Ray

Franco,

I am a thrid generation Army officer of India.

I joined the National Defence Academy (after all the various test and exams explained by Lemon) in 1963 and stayed for three years. Then another year at the Indian Military Academy. And thereafter, I was commissioned as an Officer.

My first six months were HELL in the National Defence Academy. Well actually, it was hell all through those three years there, but the first six months were MASSACRE.

I wanted to quit. My father just sent me a book, 'The King's Story'. He just wrote if the King (then Price of Wales) could stick it out at Sandhurst with all the hell around him inspite of his being the heir to the Throne, then shouldn't I? He added, if I still didn't want to hang on, he would pay up and I could quit.

I stuck around.

I was assigned the Infantry. I have seen three Wars and a whole lot of 'unoffical' ones too. I have climbed mountains, where even mountain goats would not go. I have been frozen because of the cold and the wind chill factor. I have fought in the highest battlefield of the world. I have seen Counter Terrorism operations extensively.

Did I like it? Not really. At times, I could have cried like the time when my men died and I could do damn all. Did I hate all this waste of lives? Yes I did.

But, if I were to live life again, I would still opt the same life, warts and all.

It is a very satisfying existence.

It is upto you.

It is not a dreamboat ride but it has the thrill of a roller coaster.

__________________


"Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

HAKUNA MATATA

Beaugeste93

Franco,

I did not attend a service academy, but I am a graduate of The Citadel. You have to want to not only get through it but excel. Most of the "mickey mouse" side of it is strictly for the purpose of tearing you down and challenging you to function through whatever adversity you are faced with. If you decide that is what you want-go for it. BTW, unless things have changed, you have a minimum 8-year obligation with an academy- four years active and four years reserve. The way things are now, you could easily be called up to serve the reserve time.

I started out like you did, intending to go miltary, then government service (CIA or State dept.) One thing you might consider is that coming from the military, your attitudes will probably be so far away from the attitudes of State Department types that you might not want anything to do with them. I started the process of becoming an FSO, did well on the test, etc. But I realized very quickly that I am way too aggressive to be a diplomat and I would not have done well in the Foreign Service.

Also. The path you described originally will obviously require graduate schooling. If you do well at an academy, you may have the option to go on to graduate school at government expense (for an additional committment of time). This might get you your inroad to CIA, DIA, NSA, whatever down the road.

You sound like I did 15 years ago. Good luck with it.

__________________
Rule 303

Veni Vidi Vici

Please dear... this english(if what you typed is english) is going to have some of our fine british friends on this board herniate when they look at the way the queen's language has just been butchered.

Anyway I wish you luck on whatever your decide

__________________
"Our citizenship in the United States is our national character. Our citizenship in any particular state is only our local distinction. By the latter we are known at home, by the former to the world. Our great title is AMERICANS…" -- Thomas Paine

sniperdude411

I've been to WP, talked to the admissions officer, listen to everything. It's not the place for me to go to. I want to shoot things and blow stuff-up.
I know of an officer fresh out-of Westpoint, commanding 16,000 men in Iraq right now.

Anyways, I was talked through a huge proccess on admissions; I have the WP brochure with me right now.
You should start very soon, if not now for your admissions proccess.
You get graded on your academic, physical, and especially leadership skills.
Apply for nominations, and get extremely involved in your community. Volunteer as much as possible, and participate in athletic programs; religious athletic programs, like WCA, is strongly recommended. WP is big on religion.
You need two nominations. You can get them from your representative, senator, or the vise-president. Each person can give-out 5 nominations.
About 12,000 people try for this.
4,500 make it.
Meanwhile, it is imparitive that you visit WP, and get all of the forms you need, and try to get a file started there.
Then, your SAT, ACT, and other tests are set into your file. This is during the winter part of your senior year.
Your physical test is compiled of a 300-yard shuttle-run, a basketball throw, standing long-jump, pull-ups, and push-ups.
The average scores for WP graduates are:
ACT:
reading: 30
math: 28
Eng: 28
Sci reas: 27

SAT: 1421

Rank in High School class:
1st through fith: 74%
5-10: 20%
10-15: 5%
15-20: 1%

After everything, you should visit there again, check-up on yourself, and then wait for the news.
After all of this, about 1200 people get accepted into WP.

