Definitely Not A Cop said:fc2112 said:
I love how so many hear think they know better than the United States Military Academy, et al, on how to run a Corps of Cadets.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they Corps at the service academies are superior to ours in preparing officers to serve our country.
weird on mine it says Gen WelshAggieBaseball06 said:
I noticed one of the "Decision Makers" listed on that petition is President of TAMU Michael Young... who hasn't been our president for 3.5 years...
This is my understanding of Riverside as well. Among the old Ags I have met, not one that was there during that time thought it was a good idea.aggie93 said:The Corps pushed the fish out to Riverside because you had thousands of cadets returning from WWII and they had no space, they also knew mixing men in their mid 20s returning from war with 18 year olds was a bad idea. It's not like anyone looks back at that time as a good one. Except for this Commandant perhaps. I knew men from that era and they certainly didn't look at it as a great thing.kb2001 said:
Probably an unpopular take on this...
It's not the worst idea ever. They did this in the 50s also, putting the fish out at Riverside campus in the old barracks, and only some upperclassmen were allowed out there.
His point is that every outfit does things their own way, and it's no longer one corps. The focus is on the outfit specific "traditions" and less about the unified corps way of doing things. His goal is to flush out the old culture of "we've always done it this way", and this is one idea to do it. Realistically, the way it's "always been done" is likely something new in the last 10 years.
This isn't new, the corps pushed the fish out to Riverside campus to flush out the culture of hazing that was getting out of hand. They shut down Fish Drill Team for several years to flush out the culture and get it back to precise D&C. Outfits get disbanded to get rid of a bad culture more often than you realize. This is a reset to get all outfits operating on the same page and in the same way, and to flush out that "sacred outfit tradition" that started 10 years ago.
I don't necessarily agree with this extreme of a change, but I understand why he wants to do it, and he's not wrong about the way things in the corps have forked and split over the years.
What you are suggesting is a generic Corps like the Academies. It simply won't work well here with half the cadets not taking contracts. We know it won't work especially because they don't want to emulate the successful outfits.
Prexys Moon said:
any update on all this?
They are angry and bitter that they are unattractive and feel they need to change society and society's definition of manly, feminine, attractive, etc. It's my theory that the ugly makes them liberal, not the liberal that makes them ugly.dreyOO said:Definitely Not A Cop said:fc2112 said:
I love how so many hear think they know better than the United States Military Academy, et al, on how to run a Corps of Cadets.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they Corps at the service academies are superior to ours in preparing officers to serve our country.
Why are libtards always so damn ugly? This guy needs to cover up his mug
TX_COWDOC said:
Great post. I agree with your comments on the role of outfit / unit pride and their contribution to a healthy Esprit de Corps. By the way, if you mentioned it, I missed it.....what outfit were you in?
Saw that today. Hopefully not dog and pony and will listen (but unlikely).stetson said:
Apparently, the commandant will be holding virtual round table discussions with former cadets on 03/27 and 04/10. Link to sign up
n1mr0d said:
copied from the email invite:
"… The Quad and Texas A&M are home to something special, there's no denying that. Evolution can occur while keeping our time honored traditions and practices at the heart of all that we do. What we are working toward today is ensuring that the Corps experience remains rooted in what makes it special, while also making progress in ways that secure relevancy for generations to come."
Gibberish and double talk. Who was it that determined that it's this commandant's charge to force evolution upon the cadet corps?
can't wait for the summary from the Rudder Association meeting to come out.
someone needs to look into the hiring process for this one. Smells of DEI agenda.
if this guy is still commandant this August, there won't be much left to celebrate when the 150th anniversary in 2026.
Time to return to having an O6 advise the Corps.
I have been a cadet at both USAFA and A&M. There were many differences and many similarities. There were things USAFA did better, imo, and things A&M did better. Cultural identity overall is a much, MUCH more important aspect of the cadet experience at A&M. That is due in large part to cadets being shuffled to new outfits every two years at the academies and cadet leadership changing every semester.fc2112 said:
I love how so many hear think they know better than the United States Military Academy, et al, on how to run a Corps of Cadets.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they Corps at the service academies are superior to ours in preparing officers to serve our country.
good inputRyan the Temp said:I have been a cadet at both USAFA and A&M. There were many differences and many similarities. There were things USAFA did better, imo, and things A&M did better. Cultural identity overall is a much, MUCH more important aspect of the cadet experience at A&M. That is due in large part to cadets being shuffled to new outfits every two years at the academies and cadet leadership changing every semester.fc2112 said:
I love how so many hear think they know better than the United States Military Academy, et al, on how to run a Corps of Cadets.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they Corps at the service academies are superior to ours in preparing officers to serve our country.
Some of the changes I've seen the commandant propose are more in line with what the service academies do, and I think there is real value to much of it, but that doesn't mean he should go balls to the wall with a radical reshaping of the Corps.
However, one of the major differences between A&M and the academies is the way Aggies tend to cling to cultural history and staunchly resist anything resembling change. It's really kind of strange to me how so many former cadets take a "no change, ever" approach to the Corps. The Corps has experienced good change and bad change, and I would hope both Corps leadership and former cadets are willing to accept the positive value of some changes, while still accepting it is sometimes necessary to roll back those changes that are less successful. Ironically, organizational change and development is one of the major lessons that was taught in my Mil Sci class when I was a zip.
Personally, I think if the commandant can make a compelling case for a change, I'm willing to give him a shot with it. If it works and makes the Corps better, great. If it doesn't, then learn from the mistake and go back to status quo.
The comment above about "how it's always been" being the last 10 years is true, but I'd probably revise that being closer to 4 or 5. All it takes for something to become "how it's always been" is for the first class that experienced it to graduate and leave no one left on the Quad who remembers it being any other way.
ETA: I was a cadet at USAFA when Gen. Welsh was commandant.
Probably because the Army has switched back to brown belts and shoes with the "new" pinks and green uniform.Definitely Not A Cop said:
What's the point of brown belts/shoes? Cheaper?
Uniforms change. I try to reserve indignation for things that truly rate it. There's something interesting about being a fish and being lumped in with the pissheads: "black belts - heads down!" but I'm far more concerned with prospective changes to the training dynamics.BQRyno said:
Getting rid of black belts is so much more symbolic than I think he's probably intending for it to be.
. Or you can play golf with him. All about this guy's ego.tamc93 said:
I am tempted to bid on the CCA dinner with him.
Dinner with the Commandant: Winner will receive a private dinner for two with the Commandant ....
If this is true (big if, but will come to light one way or another in short order), he's really going to have a hard time cultivating (can't say maintaining because I don't think he's been transparent until he's caught with his hand in the cookie jar) an image of transparency. I imagine he'd say it's just the color of belts and shoes, there's a good reason, etc etc, but in the broader context, this would not be a good look.n1mr0d said:
Source is the recent issuance of a couple thousand pair of brown shoes. No you didn't miss the memo. michalis doesn't send memos (to parents at least). He acts in secrecy. Go to Final Review this weekend and see for yourself.
