Latest / Conversations: Special Guests with Preston Scott / What's It Like To Go To West Point?

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What's It Like To Go To West Point? · Conversations: Special Guests with Preston Scott

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Play.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning kiddos and ruminators near and far. Thanks a
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: lot for joining us as always remember raising funds for
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: Orphan Shade and providing a home for orphans. We are
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: past the halfway mark. Amazing last couple days, and so
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: just go to Orphanshade dot com, click the donate button
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: and the drop down build a house and in the
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  Speaker 2: comments house number six. That's what we are trying to do.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: But we welcome you to the program. And I was
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: given the opportunity to interview this young man back maybe
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  Speaker 2: a month and a half ago, something like that, First
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  Speaker 2: Class Cadet Mark Clements. He's a graduate of Moseley High
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  Speaker 2: School in Bay County and has studied abroad and is
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  Speaker 2: on Brigade staff at West Point, and he joins us
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  Speaker 2: on the program this morning. Mark, how are you?
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  Speaker 1: I'm doing well, Preston, how are you?
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  Speaker 2: I'm terrific. I am thrilled to have this opportunity. I
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  Speaker 2: thought it would be fun to let people listen to
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  Speaker 2: and hear from somebody that has made the decision to
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  Speaker 2: serve this country. And so let's go back a little bit.
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  Speaker 2: When did this idea of even pursuing an appointment to
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  Speaker 2: West Point become a real consideration for you.
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  Speaker 1: Hmm. Well, so I've got to be honest. I have
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  Speaker 1: a long history of family service.
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  Speaker 2: Okay.
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  Speaker 1: So my father also attended West Point, and he just
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: growing up, he had lots of stories about his time
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  Speaker 1: and service and how much he really enjoyed working with soldiers,
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  Speaker 1: and so I think that really planted the seed. And
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  Speaker 1: then going from there, just going through school and deciding
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  Speaker 1: that I kind of wanted to see more and to
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: see a bigger picture. I began to listen to his
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  Speaker 1: stories with a little bit more more earnest and decided
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  Speaker 1: that it might be the kind of thing I would
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  Speaker 1: be interested in pursuing.
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  Speaker 2: When you were in high school, maybe even middle school,
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  Speaker 2: was this running around in the back of your mind?
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  Speaker 2: It had to be in high school. But when was
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  Speaker 2: it really starting to run around in your mind to
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  Speaker 2: the point mark where you were talking about it with
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  Speaker 2: friends and what was that kind of conversation.
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  Speaker 1: Like, I think it really was high school. In middle school,
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  Speaker 1: it wasn't. I wasn't quite there yet. I'd say, really
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  Speaker 1: around junior year of high school, when college application season
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  Speaker 1: came around and I realized that that things were going
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  Speaker 1: to start getting serious and I needed to figure out
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  Speaker 1: what direction I wanted to take my life in. That's
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  Speaker 1: what I think when I started reflecting back on many
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  Speaker 1: of my father's stories and they really began to take root.
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  Speaker 2: What was your friends reactions, like best budds, What did
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  Speaker 2: they think when you said I'm going to do this,
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  Speaker 2: I'm going to seek an appointment because that it's not
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  Speaker 2: just like going down to the recruiting office, right, I mean,
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  Speaker 2: to be in West Point, you have to get don't
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  Speaker 2: You have to get a letter from Congress and some
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  Speaker 2: other things.
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  Speaker 1: You do, you do it. It can be a complicated
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  Speaker 1: process at times. But my friends, they were great to me.
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  Speaker 1: They encouraged me, They propelled me forward. They said, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: pursue it if it's what you want, and let us
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  Speaker 1: know how it goes.
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  Speaker 2: I'm curious did anyone say, well, that figures you know
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  Speaker 2: what I mean? There are certain people that I think
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  Speaker 2: that you know, I think back to when I was
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  Speaker 2: in school and there are certain guys that had they
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  Speaker 2: said to me, I'm heading to West Point or I'm seeking,
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  Speaker 2: you know, an apployment to one of the service academies,
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  Speaker 2: I'd go, yeah, that that is exactly what you ought
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  Speaker 2: to do because that's the type of person you are.
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  Speaker 2: Were you that type of person that people go, yeah, figures,
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  Speaker 2: he's going to West Point.
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  Speaker 1: That's funny, I do think so. I remember having a
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  Speaker 1: few of those conversations. You're you're very on point with that.
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  Speaker 2: So what was I mean, what was it about you
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  Speaker 2: that your peers would say, yeah, that makes sense, he's
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  Speaker 2: going to West Point.
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  Speaker 1: I think it probably came from I pretty much always
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  Speaker 1: found myself in some some form of leadership role, whether
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  Speaker 1: it was a sports team captain or or tutoring classmates.
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  Speaker 1: I just always kind of found myself in front of
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  Speaker 1: other people, and so I don't think anyone was surprised
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  Speaker 1: when I wanted to sign up for a career that
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  Speaker 1: was that was based around leading other people.
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  Speaker 2: Guaranteed human. I have to say that now this morning show.
