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[quote]
The Air Force Academy is investigating allegations of cheating by 28 freshmen and has restricted all 4,300 cadets to campus over the weekend, asking them to meet in small groups to consider "their self-image and the image of the institution," Air Force officials said.</p>
<p>In addition to the cheating, the academy's superintendent, Lt. Gen. John F. Regni, cited other recent disciplinary problems in a stern speech this week to the entire student body, faculty and staff....
<p>"In a brief statement this week, the academy said that 19 cadets so far have admitted cheating on a Jan. 31 "fourth class knowledge test," a routine exam on military affairs given weekly to all 1,200 freshmen. Among the 28 cadets under suspicion of cheating are 19 intercollegiate athletes, the academy said."</p>
<p>Those 19 should be send packing immediately.</p>
<p>"Cadets said that if a student fails the weekly exam, which typically includes questions about the chain of command and military nomenclature, he or she is required to stay in the dorm over the following weekend. A second failure can result in the grounding of the upperclass cadet who is the designated leader for a group of freshmen, putting intense pressure on students to pass the test, they said."</p>
<p>Yeah...</p>
<p>"The cheating was reported by classmates,"</p>
<p>A ray of hope.</p>
<p>" and the investigation is being led by cadets, a standard procedure under the academy's honor code. Academy officials said the punishment has not been determined, but Allard said "it wouldn't surprise me if a fair number got dismissed" from the academy."</p>
<p>I'm surprised that there would be any alternative for a cadet caught cheating but to be dismissed from the academy. This isn't your local Podunk University (apologies to anyone from Podunk), its a military academy for future officers. What kind of standard does the Air Force want for their leaders?</p>
<p>This kind of problem, and much worse problems, are inevitable. These young men and women came from hundreds of high schools, and thousands of families across the country. But how it's handled means everything. If you cut the confessed cheaters any slack what message are you giving to the 3980+ cadets who are honorable? What kind of message are you sending to the 12,000 students who will be applying to the class of 2012?</p>
<p>The cadets made a mistake; a serious one given what's expected of them. Send them home and have them reapply for the class of 2012.</p>
<p>USAFA believes in giving some people second chances. Six months of honor probation is enough incentive for a lot of people to leave voluntarily. Those who don't are usually very commited, and vow to never again place themselves in a situation where they would risk their integrity. If a freshman cheats, realizes his or her's error and admits it, he or she is likely to get probation. </p>
<p>I know a few good cadets who learned a tough lesson through an honor hit, and have become better people for it. I would rather follow some of them into battle, than some "perfect" cadets who can't lead for beans.</p>
<p>I agree Raimius.....I know of a Mid that was hit with an honor violation 2mos. before graduation. He was allowed to graduate...late. He and his family were devastated, and embarrassed, that they had to miss the graduation ceremony that they had all been planning for 3 1/2 long years, but our friend now readily admits that it was the best thing that could have happened to him. He was caught doing something that was fairly commonplace, despite being against regs...our friend had the "mis"fortune to get caught. He spent the summer on the yard doing an ethics tutorial and graduated in Aug. </p>
<p>I would rather "follow" the lead of this young man than one of those that just never got caught...this one learned the lesson the hard way.</p>
<p>Integrity is essential to true leadership. I don't buy the logic that one must fail and be restored to grace before one may be trusted as a leader. Now, no one here has stated that argument so directly, but there is a hint of it. I would warn against going too far down that road.</p>
<p>On the other hand I certainly agree that the most dangerous and destructive soul is the sly one who cheats so expertly that he is never caught, or if he is caught, he is caught late in his career after he has done much damage. </p>
<p>Sadly, the class of 2010 likely has a few like Fiscus in its ranks. These clever cheaters will not get caught out in this scandal. They will go on to responsible staff positions and even commands. And they will cause grave harm.</p>
<p>On the other hand I am also familiar with the matchless leadership and sterling reputations of such great men as Gen Ronald R. Fogleman, USAFA class of 1963. The good news must be, and I am sure that it is, there are far, far more cadets in the class of 2010 in the model of a Fogleman than there are in the model of a Fiscus. These young Foglemans in training will bring great honor to their class and to this nation by their sacrifice and service. May God bless them.</p>
