VMI Cadet. February 20, 1998

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Number 17
Southern Military Eyes Texas Campus
News Briefs
World
Annan Leaves For Iraq
UNITED NATIONS
(Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan leaves for Baghdad to­day
on what he’s conceded is a “last
hope” mission to avert U.S.-led
military strikes against Iraq. Annan
is due in Baghdad tomorrow after
flying to Paris, where he holds talks
with French P re s id en t Ja cq u e s
Chirac. Annan is due back in time
to br ief the U.N. Security Council
on Tuesday. A n n a n ’s m is s io n
comes against the background o f a
U.S. naval, air and troop buildup
in the Gulf, poised to strike if Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein persists
in denying U.N. arms inspectors
free access to “presidential and
sovereign sites.”
Reinforcements Arrive in
Kuwait
KUWAIT (Reuters) - U!S.
troop reinforcements began arriv­ing
in Kuwait today to shore up
American military power in the
Gulf in a confrontation with Iraq
over weapons inspections. Wit­nesses
say a first planeload o f sev­eral
hundred o f the total 6,000 U.S.
Army a rmo red an d h e l ic o p te r
troops expected in Kuwait landed
at the international airport, and the
soldiers filed into buses. Diplomats
say they expect it will take 72 hours
for all the troops to arrive and a day
or two more for them all to draw
equipment stored in the small G ulf
state and deploy in the desert.
National
Air Force bomber crashes
inK y .
MARION, Ky. - AH fo u r
crew members o f a Bl -B bomber
that crashed in western Kentucky
Wednesday afternoon are alive ac­cording
to state police. The aircraft
was flying out o f Dyess Air Force
Base near Abilene, Texas, when it
went down in a rural section north­east
o f Marion. The bomber was
not one o f the additional warplanes
being dispatched to the Persian
Gulf, Air Force officials said.
AAA seeks to diffuse
road rage
WASHINGTON - The
American Automobile Association
says it’s time for change in attitude
behind the wheel. The AAA an­nounced
a campaign Wednesday
aimed at quelling the anger o f ag­gressive
drivers, who often pro­voke
or commit violence on the
road. According to the association,
the number o f accidents and deaths
resulting from “road rage” is on the
rise, and drivers need to take a deep
breath and relax before hitting the
streets.
Lawyer: No ‘hard
evidence’ in bombing
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In­vestigators
have no hard evidence
againstthe man being sought in the
fatal bombing o f an Alabama abor­t
io n c l in ic , a law y e r fo r the
suspect’s family said Wednesday.
AttomeyJames Bell says he’s skep­tical
that federal agents’ evidence
against Eric Robert Rudolph links
him to the Jan. 29 bombing that
killed a guard and injured a nurse
at the Birmingham clinic. Suspects
are currently being investigated
and. pursued for possible links to
this bombing.
News briefs are compiled from the
USA Today web site.
Addressing the Educational
Dilemma: Dr. Sommers on Morality
TabHha Stump
News Writer
D o c to r C h r i s t in a H o f f
Sommers, professor o f philosophy
at Clark University, was the guest
speaker during Tuesday’s Comman­dants
Training Time. Since 1980
she has specialized in ethics and
contemporary moral theory. She is
also the author o f the recently pub­lished
book. Who Stole Feminism.
How women have betraved women.
The two main points o f Dr.
Sommers' speech were focused on
the problems with today’s educa­tional
system. Her first m ain point
was on the importance o f moral lit­eracy.
“Students today have a prob­lem
when knowing the philosophi­cal
and literary ideas at the founda­tio
n o f o u r d em o c r a c y ,” s a id
Sommers.
Second, she pointed out that
there is a lack o f moral confidence
among students. Sommers stated,
“ In public schools, there is a failure
to pass along its traditions and heri­tage
to students.” She then added
that i f students would be taught
about the rich heritage and traditions
o f our country, students would be
more willing to appreciate and de­fend
their country.
Dr. S omme rs w a n te d th e
Corps to know that as societies fu­ture
leaders, it would b« up tothem-to
change the direction on which
America’s youth are going down.
