The IIOD Service Academies: Issues for Congress Page: 2 of 70
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The DOD Service Academies:
Issues for Congress
SUMMARY
Congress has exercised close oversight over the DOD service academies (the
Military Academy at West Point, NY; the Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD; and
the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, CO) since West Point was founded
in 1802. Seventy-five percent of academy appointments are made by Members
of Congress. There has been considerable legislation affecting academy
programs since the late 1980s. There has also been controversy over the moral
and ethical standards and atmosphere at the academies. Both reflect a broader
issue -- whether the special status of the academies and their graduates in their
services, and within the nation and the American people, adds value to the
officer accession system commensurate with their costs.
Academy graduates cost DOD more in appropriated funds than those from
college Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) or through Officer Candidate
Schools (OCS). The issue is whether the product is worth the cost, and whether
factors other than costs are significant. The academies accept high-quality
young men and women; they are among the most competitive colleges in the
nation. Academy graduates outperform ROTC and OCS officers in terms of
promotion and retention. The difference is not large, however, and it is
impossible to attribute the difference directly to the academy background.
Since 1989, several aspects of academy programs and costs have been the
object of congressional review and action. These include whether academy
graduates should receive regular or reserve commissions; the appropriate active
duty service obligation for academy graduates; the mix of military and civilian
faculty at the academies; problems related to women and minorities at the
academies; the academy prep schools; and academy athletic programs.
The long-standing reputation of the academies for high ethical standards
is being questioned more than at any time in the past several decades. It is not
clear, however, if the incidence of misconduct involving academy students has,
in fact, risen, or the cause of the rise if it does exist. Many cite both broader
social problems and aspects of the academies' environment which may not
sufficiently reinforce moral and ethical standards. There are indications that
many incidents of misconduct are related to relations between male and female
students.
Options for Congress include: (1) doing nothing, assuming major problems
are being adequately addressed and minor ones can be solved administratively;
(2) insuring that minor reforms not fundamentally changing the academies are
undertaken; (3) cutting or increasing enrollment; (4) making the academies
exclusively military schools for persons already having undergraduate degrees;
(5) adding graduate education to the academies; and (6) abolishing the academies
altogether. Given the centrality of the academies in the institutional life of the
armed forces, the onus of demonstrating the worth of major change in their
roles may lie with the proponents of such change, rather than requiring
defenders of the status quo to justify the existing situation.
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Goldich, Robert L. The IIOD Service Academies: Issues for Congress, report, February 6, 1997; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc819855/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.