Duty, Honor, Country

Inscribed in polished granite stone are the words "A Cadet will not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do." just outside of the cadet area for all public to see. A monument to the honor code that cadets hold so high, a quote that movies are based on and legends are known. A statement literally written in stone that when violated holds the punishment of removal from the Academy. Everyone talks about the Honor at West Point, as the motto says "Duty, Honor, Country" yet does anyone follow this code anymore because sometimes I think that I may be the only one. I mean I would be lying to say that I had never cheated before coming to the Academy, i mean who really wanted to do all of the math problems on the homework in high school, or didn’t sneak out of their room, but that was how society was and is ran. Look at Enron, but not here they say. Here at West Point we hold ourselves to a higher level of morals and values, we do not tolerate those types of actions period, or so we say...

When I entered the Academy I vowed that I would follow that code no matter what. I mean how hard can it really be to tell the truth, and if everyone is doing it then how great would life be. Now I think I was cheated by the Academy. This week I have witnessed the chain of command hide a drug test and write entire memos telling the cadets about a fire drill and new fire drill polices. Even though we have a ton of work to do, and are in arguably our toughest week here at the Academy, they decided to wake us up at 0530 and kick us out of our rooms from 0545 until 1000 so that they could "test" the fire alarms. the required that we not leave IKE Hall until breakfast and then from there just find somewhere to sit or go to class. As a group of us wondered around wasting time because we didn't have a first hour class and the library was too packed to get a table to work, we noticed the 15+ K-9 units parked in Central area, yet not one single fire truck. "Higher" or the part of the chain of command that we never see, but always hear from lied to us, memos and all. the planned fire drill was nothing more than a covered up Corps wide drug bust, who would think drugs at West Point, but then again we foster drinking like its a part of everyday culture, and are one of 5 schools in the nation to have a government task force study its sexual cultures do to rape charges. Well back to honor for now.

This was the first time I had felt that the Academy as a whole had covered something up, but then I reflected on it and remembered the case of the Rhode Scholar last year who graduated on time after being found by the Cadet Honor Committee to have violated the honor code and was recommended for separation. Remember that code inscribed in stone, well at one point cadets would actually tar and feather those who lied and kick them out the gate with a sign stating what they had done, this was many years ago. Instead of stopping this, a superintendent decided to regulate these young men and thus the Honor Committee was formed, a group of cadets who would enforce the honor code and conduct trials to "find" cadets who had violated the code. The only person who holds the right to overturn the Committee’s findings is the Superintendent who did just that so that a Rhode Scholar could graduate last year on time with her classmates. For that young lady the honor code did not apply for her and the punishment of separating because as a cadet you just do not tolerate such actions was forgone.

Further reflection brings up a classmate of mine who plays soccer. She was a turn back to my class after being caught in an honor violation of cheating on her paper. She actually accidentally stapled the paper that she copied to the back of the paper that she wrote. Now that to me is a dead give away that the person does not harbor the character that West Point seeks and needs to be kicked out on the spot, not turned back because they can kick a ball a little better then the next person. At least ESPN agrees with me on this one as seen in their for TV movie, “Code Breakers” the movie about the West Point cheating scandals with Varsity or “Corps Squad” athletes as they are called here. I actually watched a Corps Squad football player give a student lead brief in Military Science class last year, which at one point the instructor pointed out that he had seen that brief for the third time, turned out that the football player actually did not create it at all and was just using a team one that his teammates had been passing around. The so called student athlete totally skipped the whole student part of the job and did not do his work or prepare for the class like everyone else, yet the instructor did nothing and played it off by asking how practice was and allowing the student to talk up the next game for the class. What does an honor code mean when the officers at the Academy known as “the kings of honor” throw the code out the window and let the athletes run free as they please. Then again that same year the First Captain was caught cheating and allowed to stay at the Academy, yes the highest ranking cadet in the Corps, the one that commands all of us was caught violating the code and was not kicked out.

My favorite example of all time though is the honor committee company rep who has been caught cheating on his girlfriend at least twice, but to him this is not cheating nor is it to the committee, in fact according to the Academy it is perfectly acceptable to have a “home team,” “away team,” and even a “cadet team.” So the Academy says that you can cheat on your girlfriends, but what about lying to them when they ask what you are doing over the weekend… yup that is also perfectly okay. The honor book states that the cadet is not gaining anything from that lie but is spearing the feelings of whichever girlfriend he is telling. I would like to think he is gaining sex, an extra girlfriend, someone else trust and the ability to crush their hopes and dreams, but then again I also believe I may be the only one who sees this, or even notices that we wrote the honor code in stone literally. What really fires me up the most though is watching this same honor rep in action as he questions other cadets on their actions and what they are doing, I mean how can you expect your subordinates and soldiers to do one thing when you are doing another, is this what we really want leading America????

I mean they will be leading the nation. The “Cadet Bible” or Bugle Notes states that “West Point’s mission is to provide the nation with commissioned leaders of character who serve the nation’s interest.” It goes on to further state that “[a] leader of character not only has the knowledge of what is right, but also the moral courage to act on the knowledge even when such action is unpopular.” How can West Point instill this when the head leaders are allowing cheating Rhode Scholars to graduate and honor found First Captains to remain at the Academy? The answer is simple it can’t and this is why I feel that I have been cheated by West Point along with the rest of the nation. We have invested millions of dollars into a world renowned institution that can not meet its primary function of providing leaders of character for the nation’s future. And yes it is recognized that for every single “off” cadet there are a lot that are “tracking” and doing the right thing, but I find that every year I spend here the morals, values and standards are dropping more and more. And that something must be done to stop it and this can not start with actions like today, where the Academy tried to cover up a search. The chain of command needs to set the example and do the right thing so that it can trickle all the way down to the lowest levels, the plebes who deserve and need strict discipline and regulations to stop the spiraling down fall of the Academy.