<p>Bill, if I were to take a stab at the observations, as confusing as they may be, I would guess that the contention you cite " the fleet does not care where an officer graduates from" has more to do with the reality that comes with the presence of that officer (from the USNA/OCS/ROTC) on board a ship, sub wherever and the expectations of competency that everyone on board has for them. The fact is not all the officers in the Navy/Marine Corps are going to be Academy grads, that does not in any way absolve the graduates from other institutions from the responsibility of doing their job with the same level of competency and motivation. I think what is actually being said is the Fleet doesn’t care about credentials, it cares about competency. Obviously you could make the case that among junior officers an academy grad might have a leg up given the totality of their experience. </p>
<p>I will say that I believe the fact that our Navy/Army/Air Force is made up of officers that come in from a variety of institutions results in a net positive for our armed services, much more so than a liability. Bringing people together with a variety of skill sets and experiences should result in a capacity and flexibility to respond to a more varied set of circumstances. That may not always be the case, but overall, I think it’s a good thing. I hope that makes sense.</p>