Duty, Honor, Country: The Social Identity of West Point Cadets

This article explores the extent to which military socialization at the United States Military Academy (USMA) shapes the identity of West Point cadets. Building on social identity theory, the article examines the relationship between the strength of cadets' military and national identifications, their levels of patriotism and warriorism, their attitudes toward the United Nations and peacekeeping operations, and their commitment to a military career. The underlying assumption is that commitment to different social identities affects the preparedness of military professionals for increasingly complex global security needs. The analysis reveals that, although successful in enhancing cadets' identification with military reference groups and boosting their warriorism scores, USMA socialization appears neither to affect cadets' patriotism scores or the potency of their national identifications, nor to strengthen their level of support for the United Nations or their commitment to peacekeeping. In addition, the data provide preliminary evidence, that West Point might be less effective in enhancing the military identity of its female than of its male cadets.