Being a member of the class of 2007 and currently a corporal of the corps, I make no claim to say that our ratline was by any means the hardest ever seen by the institute. Our dyke’s class suffered from packed RDC sweat parties, 31 sweat parties issued by the corps, and hour long sweat party by their dykes, the class of 2001. The ratline is not just measured by the sweat party numbers. They endured forced marches in below freezing temperatures, stoop runs in overcoat, cadre push privileges, and cadre corporals being allowed on the fourth stoop. As they indeed told themselves, and almost put on their class rings, The Line Ends Here. The last year of the true ratline ended there. The class of 2005 suffered an almost similar ratline. The Cadre lost their push privileges and corporals were no longer allowed on the fourth stoop. Instead of cadre push privileges, rats could be sent to the courtyard to have “fun” with the RDC. Eventually, rats would rather out-process than face another moment with the RDC. The RDC courtyard fun during hell week was immediately suspended.
Facing pressure from the outside world, the class of 2006 endured an experimental ratline. Whereas in all prior years, during the “meet your cadre” ceremony on matriculation day, the cadre would rush the rats and immediately have push and workout privileges, the class of 2006 was politely introduced to their cadre one at a time. The RDC was severely restricted from “playing” with the rats. Disciplinary action on the stoops went from unlimited pushups till the point was made and sometimes beyond devolved to restricted sets of pushups. Pushups may only be done in sets of ten, no more than three a stoop and no more than thirty pushups within one hour of each other. The right of the first class to determine when the rats would breakout was also removed. The date and method of breakout would be determined by the administration, and it has been the same to today. The ratlines of the classes of 2006 and 2007 have the same ratline to the day. The class of 2007 and the rat mass of 05+3 suffer from the same rules.
The ratline being brought upon the mass of 05+3 is not their fault, for the most part. New rules and regulations being enforced by the new superintendent and the commandant are watering down the ratline to a level never before thought possible. Rats are now made to be people in a difficult situation, whereas rats have always been viewed as less than people. The general degradation of being a rat influenced most of the activity of the ratline and forced a togetherness among rats that all suffer the same indignation. Rats were made to wear completely different uniforms, blank shoulder boards, white name tags, white belts, forced to have a different haircut, loss of the use of the first person in speech, no class patch on their duty jacket, loss of all basic benefits of society. Rats are restricted from using the instant messenger, DVDs, MP3s, and all benefits of technology with the exception of their computers and the internet. Even rats email addresses were not capitalized while the rest of the corps were. Every possible distinction was made between rats and upperclassmen to further degrade them and force them to come together to over come this terrible adversity.
The newest mass of rats wears no white belt, is allowed to eat like a normal person and not like the rats of old, on the front three inches of their chair with backs straight and eyes locked forward. Rats must relax when reading their rat bible; no longer must they hold it in front of their face with their elbows held together, the traditional stance of the reading rat. In fact, if a rat is so motivated to do this act by himself, his cadre my be boned and get in serious trouble for allowing such action. Cadre is no longer allowed to interfere with the rats while they are eating, for the most part. Rats are given a mandatory ten minutes during every SRC for uninterrupted eating time.
The only system more important to any cadet is the brother rat system. Rats come together to become brother rats, they become lifelong friends and indeed many become brothers. I personally would fight and die for my brother rats, that is how much I believe in the system here. The bonds of brother rats are forged on the stoops with their chins in, in the courtyard on their faces, buried in the mud of breakout hill, and in rat challenge, running side by side with each other. Rat Challenge is a physical activity for rats only that occurs twice a week and is designed to keep the rats physically trained and prepared for any military eventuality. It also fosters most of the brother rat spirit that is felt by the corps. Putting out with your BRs and pushing them along and helping each other to accomplish physically, mentally and emotionally tough goals breeds the beginnings of the lifelong friendships. This year Rat Challenge is being audited. The rat challenge cadre is no longer allowed to yell at the rats, even for motivation. Words like “kill”, which often follows the command “Double time”, will no longer be said. A tradition at the end of rat challenge is rush into barracks and form up for the traditional twenty plus three pushups. Twenty pushups, one for their dykes class, one for the brother rats, and one for their respective companies. This tradition has been done away with, because 23 is too many more than 20. Rats also have certain cheers and rallying cries that they will cheer and chant on their way back to their rooms, these are no longer allowed, as it may endanger the rats. In fact, Rat Challenge may not even occur next year because it is seen as too much of a liability.
