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Message: [QUOTE="PAHuskeyFan, post: 2897015, member: 7880"] Scoop, from your post it appears that you may have enlisted during Viet Nam War, in which case, you would have signed an "enlistment contract" with an obligation to serve a specific period of time, likely 2, 3, or 4 years. A "contract" you could not walk away from; at least not easily... remember Corporal Klinger on MASH? The difference between that and the Service Academies (Army at West Point, NY, Navy at Annapolis, MD, Air Force at Colorado Springs, CO, and Coast Guard at New London, CT), is that the "obligation" starts on the 1st day of the Junior Year. Up till then they can leave, and frankly the Services expect attrition during the first 2 years; a "weeding out process" if you will. If you check the College Board/Entrance stats you will find that the Service Academies are among the absolutely most difficult to get accepted; some of the most outstanding Students, Student-Athletes, Student-leaders, and Community servants get in, but not all. It is extremely competitive! The first 2 years give the Students the opportunity to see if they are up to the rigors of military life, the academic demands, the honor code, they get exposed to the missions of the Service during summer training, and so on. It's a much different life than their High School Classmates and Friends experience at other Colleges and Universities. It's true, not all are successful, not all stay in to graduation. I am a Coast Guard Academy Graduate (just a few years ago...;)). In my class, 417 reported in to form the class on June 25 (of "Year 1"). Four days later, 367 were sworn in...a drop of 50 people in 4 days... some due to home sickness, others due to the rigors of the "boot camp" life during the first summer, others failing key elements of the physical exam, etc. There were only 297 who completed the Freshman ("Swab") year, again, a drop of 70...due largely to the academics, home sickness, and the rigors of life at a Military Academy. When we graduated ("Year 4"), there were only 208 of us (50% attrition), 207 Commissioned as Coast Guard Officers and one as a Philippine Navy Officer. I suspect our Huskies saw how structured life is at West Point, how many demands are placed on the Students and Student-Athletes, and that when they graduate, they could easily end up in a war zone. [/QUOTE]

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