A Letter to the West Point Class of 2014: No Combat Patch? That’s No Problem! By Major Crispin Burke, Best Defense
An article in the New York Times the other day examined the West Point class of 2014, which faces the dubious distinction of being the first class in nearly a dozen years to enter a peacetime army.
It's a daunting experience for a new lieutenant to lead soldiers twice their age, even more so to do it as a as a "slick sleeve" -- the derogatory term given to soldiers who lack the distinctive "combat patch" on their right shoulder. Let me offer the Class of 2014 two pieces of advice…