<p>^^^^^
This story about General Fiscus reminds me of stunning hypocrisy of the Reverend Jimmy Swaggart. They are birds of a feather and they both got off with a slap on the wrist. Amazing....</p>
<p>I couldn't agree more that integrity is essential to true leadership...and don't confuse an example with the argument that one "must" fail before they can be trusted as a leader. However, how one handles failure, especially personal failure, is one of many measures of leadership. I would hope that the leadership at all the service academies know better than to throw the book at every cadet/mid for every violation of every rule every day and in any circumstance. Not knowing the exact circumstances of what occurred at AFA, I will put my faith in those who do know the exact circumstances and hope that they will do what's best for the entire class, the institution itself and the greater obligation to help imperfect human beings learn the right way to be leaders in our armed forces. </p>
<p>My comment was an attempt to caution those hard-liners who are quick to judge and pass judgment. This is a tragedy for all concerned and I know that these few are the exception and not the rule. I was going to write that most Mids/Cadets have integrity and honor, but I will amend that to include the majority of our servicemen and women.</p>
<p>I wore out my welcome in the Air Force after I pushed for the prosecution of a married Brig Gen-select who was having an affair with his executive officer (who got GREAT officer performance ratings from her boss,as you might well imagine). The command staff judge advocate, one of Fiscus' peers, called me in and angrily asked me why I was interfering in the private relationship of two people "in love." I was flabbergasted. But I didn't fold. Both officers got Article 15s and retired or separated.</p>
<p>Then I committed the unpardonable sin of winning the court-martial conviction of a fast-rising lieutenant colonel, a USAFA graduate, for conduct very much like but more serious than the conduct that felled Swaggart. But he was religiously devout on the surface and much beloved and respected by the small military community, and I was the devil incarnate for prosecuting him. He actually flew in a lieutenant general to testify that his military character was so flawless he simply could not have done what he was accused of doing. The court-martial panel disagreed, as I knew they would (I prepared the case very thoroughly).</p>
<p>The good news is, that group of warped senior leadership appears to be mostly retired and gone from the scene now. I am confident that better days are ahead. If I didn't think so, I would have counseled my son not to pursue a military career. </p>
<p>Now that I think of it, I am not aware of the Navy having similar scandals on such frequency and scale. I don't know whether that is because the Navy just hasn't suffered any recent scandals of significance (apart from the Nowak incident), or I just haven't been made aware of them.</p>
<p>Navy has had it's share of black eyes over the years, some legitimately foul, others exploited and exagerated for the political gain of others. Either way, there were those found to be less than reliable in the character category.</p>
<p>Like it or not, the military is a sample of the society from which it is drawn. As with any sample, you are bound to snare some bad ones. The best thing the military can do in such cases is apply appropriate disciplinary actions quickly and consistently, and ensure the lesson is taught to everyone else.</p>
<p>At Navy, those who have been nabbed for an Honor violation CAN remain enrolled under some fairly narrow circumstances. What was the scope of the offense? Did they come clean? Are they penitent? What has the rest of their record been at USNA? etc.</p>
<p>I don't like those who lie, cheat, or steal, but I also recognize that good people make mistakes. I am willing to show a little mercy to those who are, in fact, good people who made an unwise choice, but to those who did what they did with full knowledge or with malice, I show no mercy. The trick, of course, is sorting them out from each other.</p>
<p>Either way, USAFA is going to take a hit for this. :(</p>
<p>I would be and am more forgiving of the young. At age 18 or 19, it is a physiological fact that the brain is not yet fully developed. It may sound like there's a joke lurking in there, but it is the truth. The last parts of the brain to fully mature are those parts involved in higher reasoning skills, where ethical decisions are weighed and made. Effectively mentoring these young minds at this critical stage requires extraodinary patience and genuine concern coupled with high expectations, firmness, and consistency. The officers I knew who served on faculty at the USAFA were well-suited to this role. They were truly superior officers. I have no reason to suspect that has changed.</p>