Hi guys,
Is it time to give this thread drift a rest?
Reiterating the same arguments for days is getting tiresome for the rest of us, since neither has moved the other much.
Every US service academy has many stories of cadets, ie future very successful officers who came when less than fully prepared, but managed on their own in the weeks before classes actually began to learn what they needed, so they kept up if not achieving superior ratings when they never finished high school, or even attended etc.
It has, can, and will be done again.
If you haven't read it, may I recommend the book "The Class of 1846" by John Waugh, 1999?
It's a fascinating account of West Point's crucial role in mid-19th century America, including the healing after the ACW.
Forex, Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson was his congressman's second choice, the first not liking the discipline involved and bailed, leaving him TJ, who was rather ignorant of mathematics, and was the goat the first year, but by dint of long nights studying by the light of the barrack fire place managed to improve considerably, rising to the front rank in those four years, indeed some of his classmates introduced him to other officers as the likely top student if there had been a fifth year despite McClellan and other top scholars!
The old SKM had a population of 6+ billion, with Lynx another 2 billion, while the TQ's 16 members average 2.5 billion for 40 billion, before trying to quantify and add Silesia's population.
If the TQ restricts their potential cadet offering to just the top millionth, or probably a thousand time higher than the SKM's rate, then that's roughly 40,000 near geniuses to select the 5-10% for the first class.
I suspect at that performance level, those seeking admission to Saganami have already sought out and prepared themselves rather better than some may credit them, certainly better than many of the aristocratic idiots our heroes have had to deal with at Saganami or in the service.
For most, Nuncio being one exception, catching up if they are deficient in some category won't take that long to overcome their ignorance, since the various TQ system online databases ought to keep up with any recent discoveries, if there has been anything major in the public domain, in the past almost century besides prolong.
I could see the TQ sending their cadets a term early to take advantage of Manticore's education databases for those lacking complete preparation, although I suspect there are a number of prep schools already offering this if not guaranteeing success, so little need to make it another government program.
Interesting times indeed.
L
cthia wrote:PeterZ wrote:Cthia,
The Old Kingdom has approximately 10 billion residents between Manticoe, Sphynx, Gryphon, Trevor's Star and Lynx. The Talbott Quadrant has approximately 40 billion people. The Madras sector likely has twice as many star systems and another 80 billion more people who might join the Manticoran Economic Alliance. We are talking about an expansion of an order of magnitude greater than the RMN has been working with.
Second point is that we currently have solid tests that correlate strongly with graduation from college. Saganami Island has had experience with the old Manticoran Alliance members sending students. Those nations found themselves in much the same circumstances as Talbott and the Verge nations introduced in Sadow of Victory. Saganami Island understands quite well what qualities and experience their prospective students need to graduate from their experiences.
Setting those standards high enough to keep enrollment up to generating enough officers to sustain the Alliance members navies. It makes sense for the SEM to educate naval officers serving in the Alliance navies. That sort of common foundation in naval personnel will improve communication and cooperation on an operations level as well as a I shared cultural awareness on a broader level. Those Alliance members will gladly contribute to expanding Saganami Island as part of their contribution to the Alliance military.
Bottom line is that the population base will certainly provide a pool of qualified applicants. Those applicants may have to prepare harder to be accepted, but so what? That's part of the selection process. So, I really don't understand your concern. The education at The Island won't be degraded and the expanded cultural diversity stemming from including a large number of new Alliance members will add to the ultimate effectiveness of the Alliance.
The concern would not be mine.
I agree for the most part Peter. I just do not see how the Verge in general could be ready for Saganami Island enrollment
now. A fair amount of remedial education is needed. I thought we agreed on that.
Sure, other navies have been sending their officers to Saganami. But in my mind that is the same as on the job training (OJT). The fact that they are already officers in another navy is nothing less than the same remedial education in which I speak. They are receiving credit and academically benefiting for experience and time in grade. They won't exactly be lost in many of the classes at Saganami. Virgin Verge students however...
You do not want to dilute the premiere naval academy in the galaxy with substandard applicants. It takes time.
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