The Thayer System

Colleges & Universities Service Academy Parents
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<p>Food for thought…</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/936jvsxm.asp?pg=2[/url]”>http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/936jvsxm.asp?pg=2&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The Weekly Standard</p>

<p>The Thayer System
After two centuries of success, it might be time to make some changes.
by John Noonan
08/01/2007 12:00:00 AM</p>

<p>FOR NEARLY 200 years, cadets at the United States Military Academhttp://us.f605.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=1898<em>12418220</em>19897<em>1861</em>7882<em>0</em>27870<em>27935</em>4011517285&Idx=78&YY=43481&y5beta=yes&y5beta=yes&inc=25&order=down&sort=date&pos=3&view=a&head=b&box=Inbox
Yahoo! Mail - <a href=“mailto:eviemos1■■■■■■.comy”>eviemos1■■■■■■.comy</a> have been guided by the “Thayer System,” a rigid structure of unyielding regulation, austere discipline, fierce loyalty, and strong emphasis on math, science, and engineering. The method is calculated to produce Army officers of the highest caliber. And the system has worked. West Point graduates constitute some of the most celebrated, highly decorated officers in American history. No doubt if you traveled further back in time, West Pointers would rank amongst some of the finest combat leaders in the history of warfare.</p>

<p>Thayer’s system has changed little since it was implemented shortly after the War of 1812. Like war itself, West Point traditions and culture slowly evolved over time to meet and conquer the new challenges that the profession of arms demanded. But today we stand at a point in history where technology, the decentralization of military force, and the abandonment of the established, traditional law of armed conflict is changing warfare in such a swift and profound way that the U.S. Armed Forces will either have to adapt or face a slow creep towards irrelevancy.</p>

<p>Those changes must be initiated in the leadership ranks, and they must be instituted in the infancy phase of officer development. That means that the Thayer system, and similar systems at sister academies, may need to be reshaped in order to better provide cadets with the appropriate tools for combating Islamic terrorism.</p>

<p>The core of the Thayer system–discipline, honor, and ferocious loyalty to the Constitution–must never change. That’s precisely why the system has stood as it is for so long; America will always need men and women who live by the stoic creed of duty, honor, country. However, one of the cornerstones of Slyvanus Thayer’s system, his dated academic infrastructure, no longer meets the needs of the mission. The same can be said for nearly identical curriculums at Annapolis and Colorado Springs.</p>

<p>West Point and all of the service academies promote math and engineering above all other disciplines. Thayer wanted math savvy artillery officers. The Navy sought officers with a firm grasp of engineering to keep their ships running and navigate the seas under the harshest of combat conditions. And the Air Force desired officers capable of operating the service’s cutting-edge technology. It’s the perfect academic infrastructure for a young cadet, if we expect him to fight the Cold War.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, we are fighting a new war. Tomorrow’s war. This is a war where we fight an enemy who understands that the battlefield lies in the human heart, not in the skies or on the seas. And while the liberal arts curriculum is precisely the school of thought needed to effectively prepare our cadets to fight in the 21st century, not one of the service academies offers a Bachelor of Arts degree.</p>

<p>An Army platoon leader would be better equipped to administer to tribes in Anbar province if he had a degree in International Affairs and a minor in Arabic. A Marine infantry Lieutenant might be more effective unifying warlords in Afghanistan if he spent his four years at Annapolis studying the history of central Asia. U.S. Special Forces have been deployed to over 180 different countries since 9/11, and, to be sure, the military offers them the education needed to meet that goal. But in all that training an academy cadet will only get as much foreign study as he can squeeze into his schedule between orbital mechanics and advanced calculus.</p>

<p>The British perfected this system at the height of their empire. Relying on a strong NCO corps (which America also enjoys), British officers were trained to perform the duties of regional governors while sergeants shouldered much of the responsibility for training and disciplining the men. That freed Lieutenants and Captains to manage tribes, recruit friendly warlords as allies, establish judicial systems and public works projects, and bolster the local economy. And look at the results. India and Pakistan were stable; the Muslim holy lands were quiet, and the Palestinian territories calm.</p>

<p>My alma mater, the Virginia Military Institute, understands that critical social element in officer development. VMI has a strong Arabic studies department, and their history and international studies curriculums are heavy in the military arts, national security studies, foreign language, and world history. VMI places a strong emphasis on study abroad opportunities, even if it means removing a cadet an environment of harsh military discipline for a semester. The methodology is simple: a cadet will benefit more from a semester in Morocco or Egypt than a semester spent shining brass and marching parades.</p>

<p>This is not to say that VMI is somehow superior to her sister schools. Intense inter-school, inter-service rivalry aside, all senior military colleges and service academies do have a core respect for each other. But the service academies could certainly learn from VMI’s example in this case.</p>

<p>We owe it to our cadets to fully prepare them for this long war. There will always be a need for engineers and navigators and scientists in the officer corps. But that doesn’t mean that we should force feed engineering and chemistry to potential combat leaders who need foreign languages, international relations, and world history before they are sent off to the hinterlands of the Arab world. The service academies’ Bachelor of Science programs are amongst the finest in the nation, why can’t they do the same with the liberal arts?</p>

<p>John Noonan is an Air Force officer and a military blogger. He writes at Op-For.com.</p>

