And you called them stupid

Young Americans not quite as stupid as some people might think. All four U.S. military academies have seen a drop in the number of applications this year compared with last year. I can't imagine why.

Number of Applicants for the Class of 2009 vs. 2008
Air Force Academy — declined 23 percent
Coast Guard Academy — declined 12 percent
U.S. Military Academy — declined 9 percent
Naval Academy — declined 20 percent

It's probably one of those cultural differences, but to this British person having a military academy for the Coast Guard seems a little over the top.

The Coast Guard in Britain spend a lot of time looking jolly in knitwear, liasing with yachtsmen and pleasure craft drivers. Sure they also deal with naughty types breaking the law, but there's a nice homely feel to the service in general.

I suppose stateside it's a non-stop battle with cocaine laden speedboats, mexican border-botherers and Cuban infiltrators, with the possibility of a gunboat tour on the Tigris if you piss off the boss.