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Nation: Air Force Academy reckons with mounting drug charges
Associated Press ^ | March 22 2002 | By ROBERT WELLER, Associated Press

Posted on 03/22/2002 6:09:57 PM PST by ATOMIC_PUNK

Nation: Air Force Academy reckons with mounting drug charges

By ROBERT WELLER, Associated Press

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (March 22, 2002 9:14 p.m. EST) - The U.S. Air Force Academy has stepped up drug testing and is further stressing ethics amid the biggest drug scandal in the school's 47-year history.

Thirty-eight cadets out of 4,300 have been implicated in the scandal that began in December 2000.

In addition, six cadets have been charged or convicted of crimes such as larceny and sodomy, including the former president of the class of 2003, who is accused of stealing $9,000 from a class activity fund.

Academy officials have no simple explanation for the rash of crime, which has extended into this month with the arrest of a student on charges of raping a female cadet.

"We rely on the American people to send us their best. Every now and then we don't get the right people," said Col. Mark Hyatt, director of the Academy Center for Character Development, a department at the school that concentrates on everything from dinner-party manners to battlefield ethics.

The drug scandal - involving mainly the use of Ecstasy and marijuana - is the biggest problem for the academy since 105 cadets accused of cheating resigned in 1965. In the past 10 years, there had been only one other drug case at the academy, spokesman Lt. Col. Perry Nouis said, adding that officials believe the problem is now under control.

Because of the scandal, the academy has made it clear that an admission of even one puff on a marijuana cigarette will result in expulsion and possibly imprisonment, Hyatt said.

"We have to do things right or people die. When I come out of Baghdad and I am out of the fuel, I am trusting that tanker pilot will be there," Hyatt said. "Because of what happened, we are not going to look the other way."

Also, academy officials increased random drug tests in which cadets are summoned to the clinic and told to urinate into a cup. The academy is also considering state-of-the-art DNA testing of hair follicles, which scientists say can detect some drugs up to 90 days after their use.

In addition, the academy is working ethics lessons into courses across the curriculum - even in chemistry class.

Of the 38 cadets implicated, eight were court-martialed and seven of those went to prison; one of them got 3 1/2 years at Leavenworth. Twenty-one others have left the academy; some of those are being forced to repay the government for their tuition, while others must serve in the Air Force in the enlisted ranks and not as officers.

Nine others received punishments ranging from loss of privileges to fines.

The investigation began after a cadet tested positive for drug use. The academy said all of the drug use occurred off-campus at parties. One cadet was accused of drug dealing; the rest were accused of using drugs or knowing about such use but keeping silent.

"Initially, a lot of people were shocked. Then people got angry. Then because of the trust issue they felt a little bit betrayed," cadet Theron Mink, who heads the cadet honor committee, which metes out punishment for honor code violations that fall short of a crime.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., has had three courts-martial in the past decade. A cadet was charged in a drug case last year and two were accused of stealing more than $40,000 in cadet store merchandise in 2000.

In 1996, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., went through problems like the Air Force Academy's: Five midshipmen were court-martialed and jailed on drug charges, and 15 others were expelled. Other midshipmen and graduates were accused in civilian courts that year of sexual offenses, breaking into a house and running a stolen-car ring.

But since then, only one midshipman has been court-martialed. That was for an ATM card theft.

"Starting about 10 years ago, character development, honor, dignity, respect and general civility has been a steady drumbeat throughout everything we do here," said Cmdr. Bill Spann, Naval Academy spokesman. "We'd like to think it's working."

Retired Lt. Gen. A.P. Clark, a former Air Force Academy superintendent, said crime is worse at traditional universities. Noting that he graduated from West Point, he said: "We didn't have these problems then and society didn't, either."

"The kids that are coming out of these public high schools don't know what honor is," he said. "They have quite an adjustment to make when they come to an academy that has such high standards of integrity and ethics."


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; US: Colorado
KEYWORDS: academialist; airforceacademy; airseclist; colorado; drugcharges; govwatch; wodlist
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To: ken5050
"As an Academy grad, would you speak to the question of ignored violations of the honor code. It seems to me that if these many were guilty of drug, and related charges..then a great many more had to know about it. This type of activity doesn't exist in a vacuum. And the honor code, as I understand it, specifically requires that this activity and those who indulge be reported. So doesn't that make the failure more widespread."

