04-14-2014, 10:47 PM
JASmith Wrote:LRRPF, that is an excellent example!
I also knew a couple of folks who knew where they were going while still in high school. One of them became a SEAL.
As it happens, those headed for one of the service academies are almost required to make an initial decision before their sophomore year in high school. That's when the contacts have to start to get congressional appointments and the serious check-list work starts. The academies look for an awful lot of things, and there ARE check lists available to help guide the young folks in what they need to do.
The high-school level NROTC, AFROTC, and Army programs help with getting a good start for all ranks but, I agree, we in the US seem to look askance at the real or would-be warrior.
The ROTC programs are usually quite pathetic, unless you have a really exceptional leadership climate that knows what it takes to develop young leaders. The field problems are usually a joke, and the overall mentality of the ROTC students is anything but battle-focused, at least what I've seen of Army ROTC programs.
I am aware of some exceptions, and a very good friend of mine was extremely influential in making his college ROTC program a phenomenal one....as a student. The big difference with him is that he just finished 4 years of enlisted service as a Recon Marine with one of the two Force Reconnaissance Companies, and was assigned a senior leadership position within his unit. He went on to serve as an Infantry and Special Forces officer in the Army, and had an illustrious career, most of which can't be discussed, and never will be since he passed away in 2010.
The real measure of the effectiveness of good leaders in a student training environment manifests itself in those you have an ability to influence. In Tom's case, many of the kids who worked with him went on to become pillars in the Special Operations Community. It kinda has an impact on your program when a Recon Marine returns from SEA before people really even knew anything was going on there, and is able to spread the wealth of experience with aspiring young warriors.
If you can cut out desk jockeys and the mentally weak men who seek to hide in a uniform for 20 years so they can get a retirement, and maintain a staff who have internalized the warrior ethos, the program will be night and day. One will crank out nerds who learn a lot of really bad habits, then pass them on in the military.
The other will channel what's already inside a lot of people, hone it, coach it, mentor it, and develop it into its full potential.