Westpoint is free, except you must serve in the Army for atleast 8 years, atleast five of them being an officer.
WP is more of an engineering school, although politics are also a high-point.

The scenery is also breath-taking. Located on the Huron river (as you probably know), The campus is about 25 sq. miles. The engineering building, from the front, is 4 stories tall. The backside (river side) is 10 stories tall. It drops down a ways.
Also, when a train passes along the Huron, the horn's echo lasts for about 45 seconds. It's truly amazing.

Hope that helped you. If you need more information, I'll be of service.

cooldw57

Franco, there is one alternative way to serve your nation without being in the military.

You should start applying for any engineering majors (CS, EE, ME, ChemE) or Physics/Chemistry/math in any schools. Then when you graduate, apply for Government engineering jobs, such as NAVAIR, NAVSEA etc. This way you could become a DoD civilian employee right after you graduate. The rest is up to you: I know someone from my homecode who came in as DP-1, then worked his way through DP-4 in 8 years.

Right now what's most important for you is to get good grades, and score 1300+ on the SAT, they are helpful regardless whether you want to be in the navy.

Also, if you ever consider working for the government/military after graduation, be very careful in college: don't do drugs and pay your bills ontime! Security clearance makes a big deal on your "drug history" and your credit card payment record

Shek

Franco,
I'm a 1996 USMA grad. There are a few facts that are slightly off, so I'll hit those and then give you my thoughts.

1. You owe 8 years to Uncle Sam once you graduate from USMA/USNA/USAFA. 5 years active duy and 3 more years in the reserves (your choice of inactive ready reserve [IRR - no time commitment other than keeping your address current with a small chance of activation - there has been some activation for OIF] or "active" reserve, which means the one weekend a month and two weeks a year, with a greater chance of activation due to the Global War on Terror).
2. I don't think USMA is that big on religion; however, involvement in religious youth groups or teaching Sunday School demonstrate commitment, community service, leadership, etc., and so these activities are favorable on your application.
3. USMA has a strong engineering tradition; however, it has strong academic programs across most of the disciplines. Its Social Sciences department is top notch, which would be a plus if you are looking at a DOD/DHS/State career down the road. GEN Barry McCaffrey is a faculty member (there's a "chair" for one retired 4 star that always serves on the faculty). Some former faculty include MG Chiarelli, who just completed his stint as the 1st Cav Div commander in Baghdad, and LTG Petreus, who commanded the 101st Airborne during OIF1 and is now the commander of the ISF training effort.

Now, for my advice to you. Unless you want to lead men/women in harm's way, I wouldn't go to a Service Academy. You will be responsible for training them and leading them. Anything less than a 100% commitment to them would be letting them down. I'm not trying to scare you away, and you don't have to be 100% certain right now that you're willing to make that commitment, but if it doesn't appeal to you or challenge you, then making a choice to go to a Service Academy because it's free or because you'll have a degree that says "West Point" probably isn't the best choice. If the challenge of being a platoon leader and company commander and working with people appeals to you, then it would be a good choice if you think it's a good match for you.

Your service commitment doesn't kick in until your start classes your junior year, so you'll have two years to decide while being exposed to officer and non-commissioned officer mentors at the academy as well as a chance to interact at a service school or assignment.

As far as your desire to work DOD/DHS/State, or maybe in a think tank that covers international affairs, I don't think that a undergrad degree will spell total success. You're best bet in getting ahead will be earning a M.A. in strategic studies or an area concentration, so your undergrad will be secondary in some regards. The key will be doing well enough in your undergraduate studies so you can get into the grad school of your choice. Most grad school programs in these areas will want you have to some work experience prior to admission into grad school, so doing well will also help you land a job that can help you out in your grad school quest. One thing that you should do is gain a foreign language proficiency in your undergrad studies, especially if you want to do an Asian Studies concentration. This is a great investment, because if you eventually decide that you don't want to work at State or DOD or wherever, your language is a very marketable skill for business or consulting or even if you want to just go hang out and teach English and live in another culture for a few years.

