West Point Cadet Quits

[popeyespappy]

The radical evangelism in the military is a well-documented problem.

Yes it is. At least in the US military.

It does however make it easier to motivate the troops to slaughter innocent women and children if you can get them to believe God is on your side, and that he is OK with mixing Hellfire and godless heathens.

[Tiberius]

Perhaps he does not want to be forced to interact with jesus freaks with guns every day for 20 years, Divi Tiberio?

The radical evangelism in the military is a well-documented problem.

Right, but I don't believe he simply wasn't aware of this when he signed up. It's not like he got drafted into the military; he actively joined and then spent a number of years supposedly doing very well in his studies and trying to get recognition for his atheist group. Now we're expected to believe that he quits just a few months before graduation because his group wasn't getting the recognition it deserved?

Also, I may be wrong about this, but surely he didn't sign a 20 year contract. I suspect it is quite a simple process to leave the military; it may take time, but I don't think there is any soldier who has to serve 20 years against their will.

[Minimalist]

I don't know what it is, offhand, but there is a commitment to remain in the military as a serving officer for a specific period of time. It isn't 20 years, though. More like 6-8.

There was a case a number of years ago where a spectacularly good football player emerged out of one of the academies ( Annapolis, I think....I don't follow football much) and he was drafted by an NFL team which bought him out of his obligation by re-paying the costs. Chump change to them, of course.

And as to your first point I think a lot of people are surprised by the depth of jesus freak activity in the military since, as noted, such activities are officially banned. There seems to be a tendency for people to think that senior officers would actually obey the oaths they take "so help me god."
Naive, isn't it?

[Cato]

There was a case a number of years ago where a spectacularly good football player emerged out of one of the academies ( Annapolis, I think....I don't follow football much) and he was drafted by an NFL team which bought him out of his obligation by re-paying the costs. Chump change to them, of course.

I think you are referring to Napoleon McCallum. He played a bit while on active duty, but finished his obligated service before playing in the NFL full time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_McCallum

Roger Staubach and David Robinson were also prominent athletes that graduated from the Naval Academy.

[Angrboda]

I personally would not cut it as a soldier. Military training is ultimately about battle readiness, the last thing you want is the trooper next to you wondering if this fighting is morally justifiable you need that soldier to act.
Because of this all the military training I know about is about breaking the individual down so much that they just view themselves as part of the team (as much as possible) and will act as such. This means whatever affiliations a cadet may have on entering the armed forces are kicked the shit out of.
Often civilians have a nice picture of war where one side shoots the other and they die. On the battlefield there are parts of people, some of them still conscious, screening for their mothers burning and dying in terrible pain which can take days. And one is your best mate, but you have got go and do your bit, and you have to go off and stab an enemy soldier in the face with your bayonet, because he won't get out your way, because he is just a kid and knows no better. All you need to get ready for that is a few goes on the playstation, and we can all keep our nice morals intact.
Yes the training leads to abuses, that you get a little clique, that will abuse their positions to force an agenda on those around them. Most military forces struggle with this in one way or another, the best can take time to identify it the worst don't bother, because the outlawing of the conditions that the cliques thrive in, are also the conditions that the military need to make the soldier battle ready.

I think this guy was probably singled out for his atheism, in fact I would be surprised if he were not, just as it would surprise me if a strong catholic or any other way of thinking was not abused in just the same way. That is what being a soldier is about.

"About what one can not speak, one must remain silent."

— Ludwig Wittgenstein