Prior Enlisted Officers are worth their weight in gold- I adore Mustangs and have always given them 110% of my support. Next down the list is ROTC's- trainable, once you beat the offical crap out from between their ears. Next is 90 day wonders- after 6 months, I've been known to almost trust them to make a decision that won't get people killed.
West Pointers, I have been known to dress up in Class X uniform and physically drag them under a Duce and a half truck to change the oil, listening and hearing them scream I AM AN OFFICER- I DON'T DO THINGS LIKE THIS- I'M GETTING DIRTY!!
I have trained West Pointers. They're some of the best test takers and fact memorizers and reguritators of information the american tax payers money can buy. Common sense, the ability to think outside the box,,,,,not so much. Ditto for Annapolis, The Air Force Academy- BUT, AND ITS A BIG BUT....Once they get the offical junk pulled out between their ears and they get the hang of it, they do turn into adequite officers after 6 to 8 years of training.
I've known many officers over the last 40 years. I have only respected 5 total, and two of them were Salvation Army Majors.
Captain Watkins was a Mustang like you've desribed- that I can remember his name after 30 years tells you I've held him in high esteem. 2nd Lt Walker got drunk with us coporals and privates- made for a good bonding experience- and he caught hell for "conduct unbecoming" and was transfered out. Captain Thompson was the 3rd whom I worked for as a civilian.
I have a whole slew of officers I wouldn't trust with peoples lives in the real world because they were incompentent- but, they had the 4 year degrees. They did the planning, and my people did the dying and that kind of makes me angry.
Do the enlisted and then officer- you'll get a heck of a lot more respect for the people under you. The Officers- some who will scorn you- you'll need to work the political angle when you're interviewed for a promotional/slot. Odds are good you won't make over O5 anyway.
Look at your hands- do you see scars? Well theres two kinds of people in the military- those who wear the scars and those who wear the STARS. And those who wear the STARS almost always wear a ring on their right hand, usually with a blemish of West Point, Annapolis, or some other ghetto institution.
The best thing is to learn to work the people in the system, in order to work the system.
