United States Military Academy at
West Point, New York.
4-year college to train
officers in the U.S. Army. Admission is competitive, and requires along with regular admissions materials, a recommendation from a senator or Vice President, and a
Physical Aptitude
Exam.
Tuition is
free, and all students are paid a
stipend that increases as you go through (If I recall correctly, 400-800 a month). After you graduate, you owe the
Army 5 years of service, starting at the rank of
2nd lieutenant.
Prior to
1997, Freshmen, or
Plebes were hazed almost constantly, but recently the adminstration has been more
vigilant in preventing this.
In 1999, I spent a week there, as part of my
application process. I went through a 'typical'
cadet experience. It wasn't as much learning how to shoot
M16's,
Howitzers, battle
tactics, or
ethics but the
mind control techniques there that impressed me. It was kind of scary-- After one week of mental
conditioning, I felt an unexplainable utter contempt for
civilians-- as if I they had somehow tapped into this sense of '
hardcoredness' or nationalism that I never knew I had. I had no idea that
propaganda engine of the
Army was so developed and advanced-- to this day, I remember the mission statement that they had us memorize:
"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; professional growth throughout a career as an officer in the United States Army; and a lifetime of
selfless service to the nation."