Evening star., 1960-07-03
MILITARY STFFENS UP ...r.>~ II =
Service Academies Aim
To rnOut Thinking Men
BY DAVID BARNETT

BY DAVID BARNETT
North American Newspaper Alliance
The three major United
States service academies are
becoming thinking mems COL
legeS.
Plebes at West Point, An
napolis and the new Air Force
Academy at Colorado Springs.
Colo. may still have to stand
at attention when spoken to
and square corners when walk
ing.
But the old days when all
cadets-Smart or dumb-were
poured into the same rigid
mold for four years of study
and drill are long gone.
Discussions with officers in
the Pentagon sections of the
academies indicate programs
are becoming increasingly tai
lored to take advantage of in
dividual differences and talents
among the cadets. That means
more elective courses. and an
acceleration system that per-
mits the gifted to move on to
more difficult courses as fast
as their intellect permits.
The purely military side Of
the training is being reorgan-
lied and routine training con-
centrated in the summer
months. The hours saved are
going into an expanded Ian
guage program, more social
science and broader education
in general.
Some of the program
changes are the result Of the
callenges Of nuclear and space
warfare.
k1ckOver'S Chafge
Some reflect an awareness
that officers of the future will
need more than day-to-day
technical competence and that
the military will need men of
independent Judgment and
broad educational backgrounds.
Last August, Admiral Hyman
G. Rickover, the so-called
father of the atomic submarine,
sharply criticized the service
academies in general and his
alma mater. Annapolis. in par
ticular.
He told a House Appropria-
tions subcommittee the acad-
emies were turning out too
many technicians and not
enough professionals.
"A professional person." he
said, differs from a techni-
clan by reason of his broad
general education, his mastery
of a specific area of higher
learning and his ability to ap-
ply this specialized knowledge
to practical problems"
The military academies pro-
vided no challenge or oppor-
tunity for talented students
and did not encourage contin-
uous elf-education and the
ability for independent judg-
ment, he argued.
Actually, the academies for
almost five years had been
swinging to new programs that
take some of the validity out of
the admiral's criticism.
A ribbon study group of
top-flight educators started
work on a revision of the West
Point program some four years
ago. A new three-phase pro-
gram will go into full operation
at the Military Academy with
the coming term.
Air Force Goals
The list of formal objectives
of the Air Force Academy's
academic program contains
four items. Two are:
Provides elective courses to
meet the needs of the individ-
ual cadet in developing his full
academic potential.
"Motivates the cadet for
continued educational develop
ment after graduation through
self-instruction and attendance
at graduate schools"
The new West Point system,
parts Of which already have
been tried at the academy, is
known as the validation-ac-
observation-disclosures syste m.
Similar operations under other
names are being used or in
stalled at the other academies.
In general, they work this
way:
/. A cadet can get credit at
the academy for college courses
completed elsewhere or through
examinations and then move
on Immediately to more ad-
vanced work.
In past years, all cadets
started with the same fresh
men or plebe work even
though some had already COW
cred the subject matter at
civilian colleges.
2. Gifted students may take
courses at an accelerated rate
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