West Point and an Unpopular War

Last week I reflected on what was one of the best leader development experiences I encountered while in the Army, serving as a Tac officer at the United States Military Academy. This week I want to share portions of a research paper completed as part of required Advanced Civilian Schooling, prior to my assignment to the Corps of Cadets in 2004.  

The assignment was the culminating effort for LD 720 “The American Military Experience and USMA” and one of the benchmark research papers for the graduate program. The purpose of the course was to provide the student a deep understanding of USMA’s role in our nation’s history.

Our professors for the course, USMA history “P’s”, as the cadets call them, were legendary for strict adherence to research standards, format and writing. Our professors required a well thought out research plan prior to approval of a topic.

My proposed research topic explored what, if any, did the Vietnam antiwar effort have on USMA? I chose this topic not only because it interested me, but also I was a direct leader beginning my transition to organizational leadership. I was starting to fully understand the multitude of factors that can impact an organization.

I didn’t realize it when writing the paper, but USMA weathered the “war at home” during Vietnam because it has arguably one of the richest organizational cultures in our nation. In just a few short years after writing the paper, it would be my responsibility to establish an organizational culture that could adapt to challenging influences.

This research assignment, although time consuming, was truly enjoyable. Perhaps it was because it hit close to home since I myself had just recently returned from Operation Iraqi Freedom. Maybe it was just really interesting subject matter! Regardless, it is one of the writing assignments that certainly helped develop me as a leader. I hope you enjoy reading this excerpt as much as I enjoyed writing it!  

Excerpt from “The Long Gray Line and an Unpopular War: West Point During Vietnam”

From 1968 to 1971 Vietnam antiwar sentiment steadily grew in the United States. America’s prosecution of the Vietnam War touched thousands of homes across the country both directly and indirectly with antiwar sentiment becoming a part of everyday life during the late 1960’s. Centered around but not ultimately restricted to the nation’s colleges and universities, the antiwar movement was the vocal, visible, and sometimes violent outlet for antiwar sentiment and it was able to affect many changes in American culture, society, and, some would say, foreign policy.

But could the antiwar movement touch the rockbound highland walls of America’s military academy? Did growing antiwar sentiment that many argue helped to end the war and kept political leaders from escalating it affect academy operations? If not antiwar sentiment, then what did cause change at one of America’s most steadfast institutions during America’s most unpopular war?

Although antiwar sentiment enveloped the nation by 1971 and affected social as well as political change, it did not cause any significant change to the admission numbers, curriculum, operations, or ideals of the United States Military Academy. The faculty, staff, and cadets at the academy were more affected by combat action during the Vietnam War itself than antiwar sentiment and overwhelming unpopularity of the war.

The geographic location, 150 years of tradition, and principles from which the institution were created helped to keep the “rockbound highland home” of the Corps of Cadets shielded from many of the influences that significantly changed other academic institutions of the period.

In order to fully appreciate the potential catalysts for change to which the academy was exposed from 1968 to 1971 one must first understand the different expressions of antiwar sentiment. By 1971 Vietnam was the most unpopular war in American history with the antiwar sentiment expressed in two distinct ways. First, a “silent majority” of Americans did not openly protest the war but acknowledged through various polls and opinion surveys that they felt the war was a “mistake.”

Second, a much more visible antiwar movement displayed their discontent by actively protesting the war.    Not as visible or vocal as the antiwar movement, but just as important, it is worthy to first discuss the “silent majority” of Americans who disapproved of the conflict but did not take to the streets in protest.

In 1965 only 24% of Americans surveyed in a Gallup poll that asked “do you think Vietnam is a mistake?” replied that they felt it was. By 1971 61% of Americans who were asked the same question acknowledged that Vietnam was a mistake who were asked the same question acknowledged that Vietnam was a mistake.  

What caused the shift in opinion? Unlike the antiwar movement that often based its opposition to the war on grounds of morally questionable U.S. goals and opposition to the selective service system, the silent majority of Americans became disillusioned by battlefield losses, human losses, and the seemingly impending defeat.

Another interesting fact taken from the Gallup polls and opinion surveys which counters a popular misconception of antiwar sentiment, is that the American public who silently disapproved of the war included not only older generations aged over 50 years but also those who had received only grade school educations. 

Although this “silent majority” of Americans who by 1971 disapproved of the war didn’t take an active role in attempting to change American policy, their presence cannot be ignored. This silent majority were the family and friends of West Point cadets in the late 60’s and played important roles in shaping the cadets’ experience and influencing their decision making processes much more than the activists.

By 1971 the Army was a shell of the victorious one that had defeated the Nazis and Japanese in WWII. The unclear outcome of Vietnam, a careerist oriented officer heavy force structure, and poor discipline within the ranks contributed to the decline of the Army and continued to mar its reputation throughout the early and mid-1970’s until reform could tum it back into a credible organization.

The academy also had to make some changes due to Vietnam, but the “war at home” did not significantly change the academy’s enrollment, curriculum, operations or ideals. From 1968 – 1971 America endured significant change and while West Point still remained a good indicator of the America’s “silent majority,” it had some serious catching up to do. By the mid 1970’s West Point was engaged in significant changes of its own and many have argued that the seeds for this change were sewn from 1968 to 1971 during America’s most unpopular war.

If you’ve enjoyed this excerpt, check out my book to read the rest! Writing to Lead: A Look at Military Leader Development Through Academic Writings is available Here! Writing to Lead is full of essays exploring a variety of topics and provides a first-hand account of how the Army trains its officer corps through Professional Military Education. 

The views, opinions and biases expressed in this blog are the authors and do not reflect those of the U.S. Army or the Department of Defense.

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