To your question of how the honor code (or honor concept if you're at USNA) applies -- as I said in a post just above, I'm not clear on how it does. If you know your neighbor is smoking pot (and I strongly agree that that stuff doesn't exist in a vacuum), your neighbor isn't lying, cheating or stealing. So, to me the only way the honor code can get you is if you're asked if you know anything about your neighbor smoking and you lie about it.

Of course, at USAFA if you know your neighbor cheated (lied or stole) and you don't report him, you're just as guilty as the cheater. At USNA the honor concept wouldn't make you just as guilty and subject to the same penalties as the cheater.

41 posted on 03/23/2002 3:17:37 AM PST by USNA74
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To: MinuteGal
C'mon. Who's kidding who here? After reviewing/investigating the applicants' entire pre-academy school and personal history they have NO clue what the entrants are like? I can see a few slipping by the screening and evaluation process, but this many?

I taught at a public high school and my son went from there to a military academy. When he applied, everyone agreed that he had a lot of the characteristics that would make him very suitable for an intellectually stimulating environment where honesty, ethics, commitment to responsibilites were part of the structure. But a lot of that could only be inferred from a high school transcript.

Most students who make it through the process to get into a military academy are upstanding citizens. But sometimes, there will be students who keep bad habits out of the school environments. Sometimes, students change (when my son was there, it seemed like there was something going on on a subconscious level when a cadet decided they wanted to leave...some messed up big time)

.My son got an unbelievably excellent education, surrounded by the most excellent group of people you can imagine. There were some shockers when he was there, from cadets who should've known better. But, the academies weed them out, which is more than you can say for most other academic environments.

42 posted on 03/23/2002 4:03:31 AM PST by grania
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To: USNA74
I believe there is more to the honor code than "Don't Lie, Cheat, or Steal". The concept also covers knowingly violating rules, or ignoring (covering up) those that do. Presumably, it is against the rules to smoke pot at the Academy (it sure is in the rest of the military), so that would be a violation. Knowing your neighbor smoked, but saying nothing, would also be a violation. AIUI.
43 posted on 03/23/2002 4:23:54 AM PST by fnord
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK; Lizavetta; wasp69; cantfindagoodscreenname; BallandPowder; wyopa; joathome; Momto2...
"The kids that are coming out of these public high schools don't know what honor is," he said. "They have quite an adjustment to make when they come to an academy that has such high standards of integrity and ethics."

Incredible! Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

I hope they get these problems under control. I've got two sons and the eldest is already wanting to be a Marine! How is the military responding to the homeschooling community?

44 posted on 03/23/2002 4:56:21 AM PST by 2Jedismom
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To: fnord
I didn't know the honor code at USAFA included the "violating the rules" notion you suggest. I know that when I went to USNA the honor concept (not code) was very simple and it addressed lying, cheating or stealing -- and it did not (and I believe it still does not) include the "nor tolerate those who do" part and the "equally guilty for knowledge" part.

But things change and its been a long time since I was there . . . but USNA's honor code - which gave you alternatives ranging from doing nothing to talking to the individual in violation to reporting the violation to the honor committee - was much more aligned with real life, IMHO.

45 posted on 03/23/2002 5:13:30 AM PST by USNA74
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To: USNA74
Part 1: "As an Academy grad, would you speak to the question of ignored violations of the honor code. It seems to me that if these many were guilty of drug, and related charges..then a great many more had to know about it. This type of activity doesn't exist in a vacuum. And the honor code, as I understand it, specifically requires that this activity and those who indulge be reported. So doesn't that make the failure more widespread."

Technically, you are correct. However, this sort of policy also becomes a trap of sorts in result of which innocent awareness of something places a cadet in a very awkward situation. Only an ideal system can avoid this conundrum. This is not an ideal world and service academies and all who make up their identity are, in reality, not ideal things but political things. In result, shit happens and it can get stuck on innocent people making their lives something of a nightmare with no closure.

