“Today we mark this rite of passage of becoming warriors in a culturally appropriate manner by gifting eagle feathers. Military service is the only comparable modern-day equivalent to being a native warrior – Major Patrick Sorensen.”
USMA public release.
If an old soldier could speak to the major wearing feathers on his head and no cover, he’d be polite and respectful. He’d respectfully and politely ask if the major was out of uniform with unauthorized headgear in public. He might not like that, but certainly the major would know the Army answer, right?
The Army caved and allows Sikhs wear their turbans and beards as a religious exemption. What’s next? Should officers wear feathers? Isn’t it racist to promote tribalism?
The re-building of the armed mob that came out of the Vietnam War included being ruthless about stomping out the racism in the U.S. Army. Officers and NCOs instructed soldiers that they could think whatever the Hell they wanted, but their speech and behavior could not be racist. Racist speech and behavior would end a career.
In 1973, one old officer can recall the officially ordered “rap” sessions forced upon platoons and companies to talk about our racial and cultural differences. They never worked. They just pissed off the soldiers. The rap sessions were dumped quickly and we focused on teaching sergeants how to be NCOs and working the troops as hard as we could in training. When training resources were slim, we worked them harder in physical training (PT).
One witness in the 82nd Airborne, 2nd Infantry, and 24th Infantry (Mech) of the 1970s saw zero tolerance for any deviancy in uniforms and personal appearance standards. No love beads under the uniform. No group symbols. Soldiers wore dog tags. Only. The other “jewelry” was for civilian clothes off duty. (An old fart reading this may argue how they wore whatever they wanted in the 70s under their shirt. Maybe that was true in your Army, not the experience of one witness.)
Back to the good major quoted in the picture.
The rite of passage in a “culturally appropriate manner by gifting eagle feathers” is indicative of how well assimilated Indians are as full-fledged Americans in one American culture and one American Civilization. It was conducted in English and peacefully.
Unlike rites of passage for the formerly Neolithic people groups of yore, no person was kidnapped, raped, or killed and no livestock were stolen. This is progress even if this rite didn’t require the recipient to actually do anything.
Also, the claim that “military service is the only comparable modern day equivalent to being a native warrior”, is okay if you don’t dig an inch into history, anthropology, and sociology. Native warriors lived in tribal societies, not nation-states. Their way of war was closer to an Afghan tribe or Hamas than the modern U.S. Army. The courage of native warriors is admirable, but little else is transferrable to today.
The uniform of the United States Army, and cadets at West Point, should be uniform.
“pyrene”
Former USMA Pointer Magazine Editor
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