The children that are in grade school
now and in the upcoming years will
be our generation’s leaders and it is
our responsibility to teach them.
When asked about the assimi­lation
o f VMI, Dr. Sommers said she
feels that she has a three-sided di­lemma
with the decision. First o f
Dr. Sommers spoke to the VMI corps o f cadets in JM Hall on Tuesday.
all, she was very sad to hear about
the admittance o f women to an insti­tution
that takes so much pride in the
fact it has preserved i t ’s southern
heritage by staying all male. At the
same time, however, she believes that
it has opened up so many doors to
women and has p rovided so many o f
them with equal opportunity. She
also believes that there are differ­ences
between-mea-aad.women-aiid
single sex education can be a benefit
to those differences.
Cadet Will Sarsfi’eld said after
hearing Dr. Sonuner’s speech that Dr.
Sommers refreshed the Corps with
her peacefiil delivery o f a strong mes­sage.
“ She was not a ‘today’s kind
o f militant feminist, but more o f a
feminist o f the old school,” he said.
Sarsfield adds. She really got me to
listen up and pay attention.” He be­lieves
her message was applicable to
everyone, not ju s t to men or women,
in the audience.
“ She made us take a time out
and helped us to see were society is
headed,” said Cadet Je f f Snyder. “ It
r e a l ly m o t iv a te d me w h e n she
pointed out that there was nothing
wrong with some people having tra-
—diUooal.gea4er loles,- Some women
want to be housewives and some
men want to be mechanics, and that’s
okay,” Snyder said.
Dr. Sommers is currently work­ing
on a book titled The War Apair
Bovs. In this book she will address
how it is boys, not girls, which are be­ing
academically short changed and
drained o f self-esteem in today’s soci­ety.
Private all-male military college hopes to
open its doors in fall of 1998
DaieDuriach
VMI Quad A Society
Contingent Observes
Space Shuttle Launch
J. Lamb
Guest Writar
The Quad A had a trip to Cape
Kennedy, FL from 22 Jan to 24 Jan.
Seventeen cadets . Six VWIL and
eleven VMI cadets, attended the trip.
On Jan the cadets saw the Shuttle
Endeavour lift off. The Space shuttle
Endeavour will conduct the eighth o f
nine dockings o f a U.S. spacecraft
with the Russian Mir space station.
After docking is completed, Andrew
S.W. Thomas, the seventh and last
U.S. a s t ro n a u t to liv e and work
aboard the Russian space platform,
will transfer from Endeavour to be­come
a member o f the Mir 24 crew
for approximately four months. Tho­mas
will replace Dr. David A. Wolf,
who boarded Mir during the STS-86
mission in September. Wolf will re­turn
to Earth aboard Endeavour.. In
addition to the crew transfer during
docking operations, the seven-mem­ber
crew will move tons o f science
and logistical materials as well as
supplies between the two spacecraft,
including water from the o rb ite r ’s
fuel cells for use on Mir. Science in­vestigations
that are concerned with
crew health and safety aboard Mir
and technical applications for the In­ternational
Space Station will be also
conducted during this time. On Sat
24 Jan the shuttle reached the Mir
space station
The next day, following the
shuttle launch, the cadets went to the
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Com­plex
where they met with Lt. Col.
Forrestor, Lt. Col. Forrestor is a
qualified astronaut who is currently
in a support role for the astronauts
until he is able to go into space. He
talked about the various topics, such
as, astronaut training. Endeavour’s
mission, and what it takes to become
an astronaut. The cadets were able
to ask questions. After the briefing
the cadets were o f f to the Kennedy
Space Center Visitor Complex. They
were shown a 3-D movie in the the­ater
that took place in the ftiture about
a civilization that lived on a space
station. After that they saw a reen­actment
o f the final minutes o f an
actual space mission from a replica
o f the actual control room. Else­where
in the Complex there were rep­licas
o f the Apollo and Saturn V rock­ets.
From here they shuttled to the
International Space Station Center.
After a brief film they toured the sev­eral
incredibly detailed full-scale
mockups o f space station modules.
