A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

West Point Military Academy has a famous tradition of cadets managing themselves.

The daily organization and management of West Point cadet corps is not based on grade, class, or major. Instead, it is modeled after the organization of the U.S. Army. The entire cadet corps is organized into a cadet corps (brigade), forming a management system of cadet brigade-cadet company, and implementing cadet self-management.

Senior cadets serve as commanders, staff officers, and non-commissioned officers at various levels, directly leading and managing junior cadets. This is a unique aspect of West Point's approach to developing leadership and execution skills in every graduate.

The cadet brigade is divided into four regiments, numbered from 1st to 4th. Below the regiment level, the cadets are organized into battalions, companies, platoons, and squads according to a "three-three system," with officer and non-commissioned officer positions at all levels. This allows cadets to fully train and meet the needs of their future service in the military.

All trainees, regardless of grade or major, were dispersed and mixed into individual trainee companies. Company numbers started with A and were indicated by English letters. Each company had its own military flag, which clearly identified each company's number.

Each cadet company has a "company tactical officer," who is an active-duty captain or major, and is assisted by a company tactical sergeant. They are selected from combat units for exchange assignments and are responsible for supervising and guiding senior cadets who will serve as officers and sergeants, in order to ensure that military academy education is geared towards the troops and actual combat.

The cadet brigade has a unique cadet rank system: first-year cadets are privates, second-year cadets are corporals, third-year cadets are sergeants, and fourth-year cadets become officers. Different ranks and positions correspond to different sleeve insignia, worn on the upper arm of the uniform sleeve; these insignia are numerous and very conspicuous.

The brigade commander is an outstanding senior student. The term of office for brigade and regimental commanders is one year, while the term of office for other positions is one semester. Students are elected and rotated to ensure that every student has ample opportunities to serve and develop their skills.

"Cadet self-governance" is implemented very thoroughly at West Point. Starting from the day of freshman enrollment, "R-Day", all aspects of learning, training, discipline, life, and the organization and management of various activities are handled by senior cadets, except in certain situations where school leaders and instructors need to be involved.

As international students, Song Hongfei and Zhang Yi were assigned to the same company and the same dormitory.

Their training at the freshman "Beast Camp" was led and organized by senior cadet officers and sergeants, which is also a way for West Point to cultivate and shape the leadership and execution abilities of senior cadets.

West Point has a philosophy: "Learn to obey before you can become a leader."

West Point Military Academy has extremely strict regulations and a rigid hierarchy. Freshmen must unconditionally obey the instructions of upperclassmen; there can be no ambiguity, hesitation, or mistakes. Freshmen can only respond to instructors and senior cadets in four ways; there are no other options.

"Yes, sir."

"No, sir."

"Sir, I don't understand."

“There are no excuses, sir.”

West Point has a long and complex set of rules—"Freshman Knowledge," compiled into a booklet, which every freshman receives. When questioned by instructors or senior students, freshmen must recite the "standard answers" from the Freshman Handbook word for word, without forgetting or making mistakes.

"New knowledge" is extremely complicated, trivial, and utterly boring, such as remembering how many lights are in the main building of Washington, how many oak trees are by the school playground, how many cats are in West Point, how many gallons the reservoir holds, and so on—all sorts of meaningless things.

Song Hongfei and Zhang Yi flipped through the "Freshman Handbook" and were truly amazed. They were quite puzzled: "Which bored bastard came up with this incredibly boring stuff?"

Even years later, Song Hongfei still vividly remembered that scene: when he and Zhang Yi were ordered to stand under the clock in the porch of the Washington Building and loudly recite the schedule and calendar.

"Today is August 10th, Saturday. The weather is sunny turning cloudy. The executive officer's name is LeBron James. Today, the movie 'City Lights,' starring Charlie Chaplin, is being screened at the school. There are 26 days until Secretary of the Army Hurley's speech at the school, and 291 and 3/7 days until the graduation ceremony..."

There can be no mistakes when reporting the schedule, otherwise you will be punished. The punishment will be even more severe, requiring you to memorize even more information and make even more mistakes, otherwise the punishment will be further increased.

