Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

What sort of officers succeed, by commissioning source?

Robin Walther, a typically well-informed reader of this blog, points out a more recent study that seems to confirm the findings of the thesis I passed along yesterday. This is his summary: It shows a positive correlation between NROTC and promotion to Maj, LtCol and Col; a negative correlation between OCS (OCC/PLC) and all three ...

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
586423_090424_ricksBB2.jpg
586423_090424_ricksBB2.jpg

Robin Walther, a typically well-informed reader of this blog, points out a more recent study that seems to confirm the findings of the thesis I passed along yesterday.

Robin Walther, a typically well-informed reader of this blog, points out a more recent study that seems to confirm the findings of the thesis I passed along yesterday.

This is his summary:

It shows a positive correlation between NROTC and promotion to Maj, LtCol and Col; a negative correlation between OCS (OCC/PLC) and all three promotion rates; and is mixed for the Naval Academy and the various enlisted commissioning sources.”

I keep on hearing cadets and West Point alums demanding data. OK, we’ve seen some. Now, do you have any evidence that academy grads make better officers? If not, why are we asking the taxpayer to pay almost three times as much for them?

woodgrinder/Flickr

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

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