THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 30, 1995 TAG: 9508300009
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
With respect to staff writer Kerry Dougherty's comments (``He-said, She-said'' Aug. 20) that exercising in 100-degree heat at The Citadel during Hell Week was ``perhaps the invention of a sadistic mental midget'':
``Perhaps'' Ms. Dougherty doesn't' recall that many past conflicts - Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf come to mind - were fought in 100-plus degree heat.
``Perhaps'' The Citadel's function is to teach its cadets to operate and win in that kind of an environment since many of its graduates go on to a military career.
I applaud the desire of The Citadel to maintain standards of physical training. Ms. Dougherty's attitude seems to be that if Shannon Faulkner couldn't do it, it really wasn't necessary to do it.
Unfortunately, that isn't the real world. Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf are examples of the real world where rigorous physical standards of training are a must for success.
The United States has not seen the last of armed conflict. To win we need rigorous physical standards, not politically correct (read double) standards.
W. J. FRIGGE
Captain, U.S. Navy (ret.)
Virginia Beach, Aug. 22, 1995 by CNB