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  Speaker 2: Good to be with you. Jose over there in Studio
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  Speaker 2: one A. I am here sequestered in Studio one B
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  Speaker 2: and with me is Cadet Mark Clemens west Point. Mark.
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  Speaker 2: You talked a little bit about the process of getting
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  Speaker 2: the appointment and that it's maybe complex, maybe it's just
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  Speaker 2: a lot of steps. But what kind of grades did
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  Speaker 2: you have to have to hit? That mark of appointment.
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  Speaker 1: So the academy is interested in very well rounded cadets.
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  Speaker 1: So they really they do look at your academics. They
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  Speaker 1: want to make sure you have good grades that often
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  Speaker 1: looks like somewhere between b's and a's and high school.
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  Speaker 1: But they also care a lot about you know, your
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  Speaker 1: physical record, whether or not you played sports, and then
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  Speaker 1: how they measure your capacity to lead.
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  Speaker 2: What was it like when you first got there.
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  Speaker 1: It was a shock, for sure. I think anyone upon
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  Speaker 1: joining the military will There's a lot to learn very quickly,
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  Speaker 1: and it's a little overwhelming at first. But but once
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  Speaker 1: you catch catch hold of it and you begin to understand,
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  Speaker 1: you know what the military is like and what they're
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  Speaker 1: asking you to do, it gets really exciting.
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  Speaker 2: All right. I think people probably have a couple of
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  Speaker 2: different images in their head about what it might be
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  Speaker 2: like to be at West Point. I want to know
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  Speaker 2: from a guy who has been there and is there
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  Speaker 2: the very first day at West Point when you first
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  Speaker 2: wake up, Take us through an average day, just big picture,
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  Speaker 2: what that day looks like the very first day to you.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, So the first the first six weeks we spend
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  Speaker 1: at West Point are a condensed version of basic training.
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  Speaker 1: So those days are are full of life. We're up
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  Speaker 1: probably at about five am. You get you get woken
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  Speaker 1: up by the the cadre, the cadets who have been
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  Speaker 1: assigned in charge of you, and you'll you'll go down
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  Speaker 1: outside for morning formation. You'll listen to the revelie and
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  Speaker 1: then you'll go down and you'll you'll work out as
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  Speaker 1: a group for two hours and once your once your
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  Speaker 1: blood's good and pumping, and come back, take a shower,
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  Speaker 1: put on the uniform and get ready for the day.
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  Speaker 1: The day could be full of be full of training.
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  Speaker 1: It could be full of lessons on on leadership or
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  Speaker 1: various military skills. Then you'll come back for lunch, break
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  Speaker 1: out and do you know another set of training. There's
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  Speaker 1: a lot of different training goals throughout the summer, which
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  Speaker 1: includes learning how to fire your and for your rifle.
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  Speaker 1: They teach you how to throw grenades, they teach you
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  Speaker 1: how to move quietly in the woods. A lot of
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  Speaker 1: these basic leadership skills and they really hone those and
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  Speaker 1: we work on those pretty much until dinner, and then
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  Speaker 1: that's when we work on more of the development side personally,
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  Speaker 1: So lots of conversations with your cadre as they try
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  Speaker 1: and teach a lot of these leadership lessons that they've
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  Speaker 1: been taught while they were at West Point.
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  Speaker 2: How did the realities measure up to the expectations you
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  Speaker 2: had before you arrived.
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  Speaker 1: You know, it's really hard to know what to expect.
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  Speaker 1: I think what I was most impressed by was the
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  Speaker 1: quality of the people who were in charge. To me,
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  Speaker 1: it's it's hard to know what that situation is going
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  Speaker 1: to look like, but I feel like I was very
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  Speaker 1: blessed with the people who were who were giving orders.
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  Speaker 1: They were they were very knowledgeable, and it was actually
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  Speaker 1: an enjoyable experience to learn from them. I feel like
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  Speaker 1: I'd seen a lot of movies about what basically training
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  Speaker 1: looks like, and then it might be more akin to that.
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  Speaker 1: But it was great that it was such this this
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  Speaker 1: learning based environment, and while it was definitely hard and challenging,
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  Speaker 1: I felt like I was able to leave it more
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  Speaker 1: sure and confident of myself.
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  Speaker 2: Final segment with first class Cadet Mark Clemens, West Point
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  Speaker 2: and a graduate of Mosley High School in Bay County.
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  Speaker 2: Seems like forever ago, now, doesn't it? Yes?
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  Speaker 1: So sure it does.
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  Speaker 2: Tell me Tell me about the differences. We talked in
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  Speaker 2: the break a little bit. We have a new administration now,
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  Speaker 2: and obviously there were some pretty significant pivots to the
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  Speaker 2: Defense Department at large. We're now talking about a Secretary
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  Speaker 2: of War versus Secretary of Defense. How much of that
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  Speaker 2: filtered down to West Point? How is there been much
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  Speaker 2: noticeable change at West Point at the academy level.
