Quote:
Originally Posted by Aequitas
For you all to fully understand his situation you would have to have been a cadet @ WP recruited for a Div I team. I went there for 4 yrs and have the inside perspective. Am I going to air dirty laundry? No, I'm not, but there have always been stipulations that cadets could get a team to reimburse the Army for the 4yrs of college AND a percentage of the 5yr contract you have when graduating if drafted.
I was lucky enough to have been there for Sept 11th and see the surge of men and women who came in to serve. I was lucky enough to have been recruited for a Div I sport and have a successful time there.
I think this situation is like anything else is society. All people are going to have their own perspectives and beliefs. No one can force anyone to change their mind, but at least try to understand that there are MANY MANY things that are said and done at WP that MANY people have no idea about.
I wish him the best in his career. Oh and this kind of thing has happened before. There are 2 Army baseball players that graduated within the past 5yrs that are playing pro ball. Where was the big stink then? It can happen, but it's just unfortunate that so much negative publicity came into this situation and caused such a stink.
I'm not saying he should or should not have been allowed to play. I'm just trying to bring different points of view to light for discussion. BUT I have a hard time reading some comments from people that say this kid doesn't even deserve to serve or wear the uniform. Or that he's a pussy b/c he thinks he might die in combat. Or the other shit I've read.
I think all of you know it takes a lot of guts to go into the military. I also think most of you know how incredibly hard it is to get into WP. Just give the kid a little break. We all have had those moments where we falter and get back on track.
Off my soapbox now.
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What about the kid whose parents are rich, and allowed him to attend WP against their better judgement, and now that commissioning time is coming and a war is on, are afraid for his safety?
Should they be allowed to buy out his contract, or repay the USG for the expense of his education?
Maybe they could hire someone else to serve on his behalf?
How about the ROTC scholarship student?
Can someone who enlisted be released if they change their mind and pay the Army back for their training?
If I hit the lottery, should I be able to buy out my service obligation?
I think there needs to be a uniform policy across the service, and it needs to be uniformly applied with few, if any exceptions.
A contract and an oath should both be binding.
TR