These mockups are identical to the
ones that will be used on the space
station. The cadets then went to a
viewing gallery that actually looks
into the bay where eoch space station
module is checked out, processed and
readied for its trip into orbit. Using
another shuttle the cadets traveled to
the sixty-foot observation gantry lo­cated
in the heart o f Launch Complex
39. From here the Cape Kennedy can
be viewed. On Saturday, the clan
headed back to Virginia.
One thing that will be taken
from this trip is the space shuttle
liftoff. A shuttle liftoff is a spectacu­lar
event. The shuttle lit up the night
sky with its bright flame. After about
10 seconds a rumbling come across
the water as the sound o f the liftoff
makes its way to the spectators who
are more than 10 miles away. Colo­nel
Bissell led the VMI contingent o f
the Quad A Convention.
Commissioning
up from 1997
CoUnlMahle
Guest Writer
There has been a 24 percent to­tal
increase o f commissioning iiom last
year thanks to VMI's decision to feed
and house its potential officers. The
Army department hais seen the largest
increase, growing from 22 in 1997 to
42 in 1998.
Professor o f Military Science,
U.S. Army Colonel William Chalkley
accounted for the increase by explain­ing
that four-year ROTC scholarship
winners from the class o f 1998 were
the first that VMI offered room and
board. Chalkley said he suspects that
many o f the winners before 1998 took
their scholarships to Texas A&M, Nor­wich,
and other schools that offered
room and board.
Cadet John Downs from
Gallatin, Tennessee agreed, "This is
probably the best deal if you have an
ROTC scholarship. Here you get the
benefit o f having [room and board]
paid for."
The Novy and Marine Corps to­gether
added 7 commissions to their to­tal.
These two departments, typically
the smallest, can also credit their
growth to the new room and board.
The Air Force decreased from 25
to 19. United States Air Force Captain
Tim Lewallen, Conunandant o f Cadets
for the Aeronautical Studies Depart­ment
blamed the Air Force's drop on
the "different interests" o f the cadets.
He also sajd, "We are trying to do a
better job about getting information to
cadets early." An Air Force Department
survey earlier this year revealed cadets
were uninterested because of a lack of
knowledge about the Air Force pro­gram.
Mary Sihnan, a third-class Air
Force student said the decreases may
be due to career factors. " They want
to fly, and tlien they fmd out how hard
it is to get a pilot spot."
News Editor
A group o f VMI alumni have
decided to lay the foundations for an
all-male private military school. The
school. Southern Military Institute
(SMI), will adopt the encompassing
rituals that once took place at VMI.
The school will be an engineering
and science institution focusing on
the foundations o f Christianity and
ethics while retaining the same m ili­tary
traditions o f VMI and the Cita­del.
The board members to repre­sent
the school have been elected and
this group officially founded the In­stitution
on 20 August
1997 in the state o f
A la b am a . T h is
group, composed o f
an elected president,
his directors, and ad­v
iso ry b o a rd mem­bers,
will dec ide in
th e c om in g w e e k s
whether o r not to buy
a campus situated in
Big Sandy. I f the In­stitute
should proceed
with buying this cam­pus,
a spokeswoman
said that they would enroll their first
class this fall. The only obstacle to
th i s p ro p o s i t io n w o u ld be the
$250,000 needed in the next couple
o f weeks to cover the closing costs.
To accomplish this task, the South-
' em Military Institute will run adver­tisements
seeking donations in vari­ous
newspapers and magazines de­signed
to reach out to VMI and Cita­del
alumni sympathetic to their cause.
In terms o f academics, the in­stitute
will be composed primarily o f
engineering and science courses. It
will also provide cadets with a solid
background in Western Civilization,
Amer ic an Politics , Constitutional
Studies, and Military History. The
In s ti tu te envis ions s taying small,
around 1200 cadets, and offering a
limited number o f degrees so that, in
their view, “the highest-quality edu­cation
for many young men is best
achieved.” As a privately fiinded In­stitution,
SMI also believes that the
men who compose this school should
have a firm background in Judeo-tion
placed on the Christian faith.
