September 4, 2019--You're In the Army Now

With John Allan we were having breakfast at the Bristol Diner and as so often happens a thought out of seemingly nowhere came up and off we went in a gyrating free association.

"How does one get admitted to West Point," I wondered.

"You can look it up later," John said. We had been talking about Ernest Hemingway and his alter ego Nick Adams. I have been on a tear recently, gobbling down as much Hemingway as possible. I hadn't read anything of his for at least 30 years and was enjoying the reconnection. I felt his best work was holding up better than I thought it might. His minimalist style still felt fresh and exciting.

And John had been reading John Updike's Beck books, Beck also is an alter ego and John and I had been comparing Updike's to Philip Roth's novels where there are also numerous alter egos. Especially the recurrent, ever agitating Nathan Zuckerman. 

Rona was reading Edward Hoagland, at John's recommendation, and though there are no alter egos apparent in his wonderful work, she was quite interested in the alter ego conversation. "Not many women alter egos that I can point to," she said, "It feels like a bit of a man's thing."

"Why is that?" John mused.

"Maybe you guys are not comfortable talking directly about your feelings and inner lives and so turn to alter egos to do so for you."

"What does this have to do with getting into West Point?" I said, tugging on us to turn to that.

"Maybe," Rona said, winking at John, "because it's boring compared to the book talk."

"Let him be," John came to my defense. "We'll get back to books."

"Back in your day," Rona said, "centuries ago--as a Jew growing up in Brooklyn, you were thinking Brooklyn College and dental school. Not West Point."

"True, not West Point but I was thinking Columbia and med school. Though I wound up as a Lit major. Go figure."

"I was just teasing you," Rona said. I knew I was sounding defensive.

"So how does a WASP from Texas get admitted to West Point?" John asked. "I too never thought about this. And I was a WASP from New Jersey but thought of myself as too intellectual to give any thought to going to college to learn how to operate a tank."

"But if either of us thought about trying to get into West Point," I asked, "how would that work? Actually, how does it work now? All the service academies are diverse these days. There are plenty of minorities and even women."

"Even women?" I knew that would not get by Rona.

"Actually, I think it's great that there is all that diversity."

"I do too," John and I said simultaneously.

"Look it up when you get home," John said, "Between us we probably know almost nothing about how the admission process works."

"One thing I think I remember is that you have to be recommended by a member of Congress."

John and Rona nodded and with that we turned back to book chat. This time to talk about Jean Shephard's In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash. Rona knew very little about Shephard and John, who was and is a fan, has been telling her about him and last week passed along his battered copy of the book for her to read.

"I also remember Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside!" I was all excited. 

"Huh?" Rona said.

"'Doc' Blanchard and Glen Davis. All American football players on the Army team. West Point. One ran through the line--Mr. Inside--and the other around the ends--Mr. Outside. The 1940s. I was a kid."

I was feeling very good about myself. John and Rona took to ignoring me and went back to talking about Jean Shepherd and storytelling.

Back at the house I did some googling.

Yes, one does need a nomination by a member of Congress or the Secretary of Defense, Vice President, or President. And one needs to take the SATs and do very well on the and in high school. Also, one has to submit a written application much the same as applicants do to any selective institution. And service academies such as the Naval Academy (and all operate the same way) require candidates to be interviewed. Also, athletics counts. It doesn't hurt to be a talented running back.

It is a very competitive process and is attractive to many because graduates earn bachelor of science degrees and there are no fees or tuition. Cadets in effect get a free ride but must agree to serve in the military for at least three years after graduating.

When I reported what I learned to Rona she said, "This sounds terrible."

"Really?"

"Do you think this is the best way for West Point and the others to select our further military leaders?"

"Sounds pretty rigorous to me."

"You trust members of Congress to make these decisions? To pay off local supporters by nominating their kids for West Point or the Air Force Academy? I think it a recipe for all sorts of corruption and malfeasance."

"You're probably right. I never thought about it this way. Sounds a little scary."

"Maybe this helps explain why we've been making such a mess around the world. We're not recruiting the best people for these essential roles."

Sorry I brought the whole thing up, I said, "So next time let's talk about Hemingway and Jean Shephard."

"Works for me," Rona said.