In New Officers’ Careers, Peace Is No Dividend by Helene Cooper and Thom Shanker, New York Times
Col. Jeff Lieb, the deputy commandant of the United States Military Academy and a veteran of the war in Iraq, paced before a group of cadets standing in formation and shouted at them about their lives after graduation.
“I took a thousand kids to war, and I brought a thousand back,” Colonel Lieb told the eager, soon-to-be second lieutenants on a recent day. “Every time I deployed, I got out there and talked to my soldiers about safety. You’re going to have to do the same thing.”
Except these cadets probably will not — or at least not anytime soon.
For the first time in 13 years, the best and the brightest of West Point’s graduating class will leave this peaceful Hudson River campus bound for what are likely to be equally peaceful tours of duty in the United States Army…
Comments
The author should have read the article that the NYT wrote back in 2003/4 when the US Army for the first time had less than 50% of its general officers with no combat experience (a fact quickly rectified by events). Or a similar article they wrote about new officer in March 88 as the Cold War was winding down and draw-down was looming.
I'm left wanting more, and perhaps some deeper analysis,insight, or perspective from more senior officers at USMA included in the piece. But you get what you get.
I sincerely disliked this article. Not is it painting lack of deployment opportunity as a novelty, but taking Cadet concerns about "getting a shot a combat" at face value and then leaving it at that seems....odd. I don't mean to suggest that reporting has to have a point beyond information. Sure these cadets might feel cheated out of their chance at a patch. Sure that is simply a fact and the article is reporting how these cadets feel, and nothing more. But to not have a moderating voice in this piece that puts these cadets' future lives in perspective makes the whole thing a strange exercise for the likes of the NYT.
Perhaps I expect my reaction to a piece in the NYT should be a little more than....so what? they'll get over it.