The majority of the recent coverage has been accurate, but a few editorials have missed the mark and misrepresented the program. It also is interesting to note that while newspapers today highlight recruiting problems in all the services, the Naval Academy remains oversubscribed. The best of Generation Y, it appears, still want to come to the Naval Academy, and they re bringing mean Scholastic Aptitude Test scores above 1300. The midshipmen are in better physical condition, their collective grade point average is higher, and character development is taken much more seriously. In fact, the Naval Academy does produce leaders of character prepared to serve in the combat arms of the Navy and Marine Corps, and what follows is a factual account of the program as exists today.
Leadership development is woven into virtually every aspect of a midshipman s four years here.
It exists in places like Memorial Hall, John Paul Jones s Crypt, and the chapel places that recall the sacrifices of those Americans who have gone before. The journey to become a leader worthy of leading the sons and daughters of America begins the minute a new fourth classman walks through the gates to undergo plebe summer, six weeks of challenging, stressful military indoctrination. While some have prior enlisted experience, the majority are scant weeks removed from their high school graduations. The training includes a rigorous physical conditioning program designed to get the new midshipmen in top physical condition, create an understanding that physical fitness is a necessary attribute of a warrior, and instill in them the desire to pursue a lifetime of physical fitness. We believe in the adage that You have to learn how to follow, before you can learn how to lead, and the new midshipmen are exposed daily to hand-picked members of the second and first classes who serve as their leaders.