Honor

One of the defining features of the United States Naval Academy is the Midshipman's Honor Concept. Sure some schools have statements that no one really even knows about, saying not to cheat and what not. Here at USNA, our Honor Concept was developed by the Midshipman in order to uphold a higher standard and to prepare use for our future role as an officer in the Fleet and Marine Corps. Originally written by Ross Perot, the concept has been refined throughout the years and currently reads:

"Midshipman are persons of integrity: They stand for that which is right" They tell the truth and ensure that the full truth is known. They do not lie. They embrace fairness in all actions. They ensure that work submitted as their own is their own, and that assistance received from any source is authorized and properly documented. They do not cheat. They respect the property of others and ensure that others are able to benefit from their own property. They do not steal.

I have the honor of being apart of the Honor Staff this semester serving as 2/C Representative for my company. It the lowest level in the actual Honor chain of command, but I am involved more than I was expecting to be. I am currently working on a case of 3 sophomores in my company who are being investigated and will most likely be charged with an honor offense. But being involved I am starting to formulate my own opinions on the whole situation. These 3 guys have all admitted to what they did, and if you ask me, what they did doesn't require the attention they are receiving. They admitted to the lie minutes after it happened, but because of two people's frustration and inability to handle the situation they just forward it up to the company officer and senior enlisted. Its not like those 2 are about to be officers really freaking soon, so why not just pass a piddly insignificant case up to LT and Gunny, great idea.

But what gets me is I feel that since LT and Gunny already have a predisposed opinion on these 3, because they aren't perfect midshipman, they are goofballs, they are slamming them. There has been talk of forwarding all the way up to the Brigade level, this is where they talk about kicking kids out!! I know of a lot worst honor cases that didn't even go past the company level, but yet these three who admitted to what they did almost immediately and being threatened with being kicked out, are you kidding me?!

How can their case be fair is you are judging them on what you think about them and not on what they did?