Once again the outside world has infected VMI with its own sense of right and wrong. For 165 years the corps has policed its own. A cadet guard team in charge of the safety of the institute, cadet lead government, cadet lead rat enforcement (RDC), cadet lead protective agencies (OGA & CEA), cadet lead and operated honor system, enforced and carried out by all cadets, cadet leadership among the corps (Regimental system). The administration is removed from most of the daily functions of any cadet, rat or otherwise. Never have we allowed the influence of the outside world to so affect our lives here. It is beginning to affect the basic foundations of being a cadet here, the cadets notice it. We were told he would have uniform changes to make the corps look better; but our pants do not fit, and we look terrible. We were told that academics would be a major focus in the new administration; but we have new guard positions and new formations that cut into studying time. We were told that punishment would be more severe; when in fact, it has become simply annoying. We were told the ratline would be harder; but it is not.
There is a problem here. A huge problem. These rats do not strain. They do not lock themselves up. They look like trash. The have no unity. They walk around in barracks. They talk outside of barracks. They look around. They still say “I.” They don’t push together. They don’t put out, anywhere. They don’t care. And that is unacceptable. As a member of the corps I am responsible for giving these rats a ratline. The second and third classes bear much of the blame for the weakness of the current ratline. We tell rats to relax, to chill out. We joke around with them. Hold conversations with them. We play stupid games with them, and allow them to enjoy themselves. We refer to rats as “dude” and “man” which places them above rats and almost as friends. We talk to rats and politely tell them to shine their shoes, which of course they don’t. There is no incentive for them. The cadre can’t do anything much to them because of these new rules. New SRC formations allow for zero training time. Rats must be released from cadre obligations immediately following SRC, which provides a window of ten minutes for training, and that is not enough time to even begin a training schedule. Pushups do not affect them because they are not allowed to do enough to affect them. Sending them up to the RDC was once a scary thought. A formidable thought for any rat. The RDC was a bunch of scary first classmen in Gray Blouse and Belt, which is an incredibly creepy uniform. They are granted the privilege of straining us till our chins bleed and working us out. We could be sentenced to Rat Tours, which was a 0545 workout in BDU’s and boots that included an evil amount of PT, running, buddy carries, and stadium stairs with the motivation to not be yelled at, and not gain more tours. These have been abolished.
The RDC could summon rats to a workout in Cocke Hall, the fifth stoop, or the company CO could send rats from his company to a Commander’s Workout. All of these are a three, or more, session sweat party held by the RDC with almost one on one attention. When I went to my sweat party with the RDC in BDU’s and boots, I was broken off by the Reg XO. I consider that as a badge of honor, I was worked until I physically didn’t work any more. It took nearly the whole time to get there too. I put out; I put all of it out. These rats show no interest in being rats. The RDC no longer has the ability to grant rat tours, or to work out anyone who comes before them. Rats are given the option to write an essay about their issues as rats. Workouts are only for repeat offenders that come before the RDC four or more times. After enough times, the rat comes before the RDC for an RDC counseling session, in which they talk about the rats troubles as a rat and the work out a plan and execute the plan under the commandants “three strike rule” which grants any rat three strikes (major infractions) before it is kicked out. The RDC was formerly the most feared institution of post, with the obvious exception of the Honor Court. No longer. Rats do not fear the RDC because an essay is just annoying, and it inspires no fear or respect. There are no more penalties for being a rat with no skills at being a rat.
There is another deeper seeded problem with the rat line, and it does not reside on the third or second stoop. At the risk of being sent to the GC for gross disrespect to upperclassmen and facing a possible Number 1 for this letter, I must say it as it is, and as so many do not say because they face the same issue as I. The problem with these rats is their dykes. The class of 2005 is by no means a weak class, or has weak leadership, but that they baby their rats way too much. Dykes have been walking their rats up to the fourth stoop on more than a daily basis. Rats are being let of the ratline by their dykes and running to the fourth stoop with no respect for the orders of upperclassmen. This is a privilege given to the first classmen; it is a privilege that our dykes were not given until November. Our dykes never walked us up the stoops after “meet your dyke night.”
I have flamed my fair share of rats, being called “too intense”, “too harsh”, “Stoop-Monkey” and “Horseman” are sometimes degrading terms to be called by brother rats. I’ve flamed rats as first classmen have called up to me from the courtyard to let the poor rat go. Of course I did, for fear of going to the GC. The first classmen, the last class to have even a decent semblance of a ratline aren’t allowing their rats to have one. The phrase “Strain!” rings hollow in the ears of these rats. They obey no commands and they barely know any rat bible knowledge. 2005 babies their rats. They baby them a lot. My dykes would send me up the stoops to get worked out, go to my room and then come down the stairs again and be worked out. They wanted me to have a ratline. I wanted a ratline. I would go down to third stoop and drop for third classmen for no reason. I pushed myself. I strained till I shook every time I wasn’t in my room. I looked my best at all times; I knew all my rat bible knowledge. My dykes forced me to say the parapet on a match stick. As a result I not only know it perfectly, but at warp speed. I haven’t met a single rat who can say it without huge pauses to think. There is no excuse for that. The rats keep trying to engage with conversation with us. Rats have told me to “Have a good day, Sir.” As they fly away from me. They are rats…They should act like it.
