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

The word at Fort Leavenworth on moral growth, or not, among West Point cadets

Kids, you can’t make this stuff up. Our recent discussion of character and ethical issues (like sadism coexisting with an honor code) at West Point provoked this note from a Best Defense reader : “For what it’s worth, a recent ‘tiger team’ study by a team of colonels was recently presented here at the CGSC ...

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
WikiCommons
WikiCommons
WikiCommons

Kids, you can't make this stuff up. Our recent discussion of character and ethical issues (like sadism coexisting with an honor code) at West Point provoked this note from a Best Defense reader :

Kids, you can’t make this stuff up. Our recent discussion of character and ethical issues (like sadism coexisting with an honor code) at West Point provoked this note from a Best Defense reader :

“For what it’s worth, a recent ‘tiger team’ study by a team of colonels was recently presented here at the CGSC ethics symposium. It briefed character development at West Point when compared to other college-level institutions. The briefer said the results of the study were rejected. Its conclusion was that ‘Bible schools showed the least moral growth — but they did show growth. West Point showed a diminution of principled moral reasoning in its graduates.’ The data indicated this diminution was specifically associated with the first class cadets. So much for improvement.”

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

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.