Military Schools Recruit With Promise of Discipline

0 Comments | Insight on the News, March 29, 1999 | by Kim Asch

Because a cadet's success relies on teamwork, peer pressure at military schools is considered a positive influence. Cadets police each other by reporting, or "sticking," rule breakers. The lowliest private can stick the top cadet.

Administrators dole out hours of detail, or manual labor, based on the seriousness of the crime. A cadet's first unexcused class absence earns four detail hours; a Walkman or stereo will be confiscated the second time he or she is caught listening during evening study hall; a third transgression for littering warrants 12 hours of work.

Massanutten, like other military academies, does not tolerate drug use, fighting or sexual activity. A definition of the latter violation is included in the lengthy regulation book to avoid any misunderstandings: "Cadets will not have sexual relations on campus or on any school-sponsored trip or activity, including while on town pass. Sexual acts include any form of intercourse, oral or digital activity."

If the rules don't eliminate misbehavior, they at least make cadets think twice. "We all live here and there's an attraction, so I know it does happen," Jennifer says, walking down a narrow path dubbed "lovers' lane" between the girls' and boys' dormitories. "People aren't getting pregnant, so you know it's safe sex. Most of them are 18 and save it for when they go home on the weekend."

Inevitably, some cadets are told to go home for good. Most military schools schedule two admissions cycles per year, one in the fall and another in the winter to fill slots left open by about 15 percent of students who typically can't cut it. Last semester, "two young ladies were dismissed for getting into a scrap in the girls' dormitory," says Massanutten President Jack Albert. "Besides being unladylike, violence is just not tolerated."

Those who stay the course say the school saved them from the dead-end paths taken by some of their friends back home. "All they care about is sex, cars and money," says Lynn Chaing, 17, of her friends back home in St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. "If I hadn't come here, I don't think I would have come this far through school or through anything."

A DAY IN THE LIFE

Military academies such as Massanutten ensure cadets make good use of their time. Here is the weekday schedule:

6 a.m.: Reveille -- Cadets wake, shower and dress in uniform.

6:45 a.m.: Formation -- Cadets report to "company street" at the front of the academy for uniform inspection and to salute the American flag as it is raised.

7 a.m.: Breakfast -- All cadets are required to attend "mess," The company exhibiting the best behavior each week gets to go through the "chow line" first.

7:30 a.m.: Inspection -- Cadets' dorms must be neat and orderly.

7:50 a.m.: Formation

8 a.m.: Classes -- Academics are divided into seven 45-minute periods with four minutes between classes. Cadets must show proper respect for instructors, addressing them as "sir" or "ma'am."

10:15 a.m.: Break

10:45 a.m.: Classes resume

12:15 p.m.: Formation

12:20 p.m.: Lunch