The upper classes of the institute are blamed for the failure of the ratline. The true blame lies with those that allowed the first incursion of the outside world into the microcosm of the Institute. The administration. In 2003 the Institute was given its 14th superintendent, General J. H. Binford Peay III. Since that time, all has gone down hill. Again I face a bone of unparalleled magnitude should my identity be discovered. One of the first moves by General Peay to begin the destruction of our ratline was the doing away with Breakout Hill. Until 1980, Breakout was signified by a charge up the stoops in idiot dyke and when you made it to the fourth stoop you were broken out, it was so named because you had to break the holds of the first, second and third classmen to finally be free of the oppressive ratline. In 1980, breakout in barracks, colloquially known as “bloody Sunday,” was deemed too much of a liability. A new method of breakout was created. The same all day PT session and sweat parties were maintained as the first phase of breakout. The second phase would become the method of breakout for two decades. Rats would now find themselves face down in freezing cold mud and water and forced to low crawl for many, many yards and then scale an enormous vertical wall of mud and would be broken out once they reached the top. This was originally done on the rifle range hill behind the barracks and the Marine Corps Obstacle Course. McKethan Park, which was donated to the school for the purpose of using its central hill, now known as breakout hill, would become the newest spot of breakout. McKethan Park is three miles and change from post, allowing for a preliminary force march before the real fun begins. This is where I broke out. I was reborn from the mud, the same kind of mud that the cadets at New Market had to charge through during their famous and noble engagement. We struggled through the mud, using every once of our energy to continue on and breakout. Not a single person can tell you that they did not think about giving up and just sinking into the mud. I know I did. I’m not afraid to say that it took everything I had or ever had to move up that hill. I find no shame in disclosing the fact that there was a point where I began to cry because I thought I would never make it up that hill, that I would never breakout and I would die, cold and covered in mud, having never known what it was to not be a rat. If it weren’t for my brother rats who grabbed me pulled me along for several yards, screaming encouragement, I may have given up that day.
In an address to the third class this year, General Peay stated to us the reasons for many of his changes, ranging from uniform changes to the dissolution of breakout hill. In his address Gen. Peay made several tactless comments about breakout hill and our breakout in general. His comments, though varied can be highlighted by his saying that it was “stupid” and that “Crawling through the freezing cold mud has nothing to do with courage” and “It isn’t a proper culminating event for the end of the ratline.” General Peay must believe that charging the stoops on bloody Sunday showed some amount of courage. But not our breakout. Gen. Peay’s comment about our ratline and our breakout has enraged an entire class against him; to put down an entire class like that is not a very smart move on the part of a school official, or a very professional statement on the part of a leader.
The general state of affairs at VMI is a grim one. The corps notices, the alumni notice and the rats remain oblivious to the terrible problems that threaten our very way of life here at the institute. All who have ever worn the cadet grey, all who have ever stood with their chin racked in, all those who are honored to call themselves members of a VMI class should be worried about what goes on here. Alumni frequently pass off the problems that go on here as “changing with the times” VMI is known for its level of tradition, and things that have gone un abridged and unchanged for 165 years. Only the trees and rocks of our beautiful surroundings have the same level of resistance to change. The walls of barracks have ears. They can no longer hear the sound of rats pushing, and of the cadre working out the rats. The RDC no longer wakes up the cadets early by disciplining the rats. The ratline is no longer an experience as much as it a line of duct tape crudely placed upon the stoop by well prepared third classmen.
The rats of 05+3 still have time to become a decent class and future leaders of the corps. Somewhere in barracks right now is a rat with his chin in that will become a Regimental Commander and an Honor Court President. Somewhere, straining is a GC president, and future officers in our military. We owe it to them to show them the proper way to do things. We are being restricted in our ability to teach and educate these rats. Education does not always happen in a calm and cool classroom, classes are sometimes taught by the most vicious of teachers. A baptism by fire is sometimes the best way to teach anybody anything. These rats are experiencing the toughest and hardest military preparatory training in the United States. Outside influence is ruining our traditions; trial lawyers and liability are becoming more important to us than the principles upon which our class and our brother rat bonds were formed. No longer shall we see the tough ratline. Whether your class had five sweat parties or 31, it does not matter. Respect for the system is the most important thing at VMI. Yourself, your friends, nobody is above the importance of the system. VMI has had 165 years to evolve into a state of harmony with all its internal bodies. Cadets have led all facets of the corps for 165 years; hopefully we can continue at least one tradition and keep that streak up for another 165 years. The class of 2004 was correct. The Line Has Ended. But they did not say that it can not be brought back.
With the utmost sincerity,
And the utmost love for the Institute,
Member of the Class of 2***,
Raoul Duke
Raoul Duke
This was written by my BR who is showing his care for the Institute. Take these words seriously. Think about what's going on. L.E.H.
Return back the index after reflecting on these words of wisdom
