Lie

The senior naval officer remained silent for a while, and, then, rather suddenly, he shook his head and said, "My friend, you seem very much against our Elite Program. What's the problem?"

The seasoned soldier was mute. He tried to convince himself the question of his classmate was meant for seeking an answer rather than being a personal accusation. For a moment he felt fortunate to be living in a democratic country with some freedom of expressing his opinion, and not Siberia or its south. Nonetheless, he found it a good idea not to challenge the friendship with his classmate any further, and no response was the best response.

His friend seemed to understand and decided to answer on his behalf, "I think I can understand your worry. You find it difficult to accept our promise to new students of this Program that they will become leaders and admirals after graduating from the Academy. We all know that's not true and actually impossible. All admirals come from the bottom rank; they have to work themselves up the hierarchy by their sweat and blood. There is no one-click fast track method. After all, it is the decision of the Department of Defense to appointment someone as an admiral, and, as the principal of the Naval Academy, I have no say on such a matter. Although we use the Program as a gadget to attract good students, we are giving them a false hope. As a good old honest soldier, you cannot accept our approach - you think we are lying!"