Part 2: To your question of how the honor code (or honor concept if you're at USNA) applies -- as I said in a post just above, I'm not clear on how it does. If you know your neighbor is smoking pot (and I strongly agree that that stuff doesn't exist in a vacuum), your neighbor isn't lying, cheating or stealing. So, to me the only way the honor code can get you is if you're asked if you know anything about your neighbor smoking and you lie about it.

Not necessarily true. The honor code can be manipulated in very unusual ways. That's sad, but true. I know how these things can occur from experience. Having numerous relatives who are academy graduates including two sons, I have seen some pretty strange and troubling situations to include cases where innocent cadets have been purposely targeted under highly suspicious circumstances. Some didn't survive, some luckily did. These episodes aren't common necessarily but most of them are well known to all who would have been around at the time. In short, in these particular instances the honor code failed the innocent and benefitted the truly guilty. Again, sad but true. It would not be unfair to compare this sort of "political dynamic" to what happens in other societal institutions such as business and academia. If people believe it can't happen they are simply deluded. If you are somehow different or even ethically superior, you can be singled out by certain elements for "specialized attention." Fortunately, in most cases, the greater weight of group probity and rectitude eventually steps in to sort things out properly. But not always.

Of course, at USAFA if you know your neighbor cheated (lied or stole) and you don't report him, you're just as guilty as the cheater.

That's true, but note my tempering remark above.

At USNA the honor concept wouldn't make you just as guilty and subject to the same penalties as the cheater.

I'm not that familiar with honor policy at Annapolis but this would seem somewhat more fair considering that cadets feel very uncomfortable having to snitch on their fellow cadets. This owes, I think, to some feeling of esprit de corps at the cadet level hinging on respect for their peers as brothers in arms. Even the worst cadets deserve a shred of that consideration in the eyes of their compatriots. It's a tough deal to work out sometimes, but that is how things are generally viewed. Just as with a football team, it's a team consciousness and even the jerks on the team share the bond the team develops. And who knows, the jerk may still one day become something quite other than what he is now. After all, we are all fallible but potentially corrigible humans, are we not?
46 posted on 03/23/2002 5:19:06 AM PST by BigStick
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
Ah, the wretched masses yearning to toke free.


47 posted on 03/23/2002 5:23:14 AM PST by Kevin Curry
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
All are products of the Clinton era.
48 posted on 03/23/2002 6:51:08 AM PST by X-USAF
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To: Rubber Ducky
I visit Colorado Springs frequently so I'm attuned to some of the stuff that's going on at the Academy. Going back several years I attended an Academy graduates wedding at the Academy chapel ... during the fall I've gone to many of the their football games. However, it seems the Academy has had more than its share of scandals in recent years ... last year (or, at least recently) you may recall a AF Academy cadet (female) from Texas, who was found guilty of murder. Her boyfriend who was attending one of the other military academies was also charged in the same murder.
49 posted on 03/23/2002 9:09:43 AM PST by BluH2o
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To: onedoug
Don't know about the rules for Coast Guard Academy. The other service institutions still require competive scores on college boards and strenous physical requirements. Just getting a nomination doesn't get you there. Many of the nominees fall by the wayside before entry. I do think the Clinton type morality has to rub off on the general population. This isn't good news.
50 posted on 03/23/2002 9:36:12 AM PST by TheLion
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To: MinuteGal
Leni, it ain't that simple.

The entrance requirements are incredibly tough; VERY competitive. They look at grades (including the usual SAT and/or ACT), athletics, leadership, community involvement, etc., etc. (aka "The Whole Man" concept). The overwhelming majority are great kids; the type you'd be proud to see wearing a uniform and a pair of wings. Do bad apples slip in? Of course. Sure, they undergo numerous interviews as well..........but it isn't hard to "fake it". I'd be willing to bet that a fair number of these "bad" ones were varsity jocks that were recruited for particular sports (especially football), but I don't know for sure.

These kids definitely reflect the society around them and the households that raised them. We need to clean house..........all OVER this country, not just the Academies.