SMI, as a military school, will
incorporate training equal to tradi­tional
ROTC programs as seen at
VMI. The military courses and train­ing
will be comparable to those used
at the Staf f Officer Courses o f the
U.S. Command and General Staf f
College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.-
SMI will also perform parades and
routine drill, with combat exercises
(FTX’s) as part o f their duties as ca­dets.
Unlike VMI, the Southern Mili­tary
Institute will not have commis­sioning
authority for officers in the
Un i te d S ta te s Army o r N a tio n a l
Guard. Those cadets seeking com­missions
will have the opportunity
with Officer Candidate School. Spe­cial
military ceremonies will also be
conduc ted hon o r in g the Southern
Confederacy and Confederate Memo­rial
Day. The Southern Military In­stitute
will also commemorate such
events as the Battle o f New Market
which began at VMI as well as other
events honored at the Citadel.
Much like VMI, the class sys­tem
will also be in effect. The ratline
and the “Brother-Rat” m entality will
be, in their view, “re-established” as
well as the “Dyke system,” which
will be “ considered the direct lineage
o f the Old Corps.” Another aspect
o f SMI will be the “Gen tleman ’s
Honor Code” adopted from VMI and
will have the same procedures for
electing honor court members from
the upper two classes. The Honor
Code will remain that a “ cadet will
not lie, cheat, steal nor tolerate those
who do.”
The Board estimates that tu­ition,
room, board and other fees
would amount to about $17,000 a
year, but says the final figure could
Christian values, with special atten- be 10 percent to 15 percent lower. Army Dining in
AROTCcadets* 12th annualfun-feast
St»ve Nichols
if
News Writer
On Friday, 13 February, the
VMI Marshall-New Market Battalion
held their annual 12*’' annual Dinning
Inn at the Virginia Horse Center.
Marking the first time the event was
held o f f the VMI post, the annual for­mal
marked 12 years o f celebrating
th e u n iq u e re la t io n sh ip b e twe en
Army ROTC and VMI
Although it is considered a for­mal
event, a traditional military din­ning
in is closed to those members in
the unit. Certain special guests are
allowed to attend but only by invita­tion.
The purpose o f a formal with
no dates is to promote unit integrity
as well as poke fun at those in the
_unit. The guidelines are that i f you
have dirt oh a specific m ember in the
unit-you bring it to light during the
course o f the evening. Once an indi­vidual
is, b rought before everyone-they
must drink from the “grog bowl”
Or a mixture o f several spirits in­tended
io represent army folklore and
get the accused inebriated. Although
this is Army tradition, the Marshall-
New Market Battalion “grog bowl”
was no^-alcoholic.
I think it went of f really well,
everyone put a lot o f time into it and
I think it really shows,” commented
First Classman Dan Gibson.
Although the night is f illed
with humor, it. follows a strict code
o f tradition that stems from the ear­liest
units in the United States mili­tary.
Each service and unit has tra­ditions
o f their own as well. After
the opening ceremonies, the night
commen c ed with a b u f fe t d in n e r
courtesy o f the Va. Horse C enter and
a guest speaker.
This ye a r ’s guest speaker was
L ie u te n a n t C o lo n e l E r ic D.
H u tc h in g s , VMI c la s s o f 1977.
Hutching’s is the Commander o f the
4"’ Ranger Training Battalion at Fort .
Benning, Georgia. A distinguished .
m i l i ta ry g r a d u a te f rom V M I , '
Hutching’s holds numerous awards ;
and citations that mark an extraordi" '
nary i f not dangerous career. Among
these are the Special F o rc e ’s tab.
Ranger tab, as well as the Scuba, Air
Assault, and Expert Infantry Badges.
He is also a Master Parachutist and
qualified HALO (High Altitude Low
Opening) jumper.
In a speech citing the hazards
and the rewards o f the military as !a ;
career, Hutchings commented on sev* '
eral missions he partook in and the
effect they had. Having traveled the
Four Comers o f the globe, Hutchings
had several enlightening stories that
reflected the experiences he had at
VMI.
Thought by many whom a t­tended
to be one o f the best dinning
ins' in recent years, the cadets look
forward to next yea r ’s “grog bowl”
celebration.