Representatives Davis, Guthrie and Shimkus Defend West Point
Washington,
May 6 -
On April 19, 2009, Thomas Ricks wrote an article for the Washington Post entitled “Why we should get rid of West Point.” As West Point graduates, Representatives Geoff Davis, Brett Guthrie (KY-02), and John Shimkus (IL-19) wrote the following response:
The United States Military Academy, West Point, has served an integral role in American history since its founding on March 16, 1802. Not only does the Academy provide about 1,000 second lieutenants to the U.S. Army every year, it produces individuals who are prepared for leadership roles in business, medicine, law, sports, politics and science.
The recent claims that sending promising students to military academies is not cost effective are wholly unfounded. The cost of educating a cadet at West Point is around $200,000, comparable to per student cost at any top American university. The investment in these students yields high returns for the American military by providing twenty percent of the Army’s second lieutenants and sixty percent of the Army’s officers with degrees in the hard sciences.
The men and women of West Point are given the unique opportunity to learn from civilian faculty with doctorates and active duty service members with advanced degrees and military experience. Thus, West Point graduates are educated by instructors with knowledge of their academic field and the battlefield. Furthermore, cadets have the ability to work closely with faculty due to small class sizes. Classes of eighteen or fewer allow students to build relationships with their instructors and thereby gain a more intimate knowledge of their subject matter. Many graduates go on to pursue advanced degrees in medicine, law and the sciences. West Point ranks in the top ten American education institutions with regard to the number of students awarded with Rhodes, Gates-Cambridge, Truman, and Fulbright scholarships.
The West Point academic curriculum does not have an equivalent in civilian institutions, and the military curriculum training program is more extensive than that of ROTC and Officer Candidate School. At West Point, a top-tier university education combines with comprehensive military training, compulsory athletic participation and a disciplined daily routine to fully prepare cadets for life as Army officers. Current cadet Tianyi Xin (West Point Class of 2011) recently wrote, “West Point has taught us the intangible things that refuse to fit neatly into statistical charts and balance sheets presented to Congress.” She asserts that the demanding environment instills the cadets with “the values of perseverance, integrity, and selfless service.” Surely these are qualities revered in an Army officer and throughout our society.
West Point has supplied America with presidents, military leaders, astronauts, and Congressmen. Graduate Ulysses S. Grant (Class of 1843) maintained the integrity of the Union as General in Chief of the Union armies during the Civil War and President of the United States. Eisenhower, Patton and MacArthur, among others, led us to victory in World War II. Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin (Class of 1951) participated in the first manned lunar landing and General David Petraeus (Class of 1974) is the current Commander of U.S. Central Command after having implemented a highly effective counterinsurgency program in Iraq that turned the tide of a war that many members of Congress considered lost.
West Point graduates have not only distinguished themselves as Army officers and politicians. They are neurosurgeons like Thorald M. Sundt (Class of 1952) at the Mayo Clinic, businessmen like former president of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company John G. Hayes (Class of 1949) and American Online, Inc. (AOL) Founding CEO James V. Kimsey (Class of 1962), and groundbreaking engineers like George Washington Goethals (Class of 1880), architect and builder of the Panama Canal.
Regardless of their length of service in the Army or their subsequent professions, West Point graduates are imbued with the watchwords of General Douglas MacArthur (Class of 1903): Duty, Honor, Country. For West Point graduates and cadets these words are not merely a slogan but the basis for a lifetime commitment to the American people. In a year where government spending has increased to an unprecedented level, the closure of United States Military Academy would not only be of limited fiscal benefit. It would deny America the next generation of men and women produced by this institution that will be in the top tier of our nation’s future military, science, business, and political leaders.
Congressman Geoff Davis, West Point Class of 1981, represents the Fourth District of Kentucky in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Congressman John Shimkus, West Point Class of 1980, represents the Nineteenth District of Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Congressman Brett Guthrie, West Point Class of 1987, represents the Second District of Kentucky in the U.S. House of Representatives.
