Carved from Granite: West Point since 1902

Ch9: Conclusion:Character and Intellect

301 SINCE ITS FOUNDING in 1802, the Military Academy’s purpose has remained fixed: to produce leaders of character for the army. Since its centennial in 1902, the Academy’s methods of achieving that purpose have undergone dramatic change. Most of those changes were positive. The academic, military, and physical programs, for example, evolved steadily to a high level of excellence. A culture of positive leadership, buoyed by the theoretical concepts of the behavioral sciences, complemented experiential methods of leader development. A comprehensive program of instruction in honor, respect, and professional ethics replaced hard-edged assumptions about human character and its supposed inability to improve. Reforms in the admissions process succeeded for the most part in raising the overall quality of the Corps of Cadets. These positive changes were compromised, however, by systemic problems that grew increasingly worse in the aftermath of the 1976 cheating incident. The problems, most evident in the areas of governance, admissions, and intercollegiate athletics, blurred the Academy’s focus on character and intellect as the key developmental goals. West Point was and is an impressive institution, but until these problems are remedied, it will operate below its potential as a leader development institution for the army and nation. I. The Lodestars—Character and Intellect At his fifty-year reunion at West Point in 1965, former President Dwight D. Eisenhower was overheard telling his classmate, Gen. Omar N. Bradley, “You Chapter Nine Conclusion Character and Intellect 302 CHAPTER NINE know, Brad, this goddamn place hasn’t changed a friggin’ bit since we graduated in 1915.”1 While it is difficult to know what prompted Eisenhower’s illtempered comment, there can be no doubt that it was far off the mark. During the five decades following his graduation, the Academy had in fact changed dramatically, and the pace of change only accelerated in the subsequent five decades. Much of the change resulted from the decline of paternalism at West Point. Academy leaders originally had designed a structured, controlling environment to insulate cadets from the corrupting influences of life outside the gates. The extent to which they achieved that goal during the nineteenth century was uncertain; by the start of the twentieth century, however, they had little doubt that the disadvantages of the paternal environment outweighed the advantages . Paternalism stifled cadets’ learning, stunted their social development, and denied them leadership opportunities. It was hardly the tool for preparing young leaders for the challenges they would face as army officers in a turbulent world. Once Academy leaders recognized these problems, they gradually lifted one restriction after another. The pace of change accelerated as they observed the benefits of treating cadets more like adults than children. The academic and military programs were the greatest beneficiaries of the decline in paternalism. At the start of the twentieth century, cadets took a rigid academic curriculum based heavily on mathematics, science, and engineering. A century later, they enjoyed a rich academic program that imparted intellectual breadth through a diversified core curriculum and intellectual depth through the implementation of an academic majors program. Similarly, military training expanded in scope and improved in quality, thus giving West Point graduates a solid base of professional knowledge as they began their military careers. Cadets still complained about the strictures of Academy life, but they could not deny the excellence of the developmental opportunities available to them. The diversity and scope of these opportunities had a positive effect on the quality of West Point graduates and on the stature of institution . By the early twenty-first century, the Academy had achieved a reputation as an elite undergraduate institution and one of the premier leader development institutions in the world. The changes at West Point resulted also from a decline in attritional attitudes , although the trend took longer to manifest itself than the waning of paternalism. By the late twentieth century, a culture of positive leadership drastically reduced the attrition caused by hazing and offered cadets a model for developing effective leadership styles. Separations for academic failure declined as deficient cadets took remedial courses during the summers and benefited from academic-support services; provided they were motivated to succeed, CONCLUSION 303 cadets received ample opportunities to pass their courses even if they arrived at West Point poorly prepared for college work. Tactical officers increasingly assumed the role of coach and mentor in place of the stern, unforgiving...