A senior cadet officer glared at Song Hongfei, his face almost touching hers, and demanded sharply, "Are your shoes polished enough?"

Song Hongfei looked down and was just thinking of defending himself: "Sir, when we were assembling in the central square, a student accidentally bumped into something."

However, if you answer like this, you will immediately be punished with 100 push-ups on the spot. You can only have four answers; there are no other options.

In this situation, you can only answer: "Sir, no!"

The older students pressed their faces together again, shouting, "Why are you dirty?"

At this point, the only appropriate response is: "Sir, there are no excuses!"

The superior only wants results, not explanations.

At West Point, dining rules are numerous and table manners are exceptionally strict, including posture, eating habits, use of utensils, and even how to bite food. Freshmen are supervised by table commanders who often ask them various questions.

On this day, the dining table commander walked over and loudly asked the new student Zhang Yi, "How many gallons of water are in the Lasker Reservoir?"

Zhang Yi immediately put down the bread in his mouth and, without hesitation, loudly, clearly, and without error recited the answer from the "Freshman Handbook": "Reporting, sir! When the floodgates overflowed, there were 8700 million gallons of water."

"How's the cow?" (Referring to how much fresh milk is left?)

"Reporting, sir! The cow can walk and talk, and its belly is full of white water. The milk obtained from the cow is very plentiful, reaching level 6 (there are still 6 boxes of fresh milk left on the table)."

The table commander pointed to the bread on the table and commanded, "Eat it!"

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Yi immediately picked up the bread and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Not fast enough, you idiot!"

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Yi immediately put down the bread in his mouth, answered loudly, and then picked up the bread and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Sit up straight! You idiot, do it again!"

"Yes, sir!"

. . . . . .

Here, as a freshman, you can only obediently accept everything unconditionally.

When they first enrolled, both Song Hongfei and Zhang Yi, as new cadets, found it difficult to adapt. Zhang Yi had attended the Whampoa Military Academy in China, which was a completely different educational approach from West Point. Some of his long-standing military habits were so deeply ingrained that they were like conditioned reflexes, making it especially difficult for him to adjust. Naturally, this made him a target for criticism from the senior students.

As a recent high school graduate, Song Hongfei had never attended a military academy before going to West Point. He was like a blank sheet of paper, starting from scratch. The novelty made him feel better than Zhang Yi.

After a day of training, the two returned to their dormitory. Zhang Yi angrily punched the air, saying, "That wretched guy came right up to me, almost kissing my lips, and he was breathing on me with that stinky breath! He acted like he was yelling at pigs and sheep! Did he think I was a prisoner? Using him to interrogate me? I really wanted to punch his nose!"

Song Hongfei exclaimed with great emotion, "Everyone says that Western countries have always championed freedom and democracy, and respected human rights, but it seems that West Point is an exception..."

Zhang Yi immediately shared the same sentiment.

Senior students often deliberately pick fights and make things difficult for freshmen, not stopping until they've left the freshmen bewildered and helpless. Once, a senior student, disliking Song Hongfei, suddenly decided to confront him, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Rookie! Your brass buttons aren't polished! Now tell me, what's in the second edition of *The Star-Spangled Banner*?!"

Song Hongfei stood at attention and answered honestly, "Sir, the second edition of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' reads: 'Through the fog of the sea, one can vaguely see on the other side, the enemy's camp is falling and being destroyed... This is the Star-Spangled Banner, oh, may it forever fly over the land of freedom and the homeland of heroes!'"

The older student wasn't satisfied and roared again, his voice booming. Song Hongfei felt his eardrums ringing from the powerful sound waves: "Idiot! I don't like your soft, girlish voice! Now speak louder, who do you think you are?! Fool, don't just stand there like an idiot! Tell me, who do you think you are?!"

Song Hongfei roared, "Reporting, sir! I'm stronger than the principal's dog, the dean's cat, the cafeteria waiters, and the damned generals of the entire navy!"

Faced with these challenges, the new students had no choice but to obey, obey, and obey again—unconditionally obey, without the slightest resistance.