There is another thread related to "Heart of Stone," but I want to separate the discussion about how Nog got into the Academy from it. Nog's journey is inspiring. He completely turns his life around to become a person of respect and character in an environment that demands trust and discipline. My son found Nog to be a least something of a role model in striving for an ROTC scholarship. For the last several days, we have talked about how Improbable it was to get into the Academy based on what we see in the episode. It's not that Nog would not be the lieutenant, junior grade, we see standing before Col. Kira at the end of the series. However, it would not be the path described in the episode if it happened in the real world.
My own knowledge comes through the experiences of my son, his friends, and the teenagers involved in the same organizations. In some cases, I have helped them with the entire process, perhaps playing a small part in their applications. Nog isn't like them. The kids who get into service academies or get ROTC scholarships were far more than teenagers on school teams or honor rolls. They were leaders in numerous organizations. The participated in STEM competitions. They organized large activities. They put in hundreds of hours of community service. My son was the logistics officer of his JROTC unit, putting him in charge of all the equipment of the program for 130 cadets, requiring him to make frequent inventories and report to current military officers. Yes, he had to do what Sisko asked of Nog many times over.
Does that mean Nog has no path to becoming an officer? No, but it would happen differently. There are several paths to becoming an officer. One could, for instance, join and complete an ROTC program while in college ( they would require you to commit at some point).
A more likely story would be Nog enlists. He would be given a military aptitude test, like the ASVAB, and score highly. O'Brien would convince him to become a warp tech. He would tell Nog that at some point, he could apply for officer training. Or he could learn that he could get a direct recommendation (not just a character reference) from his CO. So Nog might enlist, maybe as security, work really hard to win the respec of his CO (maybe Sisko, because this is TV), and get a much more valuable recommendation than he could have gotten in the episode. In TV time, he completes his training in enough time to be an Ensign by season 7.
Like a lot of TV, you can see reality if you squint. There is just enough realism, but insufficient accuracy. RHW and RDM should be commended for crafting this story, and I hope it gives courage to kids whose path in life hasn't always been so straight.
My own knowledge comes through the experiences of my son, his friends, and the teenagers involved in the same organizations. In some cases, I have helped them with the entire process, perhaps playing a small part in their applications. Nog isn't like them. The kids who get into service academies or get ROTC scholarships were far more than teenagers on school teams or honor rolls. They were leaders in numerous organizations. The participated in STEM competitions. They organized large activities. They put in hundreds of hours of community service. My son was the logistics officer of his JROTC unit, putting him in charge of all the equipment of the program for 130 cadets, requiring him to make frequent inventories and report to current military officers. Yes, he had to do what Sisko asked of Nog many times over.
Does that mean Nog has no path to becoming an officer? No, but it would happen differently. There are several paths to becoming an officer. One could, for instance, join and complete an ROTC program while in college ( they would require you to commit at some point).
A more likely story would be Nog enlists. He would be given a military aptitude test, like the ASVAB, and score highly. O'Brien would convince him to become a warp tech. He would tell Nog that at some point, he could apply for officer training. Or he could learn that he could get a direct recommendation (not just a character reference) from his CO. So Nog might enlist, maybe as security, work really hard to win the respec of his CO (maybe Sisko, because this is TV), and get a much more valuable recommendation than he could have gotten in the episode. In TV time, he completes his training in enough time to be an Ensign by season 7.
Like a lot of TV, you can see reality if you squint. There is just enough realism, but insufficient accuracy. RHW and RDM should be commended for crafting this story, and I hope it gives courage to kids whose path in life hasn't always been so straight.
