Customer Reviews

Same Date of Rank - Grads at the top and bottom from West Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academy

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This book is based on the old joke: Q: What do you call the guy who graduated last in medical school? A: Doctor. In the three U.S. Military Academies, Army, Navy and Air Force, the top and bottom graduate have the "Same Date of Rank."

Using interviews gathered over many years, Christopher J. Hoppin (Lt. Col., U.S. Air Force, Ret.) tells the fascinating stories of men and women who graduated near the top and the bottom of their classes in the three military academies. We learn why they went to the academy, what their lives were like during their time there, and most importantly, their subsequent careers.

Hoppin is eminently qualified to tell these stories. In addition to having been a Liaison Officer for the Air Force Academy for many years, he is the father of an Air Force Academy graduate. A Liaison Officer, as you will learn in this book, has the job of guiding a student who wishes to apply to the Academy through the application procedure.

In the first chapter, Hoppin gives an overview of the academies and the procedure he used to obtain the stories. Throughout the book, while telling individual stories, he imparts a wealth of information about the academies as well as information about the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.

But the heart of the book is the stories of these men and women, taken from the class of 1942 through 1999. To me, the most fascinating story is the first one. The man who graduated last in 1942 was the first in his class to become a General.

Fantastic book on the academies discussing the history of class rank at the institutions as well as famous tops and bottoms. The real strength of the book is the in-depth bios of some amazing people - most interesting to me were the WWII subjects. Well written and a great way to read about military history and traditions that would otherwise be lost.

Lt. Col. Chris Hoppin has compiled the biographies of twenty cadets and midshipmen of the U.S. service academies; both men and women who graduated at the top of their classes as well as those who graduated at the bottom. These stories span 66 years, and with them he offers a straightforward hypothesis: class rank is not necessarily a predictor of fame and fortune. His point is that despite the emphasis on class standing at the academies, the graduates begin their military careers on a level playing field: they share the same date of rank. Hence the title of the book.

Hoppin claims that class rank or a similar order of merit provides an equitable means of eliminating favoritism and politics in the process of attaining first jobs. It's a reasonable thesis, but the data he presents make a strong case for the thesis in only one direction - upwards. That is to say, those who graduate at the top have careers at the top, but those who graduate at the bottom tend not to have careers at the bottom.

Since the 1960s (the period with which I began my look at Hoppin's book), those who graduated first in their class had careers that were marked by high achievement. There is not a single instance reported in this period of a graduate at the top of his or her class who had a lackluster career, military or civilian. These people are the stars, and class rank really didn't matter.

It's a different story in the other direction, and it's here that Hoppin is solidly spot on. The "Tail-End Charlies" do succeed! There are two reasons for this, I think.

First is that they are basically very competent men and women. They were at the top of their high school classes, and they successfully passed the rigorous USAFA entrance exams. They were highly qualified for leadership and for careers that would make contributions to society. Their experience with the order of merit notwithstanding, these people are winners. As cadets and midshipmen, they had a wilderness experience with what appears to be a dysfunctional system. That leads to my next point.

Second is that, for all of its vaunted objectivity, the order of merit system is flawed. The order of merit is calculated from "objective" measurements and from "more subjective" measurements. What sorts of factors shape these subjective evaluations? It's not pretty. We read of racism, sexism, sexual discrimination, and sexual harassment. We hear hints of religious and denominational bias - indeed, press reports in recent years bear this out. It's not a good system.

In 1977, the service academies scuttled the Graduate Order of Merit system, and since then cadets have graduated alphabetically by squadron. But the rankings exist - they're just not as visible on graduation day as they once were.

The real strength of this solidly researched book is found in the biographies and in Hoppin's accounts of his interviews with the graduates. These stories are not puff pieces assembled by an Air Force Academy Liaison Officer - essentially an admissions counselor. Rather, they are candid and unvarnished accounts of the lives of cadets and midshipmen, officers and civilians. These people are honest with us and - more importantly - honest with themselves.

Hoppin does the academies a real service with this book. He doesn't wave a flag, nor does he paint a recruiter's glamorous picture of cadet and service life. He gives us real, believable people; people whose love for their country, organizations, families, and friends, shines in the honesty of their words. They are role models for us and for our children. They do us proud.

Full disclosure: I must fess up that Chris Hoppin and I went to high school together. I graduated 23 of 433 in that high school class. I'm also a USAFA graduate, class of 1964, from which I graduated a lackluster 296 of 499. I served on active duty for six years, and afterwards had rewarding careers in public service and in higher education in the States, the Soviet Union, Poland, Russia, and Belarus, proving Hoppin's point and mine.

Joseph Liro

Associate Professor of Russian

Austin Community College

The thoroughness of the research and the writing style made for a great read.

I have recommended it to several friends who I know will like it. It was

truly a great service to document the stories of these outstanding officers

and to educate current and future officers to life at an academy and a military career.

Steve Little

As a military history buff, I found Hoppin's book fascinating, disarming and a good read. His premise - that "first" or "last" in the service academies' class rankings is no predictor of eventual achievement - is well borne out in his profiles.

The profiles are frequently colorful, often surprising and narrated with an eye for the telling detail. Hoppin has interviewed each of the service men and women he reports on at length, and their answers are revealing and often unexpected. They defy stereotypes, too, as for example, the battle-hardened West Pointer who punctuated his remarks to Hoppin with chunks of poetry, from Kipling to Shakespeare.

Hoppin accompanies the profiles with then-and-now photos that help bring his subjects to life - young and "wet behind the ears" while training, and then years later as accomplished officers in the field. Nicely done.