step into class your junior year. The first two years are free.

One of my favorite sayings amongst students was, 'It's a $250,000 education...shoved up your ass one nickel at a time.'
 
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kujirakira said:
Guard and Reserve were different animals back in 'Nam. Champagne Units... to be honest, I find running to Canada and bone spurs to be less offensive than playing flyboy at home while others died. I'd call it Stolen Valor for such a person to use their fake "military service" as a propaganda piece.

"I particularly condemn the way our political leaders supplied the manpower for that war. The Policies - determing who would be drafted and who would be deferred, who would serve and who would escape, who would die and who would live - were an antidemocratic disgrace. I can never forgive a leadership that said, in effect: These young men - poorer, less educated, less privileged - are expendable (someone described them as "economic cannon fodder"), but the rest are too good to risk. I am angry that so many of the sons of the powerful and well placed ... managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units. Of the many tragedies of Vietnam, this raw class discrimination strikes me as the most damaging to the ideal that all Americans are created equal."
- Colin Powell, 1995

This has not been the case in GWOT. Reserve and Guard units have participated and through varied ways -- both as whole units and providing individuals to fill shortfalls in Active units.
Click to expand...
 
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2022 Army vs. Navy Game: Midshipmen unveil NASA-themed uniforms for 123rd meeting with Black Knights

navy.jpg


Army and Navy have come up with some clever alternate uniforms for their rivalry game in recent years, and Navy's 2022 threads are out of this world -- pun very much intended. The school released its uniforms for the showdown on Monday, and they are dedicated to the 54 Navy graduates who have gone on to become astronauts. That is, according to the school, more astronauts than any other institution has produced.
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Take a look at the hype video for Navy's uniforms below:



Entire article: https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...niforms-for-123rd-meeting-with-black-knights/
 
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