Friday, June 8, 2012

Gentlemen, We Have No Learning Curve

I have been taking shots at the US Air Force Academy for the past several years.  No reason to stop now that we see nearly 80 students cadets get caught cheating and apparently have only their wrists slapped.

There is an honor code: 'According to The Cadet Honor Code, a cadet "will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does." Penalties for violating the code range from probation to expulsion.'  But apparently folks at the academy did not feel like living by it.  Why not?  Well, the recent past at the USAFA has been pretty ugly, where the focus has been on following the right God but not necessarily being all that righteous otherwise.  Yes, it is true that there has been cheating at the other military academies, but when you learn about how they set their priorities and design their system compared to other academies, these events are hardly surprising.

I am not sure we should just kill the academies and rely on ROTC and other sources of officers, especially since West Point and the Naval Academy have produced lively debates about the course of their respective branches and the future of warfare.  But I am starting to buy into the idea that perhaps the USAF should be broken up with its pieces put under the other services.

Oh, and the title here is sexist because, well, ask the women who went through the USAF academy.

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