I Graduated From West Point — I Won’t Encourage My Children To
By: Andrew Hutchinson
Tags: Veterans, Leadership, West Point, Military, Self

West Point doesn’t create leaders of character.

Does West Point attract people with character? Absolutely. But character isn’t something any person or institution can give you. Not even West Point.

West Point’s mission is “to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the Nation as an officer in the United States Army.”

Do a lot of officers with character emerge from West Point? Absolutely. Does West Point produce many officers lacking in character? Absolutely.

From my experience, those who showed up to West Point with strong character left that way. Those who were lacking in character when they arrived left unchanged. West Point isn’t a magical place where you enter and somehow leave transformed into a leader of character.

West Point has an honor code that reads, “A cadet will not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do.” Cadets lacking in character didn’t adhere to this because they internalized it — they did so because breaking the honor code put you at risk of being kicked out.

If West Point produces leaders of character, why do West Pointers regularly make the headlines for actions that display a lack of character? West Pointers like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, James Johnson, David Petraeus, Stanley McChrystal, and Paula Broadwell — all West Point graduates — have made headlines for actions displaying a lack of character.

You don’t have to look any further than the disheartening number of sexual assaults happening at West Point to realize it’s an institution full of cadets and senior officers lacking in character with no regard for the honor code. The number of sexual assaults at West Point and the other service academies is up 47% since 2016. This is unacceptable and heartbreaking, especially for a place claiming to be the bedrock of character development.

In response to these reports, the West Point Superintendent announced a stand-down day, and declared. “Sexual assault and harassment have no place at West Point or in our Army. It erodes readiness and the trust required to build cohesive teams and is contrary to West Point ideals and Army values.”

As someone who now works in Policy and Communications, I can see right through PR nonsense. It’s a similar statement to one the Superintendent made when I was a cadet about sexual assault. If West Point was led by leaders of character who care as much about sexual assault as they do about the well-manicured parade field, you might see real change. If West Point had leaders of character who cared as much about sexual assault as they do about winning football games, you might see real change. West Point spends more time and resources making sure cadets don’t wear socks that show their ankles than they do keeping cadets safe from sexual assault.

It’s a black mark on the character of West Point and the bedrock of character it claims to be.

Character is doing the right thing, even when no one is looking. Character is not something anyone or any institution can give you. Character lies deep within each of us — it’s something you have to want for yourself. Military officers can’t give it to you, a cadet honor code can’t give it to you, putting you on lock down and punishing you for every infraction won’t give it to you.

At West Point, someone is always looking. From the first mandatory formation at 6:55 am, to TAPS at 11:30 pm when someone checks to make sure you’re in your room — someone is always watching.

From the moment you set foot on West Point, fellow cadets, military tactical officers, senior enlisted soldiers, and military professors are all watching and enforcing the rules. During the weekends, cadets who have broken rules or displayed a lack of character get to spend the afternoon walking for hours in a circle in full parade uniform.

Once you leave West Point, you don’t have someone watching you every waking moment anymore. Those who show up to West Point lacking in character and graduate will continue to be lacking in character as soon as no one is watching.

At West Point, you’re constantly told you’re the best and brightest. You’re made to feel West Point is producing the best leaders of character for the nation and holding cadets to a higher — and superior — standard to anyone else. It’s easy to fall into believing this when you’re bombarded with this daily by military officers.

I served in the Army for eights years, worked in non-profit for three years, and I’ve been in tech now for four years. Many of the best leaders I’ve met have been those outside of West Point and the Army. I’ve served with some amazing leaders of character who came out of West Point. But these individuals are leaders of character despite going to West Point — not because of it.

Not only is it inaccurate, but it’s dangerous to think the leaders West Point says it’s producing are not only different, but better than any other. I’ve met leaders in non-profit, in tech, in education, in medicine — all leaders of character superior to anything I saw coming out of West Point.