<p>© Copyright 2007, News Corporation, Weekly Standard, All Rights Reserved.</p>

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<p>I agree with his assessment, as does USMA. Thus in a time when budget cuts are being made, the Department of Foreign languages has seen it’s budget explode. The Supe announced a couple of years ago that the aim is to have every language major spend a semester abroad (<a href=“http://www.dean.usma.edu/departments/dfl/semesterexchanges.htm)%5B/url%5D”>http://www.dean.usma.edu/departments/dfl/semesterexchanges.htm)</a>, and that program is well under way. My 2008 son (an Arabic major) is getting ready to join 6 other cadets for the first ever semester abroad in Jordan arranged by USMA. The Model Arab League team from USMA won the National Championship this year and will be traveling to the International competition in Cairo this fall. Non-language majors also have myriad opportunites to travel abroad for trips ranging from 2-6 weeks. Cadets take the math and engineering courses Mr. Noonan describes, but also all take history and international relations courses as well. Many of the cadets I know have majors in areas that would be considered liberal arts (history, international relations, etc). I think Mr. Noonan needs to check how current his facts are before he writes his articles. The changes he calls for are already well underway.</p>

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<p>Ditto</p>

<p>If you look at all of the major “engineering School” Most have also acknowledged that some liberal arts courses must accompany the curriculum. </p>

<p>Engineers who can not write and do not understand the world around them are not effective. This is hard to do in a 4 year time frame but to be competitive in the world our educational system at the academies will need to evolve.</p>

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<p>I am having trouble buying into the foreign language bit. The culture studies, yes, but the language no. With these, we are still fighting the last war. I can now see the young 1st LT in 7 years standing in the middle of a Philippine jungle questioning the value of his Arabic major.</p>

<p>DOD has a great school, the Defense Language Institute. The Army should use it. The half life of fluent language conversation has got to be only a few years. What one would learn at the Academy, unless practiced, would be useless by a second tour.</p>

<p>Keep taking the courses that build a foundation. The technology will continue to be an issue. Augment the curriculum with international studies, etc. but basically keep things the same.</p>

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<p>My son got up this morning, read the article and ended up saying (with some unprintable words) that Noonan doesn’t really understand. He illuminated me a bit. He said the reason they study engineering and become “scientists” is that those are the people who are “problem solvers”, and that is what a military leader needs to be. He also pointed out that the Thayer System is not what Noonan stated at all, but has more to do with how the classes are structured. The cadets learn the material BEFORE class and are prepared to present it. He did say they ALL study psychology, sociology, history, and liberal arts areas for content and understanding. </p>

<p>I disagree a bit about the languages, although I understand where you are coming from. The military has always tended to concentrate on what they need now, not in the future. Fortunately the language programs are wide spread now, with people studying a broad variety of languages from most every geographical area. I think it is telling that Chinese is being pushed heavily. DLI is absolutely outstanding for creating fluent liguists, but it would be nice to have officers that had proficiency and understanding without being fluent. The strong traditional core courses are still part of the curriculum.</p>

<p>My 2008 son is something of a language prodigy (his professor’s words). In addition to studying Arabic, he is fluent in Spanish, Italian and French, and conversant in Portuguese. Why would you not want someone like that to major in an area that plays to his strengths (he is actually a double major in Arabic/Spanish) and be able to use that in his career?</p>

<p>By the way, my son was quite insulted by Noonan’s insinuation that VMI had a stronger Arabic program. He said the Arabic Program at USMA is recognized as the best in the nation, and that the book used to teach Arabic at VMI was written by his professor at USMA… :)</p>

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<p>This is exactly how I understood the “Thayer system” and why cadets hate it so! I think the writer confused teaching method with curriculum.
As regards to curriculum - no other SA teaches liberal arts and languages like USMA - he is barking up the wrong tree here. He should be picking on the Naval Academy - they are just getting on the bandwagon with foreign language.
You son is absolutely correct as to why math and science are stressed heavily - High level math and science teaches one to problem solve.</p>

<p>The article almost sounds like sour grapes - did someone who can’t do Calculus but is fluent in 3 languages not get an appointment??</p>

<p>Now back to the Thayer System - the cadets learn the material and do homework before they are taught the subject matter - Yuk. At a candidate visit they had a Cow come talk to parents. I couldn’t resist so I asked his opinion of the “Thayer System” - rather bluntly he just said “It sucks”!</p>

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<p>The Navy is and will continue to be a technical service. The vast majority will either be on the bridge of a ship or in a cockpit where cultural awareness and the ability to speak a foreign language means absolutely nothing. Does the curriculum need to be changed for the 10% or so of Marines who need it? I don’t think so. That is why we have the DLI.</p>

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<p>This is a great discussion. </p>

<p>When my son was going through the admissions process he told his admissions officer that he would like to complete a double major or a major/minor in two areas. He was told that it is possible but difficult because all cadets end up with a minor in engineering due to the required courses all cadets take. My son was determined to test out of some plebe level classes so he would have the possibility of completing a major/minor in something other than engineering. I agree that science and math are important but I’m not sure the level of requirements in this area should be to the extent that all cadets end up with a minor in engineering. </p>

<p>In my opinion Arabic will be useful for years to come. The problems in the Middle East are not going to go away anytime soon. I also think it is a good idea to have cadets learning the other languages offered. You just never know what is going to happen in the future and what languages will be needed. It seems to me that if you are fluent in a foreign language it would make it easier to learn a third or fourth if necessary.</p>

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<p>I thought that the engineering sequence required of all USMA cadets consists of 3 classes. I don’t believe that’s enough to be a minor, but certainly provides a foundation especially when combined with 1 year of chemistry and 1 year of physics.</p>

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<p>The officer could have been wrong. I’m just going by what we were told in March 2006.</p>