The DOD Service Academies: Issues for Congress

This document also available in PDF Image . Congress has exercised close oversight over the DOD service academies (the Military Academy at West Point, NY; the Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD; and the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, CO) since West Point was founded in 1802. Seventy-five percent of academy appointments are made by Members of Congress. There has been considerable legislation affecting academy programs since the late 1980s. There has also been controversy over the moral and ethical standards and atmosphere at the academies. Both reflect a broader issue -- whether the special status of the academies and their graduates in their services, and within the nation and the American people, adds value to the officer accession system commensurate with their costs. Academy graduates cost DOD more in appropriated funds than those from college Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) or through Officer Candidate Schools (OCS). The issue is whether the product is worth the cost, and whether factors other than costs are significant. The academies accept high-quality young men and women; they are among the most competitive colleges in the nation. Academy graduates outperform ROTC and OCS officers in terms of promotion and retention. The difference is not large, however, and it is impossible to attribute the difference directly to the academy background. Since 1989, several aspects of academy programs and costs have been the object of congressional review and action. These include whether academy graduates should receive regular or reserve commissions; the appropriate active duty service obligation for academy graduates; the mix of military and civilian faculty at the academies; problems related to women and minorities at the academies; the academy prep schools; and academy athletic programs. The long-standing reputation of the academies for high ethical standards is being questioned more than at any time in the past several decades. It is not clear, however, if the incidence of misconduct involving academy students has, in fact, risen, or the cause of the rise if it does exist. Many cite both broader social problems and aspects of the academies' environment which may not sufficiently reinforce moral and ethical standards. There are indications that many incidents of misconduct are related to relations between male and female students. Options for Congress include: (1) doing nothing, assuming major problems are being adequately addressed and minor ones can be solved administratively; (2) insuring that minor reforms not fundamentally changing the academies are undertaken; (3) cutting or increasing enrollment; (4) making the academies exclusively military schools for persons already having undergraduate degrees; (5) adding graduate education to the academies; and (6) abolishing the academies altogether. Given the centrality of the academies in the institutional life of the armed forces, the onus of demonstrating the worth of major change in their roles may lie