Former Army infantry officer Cale Luther of Jefferson has a very personal interest in the LCpl Ben Carman Academy. His son Noah, a senior at Greene County High School, has already enlisted in the Marines. Noah meets with his recruiter weekly. Dad Cale wants him to be even better prepared when he attends basic training. “The Ben Carman Academy will better prepare future warriors. It will give them a heads-up before they get to the stress of basic training,” said Luther, who is one of the volunteers organizing the academy. It’s rather like going to preschool before kindergarten, he added.
John Thompson, a West Point graduate who served as a captain in the US Army, is spearheading the development of the Ben Carman Academy. He, his brothers Chuck, Matt, Michael and Philip, and his sister Kristina are all veterans, as is their father Charlie. Four of them attended West Point. The Ben Carman Academy is being built at the
Thompson family acreage south of Jefferson, about a mile from where Carman grew up. The farmhouse and a barn are being renovated as a billet and classroom. Early next year A-frame cabins will be built as quarters in the nearby grove.
Ben Carman Academy students will be high school students who are considering joining the military or who have recently enlisted, as well as those working to achieve appointment to one of the military academies. They will receive training in rifle marksmanship, map reading and orienteering. They will also experience military-style physical training. According to Thompson, though, “what we’ll teach and develop is character.”
His motivation for instituting the academy is his experience over his 17 years in the Army with various styles of leadership. The academy’s mission is “to improve military leadership in all ranks and services and to actively recruit and assist quality candidates for the uniformed service academies.” Thompson hopes to teach those who want to attend a military academy and begin careers as officers “the importance of good leaders who will stand up for their solders, their sailors. We need to have the right character of people in the academies.”
“We want people to have a realistic appraisal of Army life while they’re still home,” Charlie Thompson said. “We need to get the right people in the military, people who know what to expect. And we’re going to need good people for a long time.” He said the sort of experience offered at the Ben Carman Academy can help a new recruit be more successful at basic training, perhaps giving him a jumpstart on promotions. An important part of the Ben Carman Academy program will be information about finding help and developing support systems to deal with challenges and the military bureaucracy, Charlie added.
The Ben Carman Academy will host training weekends periodically during the year, scheduled to make them easy for high school students to attend. Luther and former Navy Corpsman Brett Cranston are among the volunteer trainers.
“Both of these heroes have deployed in combat and are great role models for Iowans. Character and values are what our community does best. These men have been through the military, worked with the VA, and are still passionate about service,” John Thompson said.
He will utilize contacts he has from his military years, as well as contacts as a current student at Harvard University, to establish the credibility and usefulness of the academy to recruiters, he said.
Thompson honors LCpl Ben Carman in naming the new academy. Carman graduated from Jefferson-Scranton High School in 2002; he enlisted in the Marines before graduation, soon after 9-11. He was killed in action in Al Anbar, Iraq, on April 6, 2004. He had turned 20 years just two months earlier. He is the son of Nelson and Marie Carman. “I am honored by his example and want to ensure he remains a hero of our neighbors as they begin their national service,” Thompson said.
The Ben Carman Academy is currently privately funded by the Thompson family. Thompson plans to seek non-profit 501(c)3 status and to invite financial support from the community. “I’d like people to have a stake in this,” he said.
Thompson will be in Greene County in December and would welcome opportunities to talk about the LCpl Ben Carman Academy. Persons who would like to learn more can talk with Luther or Charlie Thompson, or visit the LCpl Ben Carman Academy Facebook page.
