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This afternoon and tomorrow I\u2019m doing what I\u2019ve done for the past 10 years \u2013 going through application packages for the U.S. Naval Academy. Having had the immense privilege and honor to be a sitting member of a U.S. Senator\u2019s Regional Service Academy Advisory Board this past decade, I have spoken with, and marveled at<\/em> the phenomenal young men and women who take the tremendous amount of time each year to apply for the service academies. I marvel because they could do anything they wanted in this life with their pretty astonishing attributes, but they choose to serve this country.<\/p>\n And that humbles me. I absolutely love meeting them every year. Even though there are so few openings to fill, this is something they pursue with their whole hearts, sometimes for multiple years. Makes my<\/em> red, white and blue heart just sing.<\/p>\n I do know something of service in uniform, so luckily I can answer most of their \u201clife in the military\u201d questions, unlike civilian board members. Twelve and half years of my life was spent on active duty in the most exclusive club in the whole world \u2013 as a United States Marine. I married a Marine who retired after 31 years, and our son has now spent a tad over 12 years in the Air Force (little knife through the heart there, of course). We lost a nephew to a suicide bombing in Bagram, Afghanistan 6 years ago and proudly keep tabs as other nephews \u2013 Marine, Guard and AirForce \u2013 advance through their careers. In fact, my side of the family is a little national defense crazy, from a sergeant noted for his ferociousness in the 1637 Pequot Wars through darn near every war since. We serve. Every generation has.<\/p>\n But this is what got me pondering \u2013 morosely, I guess you could say. When I first started as a board member, they were long, fulfilling Saturdays. For Annapolis, by far the most popular academy on our board to attend, there\u2019d be 28-36 candidates to interview \u2013 some poor kids even call in from overseas where their parents are stationed (I\u2019m telling you, it\u2019s fascinating.). We\u2019d be there at 7 in the morning, have lots of coffee, and sometimes not head out of the building (for the 2-hour drive home) until 8:30-9:00 pm. Long day. COVID year we did strictly zoom meetings, and I expected the numbers on that to be whack. Then, last year, we had only 12 interviews. I thought that was strange, and would surely rebound this year, but no. I\u2019ve only 14 packages to read.<\/p>\n What is going on? Is this anecdotal only to our region, or is it happening everywhere? And, quite honestly, would a parent \u2013 especially one who had been in or knew anything about the military \u2013 even recommend that as a choice to their child in the current cultural environment? Listening to friends, other vets, and fellow Marines, that has to be happening more often than not. When I pose that question, \u201cWould you tell a kid today to go in\/enlist?\u201d the first exclamation out of their mouths rhymes with \u201cduck<\/em>\u201d and is followed by an emphatic \u201cNO<\/strong>!\u201d<\/p>\n It is so toxic.<\/p>\n I see what our son goes through dealing with the Air Force\u2019s more corporate mentality and I thank God every day for two things: 1) he has our combined experience to bounce things off 2) he went in at 27 so didn\u2019t fall for the BS and command abuse 18 yr-olds do. Even then, he\u2019ll call from afar howling sometimes, and we have to squawk, \u201cSlow down! SLOW DOWN!! We don\u2019t speak Air Force<\/em>!\u201d I can\u2019t count the times we\u2019ve gotten off a call with him and said to each other, \u201cWHERE<\/em> is his senior leadership? Why aren\u2019t they doing something about this? A Marine Corps corporal would be standing on a desk somewhere breathing fire if you treated one of his troops like that.\u201d We don\u2019t get it. There seems to be a blatant disregard for the health and welfare \u2013 physical and mental \u2013 of the troops. You haven\u2019t been paid correctly in months? Tough. Etc,, ad nauseum. All I can think is that everyone is so worried about covering their own asses, that no one will stick their necks out for the little guys who are getting ground into bits at the bottom of the heap. To his great credit, our Ebola loves nothing more than to champion his troops \u2013 he has and will go to the mat for them. We\u2019ve always told him, \u201cBe the leader you wish you had<\/em>. because it feeds on itself. Someday someone will want to be like you.\u201d You grow good things that way.<\/p>\n Not so much yet<\/em> in the Marine Corps as in the other services, but that sense of a unit, of being all in it together for a mission, vice \u201can Army of one\u201d is being lost. There\u2019s a really interesting fellow who breaks this down by dissecting a Marine Corps commercial versus a recent Army commercial (WARNING: the language is pithy<\/em>)(What a surprise, no?). It\u2019s worth a watch.<\/p>\n