Service academies lead U.S. forward

Today, about seven million people will watch what is called “America’s Game”: the football competition between the Army and Navy. It has been performed since 1890 and, since 1898, has never been cancelled.

Seven million people is a lot of viewers, but it’s only a fraction of the number of Americans expected to watch it. Not for the quality of play on the pitch – which is quite good – but for the quality of character off it.

Fewer people know about West Point, Annapolis or the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. This is not surprising: The number of living Americans who have served in the military is about 7.8 million, or about 6 percent of the U.S. population, up from 18 percent in 1980.

Interestingly, as universities, the military, naval and air force academies are more popular than ever. They attract large numbers of applicants each year – between 13,000 and 15,000 each for around 1,300 places at each school. However, many high school students considering starting an academy apply in groups.

So while 1.7 million students will graduate from high school this year and about 250,000 will apply to the 300 most selective colleges, only about 10 percent of them will consider enrolling in an academy. In contrast, Brown University will likely receive more than 50,000 applicants, Notre Dame about 28,000, and Berkeley more than 125,000.

Although the academies offer free tuition and housing – certainly an incentive for some – the five years of military service required after graduation are not considered guaranteed employment. Rather, it is an obligation and an honor, an experience shared by generations who consider themselves part of the Long Gray Line at West Point or an Annapolis graduate.

For anyone who has attended Beast Barracks or Plebe Summer (as I did in the summer of 1969) – the two-month training camp that precedes the first academic year at an Academy – it is absolutely obvious that money has almost nothing to do with a young person’s decision to endure four years of life or service at the Academy after being commissioned.

Unlike their college-bound friends, cadets and mid-termers know that their career paths will have one big difference: inherent danger.

Naval Academy midshipmen are reminded of these dangers almost every day as they pass Memorial Hall, which honors the many Academy graduates who gave their lives in service to the nation. West Point and Colorado Springs pay similar tributes, and all are remembered by regular headlines about international military special operations where recent graduates are in danger.

I was reminded of these risks—and the general public’s general ignorance—recently when I visited my other alma mater, Brown, for a Veterans Day celebration.

After speeches from dignitaries and the very impressive Brown sophomore Kloey Albertson, Army Staff Sergeant, 12 ROTC cadets were sworn in.

About 250 people were in attendance, including most of the 75 undergraduate students, 38 graduate students who are veterans and the 49 undergraduate students who participate in ROTC programs. In short, it was clear to me that there were few, if any, non-military affiliated students present.

I felt no hostility toward this very light military presence on campus, but I certainly saw little connection between the civilian undergraduates and the military contingent.

The gap – social, experiential, and likely political – between most Brown – and Ivy – undergraduates and those who have served in the military is significant. And it’s unfortunate and detrimental to the country. In all likelihood, Ivy League graduates will be among the next generation’s leaders in law, business, and government, but not in the military.

On the other hand, many of tomorrow’s military leaders will come from military academies. It would benefit both groups and the nation to have more interaction and exposure to each other’s experiences and perspectives.

To that end, I would like to see regular Ivy-Academy soccer competitions and a semester-long exchange program between Ivy League schools and academies. They would learn from each other and, more importantly, we, as a nation, would be better off for it.

Cohen is an attorney with Pollock Cohen in New York and a member of the Naval Academy Class of 1973 and Brown University Class of 1975.