RightOnline, USAFA Class of '77

51 posted on 03/23/2002 11:51:02 AM PST by RightOnline
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To: RightOnline
Your comments are right on line. I'm not knocking any of our armed services academies. I'm so proud of our military schools!

It's a shame that some bad apples reflect on these schools. But in this particular case, the apples were pretty wide-spread, and I hope it's not a portent of more such things to come.

Rot is setting in in so many of our institutions, including the justice system, politicians, the churches, the media and entertainment world, you name it. We have to be eternally vigilant. We know every case of young people gone astray can't be blamed on parents.

To me, it's also the influences of political correctness, godlessness, creeping socialism and of course, Klintonism.

Leni

52 posted on 03/23/2002 2:27:55 PM PST by MinuteGal
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To: BluH2o
...you may recall a AF Academy cadet (female) from Texas, who was found guilty of murder. Her boyfriend who was attending one of the other military academies was also charged in the same murder.

That was Diane Zamora who was arrested while attending Annapolis and her fiance, David Graham, who had just entered the USAFA. Weird murder, sort of like a reverse Romeo and Juliet. Zamora's roommates whom she had told of the murder, turned her in to the Academy Chaplain due to the honor system (and the fact that they were scared of her). click

Excerpt from link: "The case of David Graham and Diane Zamora inspired NBC's TV movie, "Love's Deadly Triangle: The Texas Cadet Murder," which KXAS-TV (NBC's affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth) refused to broadcast when it aired in February 1997."

53 posted on 03/23/2002 3:10:07 PM PST by xJones
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
""The kids that are coming out of these public high schools don't know what honor is," he said. "They have quite an adjustment to make when they come to an academy that has such high standards of integrity and ethics.""

Yeah, tell us about it. These kids have been ruined, and expecting to make a silk purse out of a pig's ear is very hard.

54 posted on 03/23/2002 3:19:48 PM PST by Don Myers
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To: AngrySpud
"It is up to the Academy to make the selections ... if the process is busted, they need to fix it (and fix the blame on themselves)."

That is nonsense, and you should know it. They are being forced to pick the best from a crop of losers. Should they pick no one? Well, maybe that would be best, but then their seats would be empty. They are between a rock and a hard place.

55 posted on 03/23/2002 3:21:53 PM PST by Don Myers
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To: Steel and Fire and Stone
"THIRTY-EIGHT misfits are a long term, institutional failure! "

Yes, it is a failure of our modern society.

56 posted on 03/23/2002 3:24:34 PM PST by Don Myers
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To: xJones
That was Diane Zamora who was arrested while attending Annapolis and her fiance, David Graham, who had just entered the USAFA.

Well, at best, I was half right ... good info on your part. Thanks.

57 posted on 03/23/2002 3:30:16 PM PST by BluH2o
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To: The Shrew
Sort of makes me feel like my four years as enlisted swine was of no value. However I did make up for it in later life.

Years later while employeed in the aviation business, I was able to place several ex military pilots with airlines. One a Lt. Col, one a major, the rest lower ranks. When they sat in front of me, I ALWAYS let them know I was former enlisted, it was worth it to see them squirm, they always knew exactly where I was coming from.

58 posted on 03/23/2002 3:43:25 PM PST by cynicom
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Comment #59 Removed by Moderator

To: Don Myers
Yes, it is a failure of our modern society.

No doubt, modern society has its defects. However, it's hard to pin responsibility on something as vague as "modern society". I've heard Senior Military Officers state that the U.S. Military includes a cross section of society, and that moral problems in the military (re: drugs, etc.) reflect that society. While it is true that modern societal failings influence new cadets, and that does present a challenge, it does not absolve the officers and officials responsible for failing to properly screen new cadets, using traditional moral and ethical standards.

The moral weaknesses of "Modern Society" may be a status-quo condition, but individual responsibility and accountability should be an absolute. The officers and officials in chain of command for the USAF Academy (as well as Annapolis, and West Point) should be held accountable and responsible. While it is good that they've taken corrective disciplinary action, if they fail to correct the screening process to remove the "PC", and return to traditional evaluation standards, they will not fix the real problem.

60 posted on 03/25/2002 2:44:53 PM PST by Steel and Fire and Stone
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