Parents --What I've learned in 4 years

aspen
Sat, 02 May 2009 12:27:37 +0000

What your cadet will learn in four years.

As a followup to Bill0510’s post, I gave some thought about how to explain to new parents the kind of dramatic and positive changes they can expect to see in their sons/daughters during the next four years. While every cadet will have a unique experience, I believe there are some universal changes that take place.

Our firstie son left for West Point with no previous personal or family military experience. Other than a shotgun and 22 fired during boy scout outings, he hadn’t fired a weapon.

One long, and three short years later, he will graduate a physically fit, leadership experienced, and highly motivated officer in the United States Army. He also will take with him an excellent academic education, travel experiences and personal friendships that will last for life.

Not to diminish his accomlishments, but our son is the norm, not the exception at West Point. The officers, teachers and support staff at our academies are extremely committed to their mission. And they are good at what they do.

New Parents, our military academies will take excellent care of your ‘sapling’ sons and daughters. The myriad of experiences offered by the academies enable cadets to sprout new areas of knowledge and expertise while developing deep routed personal and leadership values. I am confident your sons/daughters will thrive in the furtile environment of our academies. Ours did.