So, after dropping the need for grad school in your lap, don't sweat it too much. Set your goals, but more importantly, just do the best you can in school and enjoy life. You'll stay sane and if you do well in school, you'll keep doors open to do whatever you decide on doing.

Often, academic degrees just demonstrate that you know how to learn and solve problems. I got a B.S. in economics and then spent the next 8 years of my life figuring out the best way to killl people. Now I'm getting a masters so I can teach cadets economics for a couple years, and then I'll go back to figuring how to best kill people again (for those who haven't figured it out yet, I'm in the Army, not some psychopath ).

Shek

I forgot to add a few things - if serving in the military does appeal to you, then don't just limit your search to the Service Academies. There are some very good ROTC programs out there as well, and by doing ROTC, you won't sacrifice your "college experience." You will have fewer opportunities for military schools/training as a cadet, but it won't affect your chances for success once you are commissioned. Also, think about joining the Guard or Reserve on a short contract. You'll get some college tuition benefits, get a chance to experience the military life, which will give you a new perspective on life, be able to get a clearance which will help future employment opportunities in the government or with contractors, and it will give you discipline that will make you more successful in school. Also, it will demonstrate to potential employers that you have the commitment and drive to be successful. However, don't join without the high expectation of spending time in the "sandbox" in Iraq or Afghanistan, as our citizen soldiers are making a huge contribution to our efforts there.

Good luck.

Franco Lolan

Thank you.
I'm taking what you are saying to heart. I'll have to think some more.
I want to spend time in the "sandbox." Also, I don't think I want to be a career military officer unless I get to the level where I am deciding FoPo.

Yes, I would like to get a BA in international politics with a minor with language proficiency in East Asian Studies (Chinese concentration). Then, go to graduate school to get at least a Masters. I really like Georgetown's SFS and Princeton's Woodrow Wilson.

I received SAT scores recently: 800 Verbal, 700 Math, 700 Writing (12 on essay; 65 on Grammar part). So, I'm happy. Taking them again on May 7.

I need to get my thoughts in order very quickly. I never thought I would really care for a girl so much but she is ridiculously influencing my life. I get whimsical notion that maybe studying international finance and earning money to settle down in Key Biscayne with a great girl like her would be fine. lol.

Thank you very much. If I have some questions I'll definitely ask you.

Shek

Congrats on the SAT scores. Since it's the new format, they don't mean a whole lot to me, but I know that in the 700s and 800 are very good.

Georgetown and Princeton both are good programs. I know that WW at Princeton and KSG at Harvard are your top programs at the grad school level. Going to USMA, you probably won't be able to get both a minor in SE Asia Studies with Chinese and a major in IR, but you'll have a great foundation for grad school with all the core courses that you have to take. I'm at Johns Hopkins SAIS where you have to take several core econ courses, and many students have to work overtime with these courses because they either didn't have econ courses in undergrad and/or never took calculus.

I wouldn't worry about having to make a decision on being a career military officer if you do go to USMA/USNA/USAFA or go ROTC. There's plenty of my classmates who were going to do their time and get out, and love what they are doing and are going to stay in for 20 or more. And there's also those that were planning on staying in for 20 and then found out it wasn't what they expected or their significant other couldn't have a career as an Army wife. As long as your committed to doing the best you can as a LT, that's plenty enough to decide at this point. I've enjoyed my jobs and postings so far (Italy, Washington State, Washington DC now) and my wife has too generally (she didn't enjoy my time in Iraq), and so that's why I'm still in.

Good luck on your decision.

Silent Hunter

Have any Bulgarians ever attended Sandhurst or West Point?