# What was Military Academy policy for Cadets during WWII? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 6, 2018, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-military-academy-policy-for-cadets-during-wwii/825675 "2018-12-06T15:19:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-military-academy-policy-for-cadets-during-wwii/825675/1 "2018-12-06T15:19:46Z")
It came out this week that Bush and Carter are only a few months apart in age. Both were born in 1924. Bush had quite a combat record in WWII. I was surprised to read that Carter spent the war years at the Naval Academy. He was allowed to enter the academy in 1943. He wasn’t drafted into the military. > **[Jimmy Carter](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter)** > > James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American retired politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975 and as a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967. > Carter was born and raised in Plains, Georgia, graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1946 and joined the United States Navy, serving in the submarine service. Afterward he ret... I had always assumed students at the military academies got pressed into active service ASAP. West Point closed during the Civil War in 1863. [http://clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com/articles/military/west\_point.htm](http://clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com/articles/military/west_point.htm) What was Military Academy policy during WWII? Were cadets encouraged to enter active duty and deploy as officers in military units? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-military-academy-policy-for-cadets-during-wwii/825675/2 "2018-12-06T15:27:50Z")
Which country? If it’s the US, from memory, in both World Wars, the course was truncated from 4 years to 2.5. Carter was commissioned in early 1946, having started in late ‘43. In addition, I think in both 1917 and 1942, the third years who had finished were commissioned early, alongside the 4th years. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-military-academy-policy-for-cadets-during-wwii/825675/3 "2018-12-06T15:32:43Z")
Yes, the US. I forgot to say that in my OP. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-military-academy-policy-for-cadets-during-wwii/825675/4 "2018-12-06T15:32:43Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > West Point closed during the Civil War in 1863. > [http://clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com/articles/military/west\_point.htm](http://clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com/articles/military/west_point.htm) Did you read this page? It says there was a push to close it but it remained open in the wake of several victories by West Point graduates over civilian officers: > [@http://clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com/articles/military/west\_point.htm](#): > > However, Union successes led by West Point graduates like Ulysses S. Grant against the failures of civilian commanders like John C. Fremont, Benjamin Butler, and Franz Siegel persuaded Congress to leave West Point open. > [@aceplace57](#): > > What was Military Academy policy during WWII? Were cadets encouraged to enter active duty and deploy as officers in military units? Yes on both counts. They accelerated the training schedule from 4 years to 3 years from 1943 to 1947. Why would they ever close the school because of a war? Can you imagine a worse way to replenish and maintain your officer corps than shutting down one of the best programs to produce them? ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-military-academy-policy-for-cadets-during-wwii/825675/5 "2018-12-06T15:35:09Z")
Yep. The class of 1943 graduated six months early in January 1943, and the next four classes graduated after only three years. The problem was that they needed officers, but they also needed _qualified_ officers. You can cut standards as a wartime expedient, but cut too deep and you won’t have the right leaders. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-military-academy-policy-for-cadets-during-wwii/825675/6 "2018-12-06T15:42:40Z")
I was rushing to get a cite before the edit time out. I quickly scanned that article and saw Congress, closed, 1863. I didn’t keep reading. That’s what I get for frantically trying to add a cite while editing. My apologies. So, they shortened the Military Academy during WWII. Getting officers into service faster than normal. Three years at the Academy is still much longer than the college men that attended boot camp/officer training and deployed. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-military-academy-policy-for-cadets-during-wwii/825675/7 "2018-12-06T15:48:13Z")
Despite being an Army veteran, I’m entirely ignorant of West Point practices. Do they have summer and/or winter breaks? Is it possible to accelerate training simply by removing those breaks? What does a West Point cadet do during the summer break? Do they have leave to visit home? Do they replace classroom work with outdoor training?