Thanks for your thoughtful, informed reply. You make several great points in your comment and I am honored to provide an opportunity for a fellow man in uniform to speak up on the matter.

When I was at the Academy, I actually supported this idea that later became a short-lived policy because I thought those individuals could serve as ambassadors and recruiters for the military in a different way. Unorthodox? Definitely. Unpopular? Maybe. But I thought worth the cost. I suggested that the NFL team who wishes to draft a player would pay the government back for a portion of their West Point training in exchange for the individual taking a reserve assignment.

If you’re interested: here is the post I wrote when Campbell was first drafted, laying out my reasons for supporting the policy.

Regarding your point about athletes not staying in beyond their minimum commitment…that may be true but I know offhand of four of my classmates (3 corps squad football players) 1 soccer player who led very distinguished military careers and were some of the finest officers to wear the uniform. Pat Work and Eric Oliver were both standout defensive guys and later became extremely successful Army Rangers. Another friend of mine, Jimmy Adamouski, was a soccer player and one of the first to die in Iraq, getting shot down in his Blackhawk in the opening months of the war. I know these are just anecdotal examples but I am get the sense that many of the Corps Squad standouts served comparable stints to the non-corps squad graduates.