[NOLA_homebrewer]

'89 grad here:

Midshipmen are legally officers and subject to the UCMJ like everyone else, in addition the Academy has a huge conduct rule book that is enforced as well.

Waaaaaay back when I was there, plebes weren't allowed stereos, walkmen, radios, etc, but after your first year you can have pretty much anything you want (no personal TVs though). Also, during my time, midshipman pay was about $525 a month; HOWEVER, how much you actually saw in cash depended on what year you were in and any debts (laundry, haircuts, books all came out of your paycheck) during your senior year at most you saw a few hundred. As a plebe, with the computer repayment and initial uniform costs and all the usual stuff, you walked away with NO KIDDING - about $40 a month. Of course, you couldn't date and even if you were 21 you couldn't drink, so it went a lot further than $120 a month did during your second year.

So, you take an 18 yr old, don't let him have any stereo gear, don't pay him anything, and then bust him for downloading music - that place always was a massive breeding ground for a$$holes. The thing is, I bet the sweep & seize was conducted by midshipman goon squads, not staff.

As a sidenote, legally mids are officers and senior to NCOs, most if not all of the Chiefs never got that, then again most Chiefs have a hard time with Ensigns and JGs. All the Gunny Sergeants I knew there always addressed even the plebes as 'sir' and saluted. The Senior Enlisted Marine said it was that if he treated them as officers it would help them act like officers. Damn good man.

[beowolf]

Thanks for the legal claification.

My experience was that the Chiefs always ended up 'training' the middies after graduation in the pratical applications of the authority structure, and what their real responsibilities were. ( I was USRA, and the same maxim held true ). Senior officers let this happen and with good reason...if the new graduates couldn't exercise command with those that were their senior in age and experience, though inferior in rank, then they were unfit for command in it's true sense that the command structure is designed for.

Again, thanks for the clarification....Regards,

[TheLion]

USMCJ is correct. Also, if you are on military property, even though you may have purchased something, doesn't allow you to use it any way you feel like it. I am going to follow this story up to see what they were looking for and other details, sadly lacking in the article.

[OldCorps]

Hello Navy Grad,

I think this is much ado about...well, not much. Here is what will happen. USNA JAG will review the legal issues for the Supe who will put the word out to deal with this quickly and reasonably.

No one will be seriously punished. A few demerits (do they still have them there?) just so the Academy can say that those violators were punished, and then move on.

If, as you wrote the sweep was conducted by Midshipmen goon squads, then all I can say is those guys need to get a life.

Of course we had that mentality at Woops. We called these anal retentive fools "Teds."

-A grad from a real Military Academy, not just an imitation.