Center for a New American Security

Look, I have been more or less staying out of this brouhaha caused by Tom's argument that we should shutter the service academies. But I'll back Tom up on one thing: in my experience, service academy graduates are indeed a little socially awkward -- at least when compared to their ROTC peers.

• One theme that surprised me was that West Pointers were socially awkward. "ROTC, OCS graduates were much better at dealing with the real world, much more socially aware," stated one commander. "The Military Academy guys were at a distinct disadvantage in this area."
  
• This social ineptness actually would alienate others so much that it affected their ability to lead. "Technically, they had the skills to be as good as anyone else, but they lacked the people savvy that made them good leaders," said one commander. "Whether it was rolling their eyes, or arrogance, or standoffishness, those sorts of things to me are leadership aspects, and that to me is probably one of the biggest places where Military Academy graduates did not always do very well . . . They demonstrated a degree of social immaturity that directly impacts their ability to lead."

Some of my best friends from the service are academy guys, and they are pleasant enough to drink an occasional beer with, but I suspect many of you out there are nodding your heads when I say that sometimes service academy graduates can be ... just ... weird. I guess when you take four years (~18 to ~21 years) in which their peers are experimenting and expanding horizons and experiencing freedom and instead put kids in wool uniforms with regimented schedules, it has an effect on where they end up in comparison with their peers. I can confirm being amazed by how much the guys from West Point enjoyed drinking to excess at the Infantry School -- as if alcohol was this amazing new discovery!

One surprise to me is that almost every report mentioned that West Pointers tend to abuse alcohol more than other young Army officers. "Binge drinking seemed to be a favorite activity," said the 2004 survey of battalion commanders.

Another of the 2004 reports contained this troubling quote from a commander:

I will tell you that a lot of the young, more specifically West Point lieutenants, seem to live together, hang out together, and party together. It was almost like letting someone out of a cage and watching them get into trouble. Those that stayed out late and had several alcohol problems were all West Point lieutenants."

By contrast, said another officer, the ROTC and OCS officers seemed to have gotten all that out of their system by the point they became second lieutenants.

Here's a tip to recent USMA graduates: re-%$#@ing-lax. Just chill. Enjoy your freedom and treat it like you have just been released from prison. Be thankful for your release, sure, but don't do anything that's going to get you in trouble. Just be pleasant and laid back and listen to your NCOs. Hang out with them instead of your fellow officers, because the last thing you need to do right now is to hang out with people just like you. Read. Spend as much time in civilian clothes, in civilian environments, as possible. Try to go to graduate school if the army lets you. Because in the same way that I think ROTC graduates might be a step or two behind USMA graduates in the first few years of service with respect to military acclimatization, USMA graduates are a step or five behind with respect to being normal functioning Americans. And again, I like you guys and girls. But just, you know, recognize that you are the products of a unique institution that may have socialized you in such a way that renders you a little "off" compared to your peers. Recognizing that will help you get along better with civilians and your soldiers both.