[The Phantom FReeper]

What other information did you find about the story? The "don't pass, you pay" rule does make sense.

[almostdone]

Here is the basic rule for "you don't pass, you pay" that Calpernia posted. up until the first class of his/her junior year a cadet may resign from the academy with no obligation to the government. however, once the cadet attends the first class of his/her junior year he/she is held financially responsible to the government. this means that if the cadet resigns/quits or is separated for any reason the government may demand to be either reimbursed for the cadet's tuition and/or mandate that the cadet serve at least 5 years as an enlisted soldier in the active army.
of course there are exceptions to the rule- cadets who are injured and determined to be non-commissionable during their junior year are, as a rule, not held liable for their education.
as applied to Waudby, since he failed the APFT he did not meet graduation requirements and was separated from the academy the government demanded reimbursement for his education. this is a simplification of the issue, but i hope it helps.