I hear that two patriotic billionaires are trying to cut federal spending. Considering we are beyond broke (32 trillion in debt and counting), I hope they are successful. I have a modest suggestion for reducing federal spending that involves downsizing and consolidating our military training. 

I live near the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Unlike many of my neighbors who Ohhh and Ahhh at the grandeur of the place and speak of it as the Second Coming, I see it as a Sacred Cow, long overdue for a visit from the auditor if not the butcher. The USNA is an empire we can ill afford. It’s like that song from the musical “Damn Yankees” (Whatever USNA Wants, USNA Gets). 

We have three ocean-related service academies located in Maryland (United States Naval Academy), New York (Merchant Marine Academy), and Connecticut (United States Coast Guard Academy). Ship handling and rules of the road are the same for all three. Why not close two and consolidate the three into one ocean-going school? 

Image: The United States Naval Academy by Michael Slonecker. CC-Zero.

The rationale for service academies arose back when we believed that we engineers in the military for all the logistical problem-solving that our armed forces demand. The world is more complicated now, but very few service grads receive engineering degrees. They now receive degrees in less mission-essential fields like political science and economics, even as we need engineers more than ever. 

Why not return to the practice of offering only engineering degrees to service academy graduates? Others desiring to become officers could do so through officer candidate schools and ROTC programs in other colleges and universities. It would be significantly cheaper. 

The Navy has flight schools, the Air Force has at least one flight school, and the Army has a flight school. Why all the duplication? Flying is flying. I realize the Air Force and Army have no need to land on aircraft carriers, but that is a specialty that can be taught and simulated in 2024. 

Promising engineers graduate expecting big bucks for all their hard work. That is as true now as it was in the 19th Century. Reward promising students with quality engineering degrees from the academies in return for a 5-year commitment to serve in their chosen branch. 

Downsizing the academies, consolidating training, and putting a greater emphasis on Officer Candidate Schools and the Reserve Office Training Corps will give us more bang for the buck in obtaining officers for our armed forces. 

Ned Cosby, a frequent contributor to American Thinker, is a former pastor, veteran Coast Guard officer, and a retired English high school teacher. His novel OUTCRY is a love story exposing the refusal of Christian leaders to report and discipline clergy who sexually abuse our young people. This work of fiction addresses crimes that are all too real. Cosby has also written RECOLLECTIONS FROM MY FATHER’S HOUSE, tracing his own odyssey from 1954 to the present. For more info, visit Ned Cosby.