[smotan_02]

We never called it hazing at West Point, always "leader development". Everything was meant to teach you attention to detail, memorization, and reacting under stress.

My first year was full of "pinging" around campus, only allowed to use 4 responses when talking to upper classmen/women ("Yes Sir/Ma'am, No Sir/Ma'am, No Excuse Sir/Ma'am, Sir/Ma'am, I do not understand), and reciting pages and pages of knowledge. This was in addition to a grueling academic schedule, that as a product of the Alabama public high school system, I wasn't quite ready for.

The moment that always sticks out in my mind happened every morning at breakfast. Our tables were groups of ten people and were a mixture of freshman through seniors. Usually 2-3 freshman (plebes) were at a table and they had an assortment of duties to complete at the start of every meal. These include prepping the dishes, ensuring condiments were open, and then announcing meals. We were not allowed to eat until these duties were done and the upperclassmen liked to include a few questions for good measure.

The one that I will forever remember and felt that it was the most asinine thing I've ever done is the response to when an upperclassmen asks: "How's the Cow?"

"Sir- she walks, she talks, she's full of chalk
The lacteal fluid extracted from the female of the bovine species
Is highly prolific to the 'n'th degree"

All of this to tell the upperclassman how many of the small elementary school style milk containers were remaining on the table (N=number of milks remaining).

My next "favorite" was..."Cadet, what is the definition of leather?"

"Sir- the definition of leather. If the fresh skin of an animal, cleaned and divested of all hair, fat, and other extraneous matter, be immersed in a dilute solution of tannic acid, a chemical combination ensues; the gelatinous tissue of the skin is converted into a nonputrescible substance, impervious to and insoluble in water; this is leather."

Ahhh...the days (not hours) of my life I will never get back from reciting that stuff. I will say that it taught me to process, understand, and recall data in a stressful environment while showing no stress or emotion. It directly helped me later in life when I became a jumpmaster in an army airborne unit and helped exit America's finest from a perfectly good aircraft as well as dealing with stress in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

I'm fairly certain we have some other West Point and Annapolis grads on here and I cant wait for the: "Well in my day..." responses.