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  Speaker 1: So as a cadet, we're the training population for West Point,
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  Speaker 1: So we're what west Point is focusing on and what
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  Speaker 1: it wants the output to be. And so for us, honestly,
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  Speaker 1: little has changed. We have good discussions about, you know,
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  Speaker 1: what these changes might look like for the army at large,
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  Speaker 1: but a lot of our training portfolio remains the same
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  Speaker 1: because they're focused on preparing us to be to be
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  Speaker 1: strong leaders that can go out and guide soldiers regardless
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  Speaker 1: of what direction the administration will take us in.
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  Speaker 2: That leadership component. You know, you sometimes hear the expression
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  Speaker 2: you can't lead where you won't go, And I'm curious,
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  Speaker 2: are the first are these years of training in Officers
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  Speaker 2: Training School at West Point mark? Are they designed to
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  Speaker 2: give you every bit of the experience that someone that
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  Speaker 2: just enlists to serve in the Army what they have,
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  Speaker 2: so you've experienced what they've experienced.
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  Speaker 1: At the heart of it, that is what it is
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  Speaker 1: centered around. It just keeps a stronger eye towards how
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  Speaker 1: to navigate challenges and how to think critically and to
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  Speaker 1: really inspire. So a lot of it's about creating the
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  Speaker 1: shared hardship. But for example, for the infantry, you know,
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  Speaker 1: officers and enlisted soldiers will will both attend render school
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  Speaker 1: and they will be treated the same, and for them,
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  Speaker 1: that's one of the greatest ways to create this shared
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  Speaker 1: sense of purpose because now you've been treated the exact
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  Speaker 1: same and you've experienced an equal hardship.
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  Speaker 2: If I were to set aside being away from family,
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  Speaker 2: what's been the hardest part of these four years.
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: It's honestly the weather. I mean, growing up in Florida,
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  Speaker 1: I love our beaches. I love the warm sun, and
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  Speaker 1: those winners get cold and snowy and it gets hard.
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  Speaker 1: I won't lie.
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  Speaker 2: How about the Army Navy game? Have you been to one.
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  Speaker 1: Every year and it's a blast.
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  Speaker 2: It has become one of the most looked forward to
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  Speaker 2: football games of the college football season in recent years,
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  Speaker 2: So you have been in the midst of it. As
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  Speaker 2: it has gained in popularity. So tell me what's going
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  Speaker 2: to happen this year. I expect nothing less than Army
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  Speaker 2: being the winner from your perspective, But tell me what
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  Speaker 2: you think.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I'm Army team all the way. The
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  Speaker 1: games are super, super exciting. It's great to clash with
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  Speaker 1: the midshipman over at Navy and to just I mean,
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  Speaker 1: after this, after three years at West Point, I really
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: know our team. I know a lot of our strong players,
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  Speaker 1: and it's just exciting to see them give it all
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  Speaker 1: out on the field. And really, I mean, that's the
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: game where they truly play their hearts out and it's
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  Speaker 1: awesome being up in the stands cheering them.
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  Speaker 2: On the spectacle of the Cadets in their gray and
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  Speaker 2: the Sailors in their in their uniforms. I'm curious, what
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  Speaker 2: kind of interaction do you have with the guys from
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  Speaker 2: the Navy before, during, and after the game.
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  Speaker 1: It's it's definitely rowdy, but it's pretty good natured and
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  Speaker 1: we've got we've got a long list of unending jokes
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  Speaker 1: between the two services. But at the end of the day,
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  Speaker 1: we do both know that we're we're entering something similar
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  Speaker 1: and so everything tends to end with a handshake or
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: a hug.
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  Speaker 2: Tell us about that ending, what does it look like
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  Speaker 2: for you? Where? Where do you go next? And what
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  Speaker 2: are your goals?
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  Speaker 1: So my dream is to be commit as an infantry officer,
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: and currently I'm interested in doing as long of a
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  Speaker 1: career as the Army will let me. I hope to
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: start first at one of our bases out abroad, either
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  Speaker 1: in Italy or in Germany, just to spend a few
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  Speaker 1: years while I'm still young and bright eyed. I'm just
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: getting a chance to explore the world, since that's one
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: of the many things the Army will advertise, and then
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  Speaker 1: I'll see where which bases I'll end back up in
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  Speaker 1: the States.
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  Speaker 2: Mark, I appreciate you making time for us, and I
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  Speaker 2: hope that maybe a few years from now, if you
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: get that appointment you're looking for overseas, that maybe you'll
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: give us a call from one of those spots overseas
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  Speaker 2: and we can talk some more.
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  Speaker 1: That would be a great time. Thank you so much
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  Speaker 1: for having me today.
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  Speaker 2: My pleasure. Mark Clemens with us. He is first class
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  Speaker 2: Cadet Mark Clemens from Mosley High School in Bay County
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  Speaker 2: and well spoken, as you would expect. You don't get
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: an appointment to Point without having things in order and
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: buttoned up, and so it was a lot of fun,
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: a lot of curiosity in learning more about that West
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  Speaker 2: Point experience. I hope you enjoyed it. Twenty seven minutes
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  Speaker 2: past the hour. You know what name