The armed forces are charged with the highest obligation that can be vested in citizens of any country—the protection of their national security and way of life. Military officers are expected to place the interests of their nation and the welfare and safety of their subordinates above their own concerns. Our Constitution requires that they be subordinate to civilian authority, which may order them into situations of great risk. Often in our history—when relations between nations have failed and war has occurred, our national leaders have placed the fate of the country into the hands of the armed forces, and military personnel will continue to sacrifice a measure of their freedom to protect full freedom for the entire citizenry.
Individuals who are entrusted with this special responsibility must possess the finest traits of personal character. Honor and integrity, in particular, must be the heart and soul of the military officer. As a major source of commissioned officers for the naval service, the U.S. Naval Academy strives to inculcate these qualities in its midshipmen.
In discussing moral standards with midshipmen, Academy leaders espouse honor and integrity as virtues that every responsible citizen should embrace for the good of society, but they stress that the real imperative behind these qualities in the military profession is effectiveness in combat. They emphasize that midshipmen are at the Academy first of all to become military leaders who will safeguard our national security and, when required, will win our country’s wars. In everything that is done at the Academy, these leaders seek to develop within midshipmen the same mutual trust, mutual respect, and esprit that must exist within any military unit for it to be effective in combat. The point continually stressed is that dishonesty in the military profession can cost lives, lose battles, and place the security of the country in jeopardy.
Meeting the rigorous demands of the professional, academic, and physical fitness programs at the Academy in itself is character building for the midshipmen. Many additional measures also taken are designed specifically to enhance moral and ethical development. Above all, the Superintendent strives to make every aspect of the Academy environment provide a positive contribution to high ethical standards, and to ensure that a tone of moral excellence permeates the institution. Every member of the staff and faculty is expected to provide an impeccable example of personal integrity.
Even though the Academy has a comprehensive moral development plan . . . the challenge is immense. The Naval Academy program is an unyielding crucible and some midshipmen simply cannot meet the honor standard that must be maintained in the military profession.
The four-year formal leadership curriculum places strong emphasis on professional-ethics instruction. In the first-year course, the accent is on important fundamental qualities and values. In later years, moving beyond this basic foundation, midshipmen undertake case studies under officer supervision, and develop solutions to a variety of ethical issues and leadership dilemmas they will encounter as young officers. The courses in leadership are taught by officers with recent operational experience in the fleet, as well as by career civilian and retired military officer professors, who are distinguished in the field of leadership and ethics. Formal ethics instruction is included in the academic core curriculum in the humanities and social sciences, and midshipmen participate in practical honor workshops on a regular basis. Midshipmen receive frequent lectures from distinguished men and women whose lives and careers provide inspiring examples.
The Academy provides a fine religious environment for the midshipmen, respecting their diverse spiritual faiths. The outstanding Navy chaplains assigned to the Academy—among the best in the military—conduct church services, supervise religious activities, and counsel midshipmen, providing a superb moral influence in their lives.
A key element in the Academy’s ethical development program is the Honor Concept, founded on the formally stated precept that “Midshipmen are persons of integrity. They do not lie, cheat or steal.” The concept is first a minimum ethical standard. From induction day, it is stressed to midshipmen that to remain at the Academy, they must refrain from lying, cheating, or stealing. The concept establishes the basic foundation upon which the Academy seeks to build, through education and example, a higher order of ethical values during a midshipman’s four-year stay. The term “concept”—rather than “code”—is applied to this system because it seeks to engender in the midshipmen a moral philosophy or way of life through a series of “thou shalts,” rather than obedience to a highly codified system of “thou shalt nots.”
To complement the formal ethics education program, the Honor Concept provides a practical learning experience for midshipmen. In daily living and striving together to meet the standards of the Concept, midshipmen learn a great deal about the true meaning of honor and integrity.
The principal purpose of the Concept is to serve as a developmental mechanism, but—as in any system of standards—there must be a way to deal with those who fall short. The midshipmen’s sense of ownership of the Concept is enhanced by the active role they play in the adjudication of reported honor violations. Under the Midshipman Honor Chairman and Brigade Honor Committee, midshipmen investigate reported violations and refer valid cases to Midshipman Honor Boards, which arrive at findings of “violation” or “non-violation” after formal hearings. The accused midshipmen are present at these proceedings and are accorded full due-process rights, including advice from legal counsel outside of the hearings.
Even though the Academy has a
comprehensive moral development
plan . . . the challenge is immense.
The Naval Academy program is an
unyielding crucible and some midship-
men simply cannot meet the honor
standard that must be maintained in
the military profession.
A finding of “non-violation” terminates any case, but a finding of “violation” is referred to the Commandant of Midshipmen. The Commandant conducts his independent review and hearing and may either overturn the Honor
Board’s finding—terminating the case—or concur in the finding. In the latter situation, he may either impose a sanction on the midshipman that is short of separation from the academy or recommend to the Superintendent that separation action be taken. The Superintendent performs an independent review of any case submitted to him and either terminates the case, returns it to the Commandant for a sanction short of separation, or forwards it to the Secretary of the Navy, recommending separation. By law, the Secretary of the Navy must approve all midshipmen separations. Historically, depending on the seriousness of their cases and the career potential of the individuals concerned, the Academy has given worthy midshipmen a second chance after an honor offense. In the past decade approximately one-third of the midshipmen found in honor violations have been retained at the Academy.
Even though the Academy has a comprehensive moral development plan—and everyone on duty there is totally dedicated to elevating the midshipmen to the highest ethical standard—the challenge is immense. With the assistance of members of Congress who appoint the majority of incoming midshipmen, the service academies admit the finest youth in our country. But the Naval Academy program is an unyielding crucible and some midshipmen simply cannot meet the honor standard that must be maintained in the military profession. Historically the number of midshipmen committing honor violations averages less than 1% annually, but on occasion there have been cheating incidents involving more midshipmen. In each case. Academy officials conduct a thorough review to determine causal factors and take corrective action where appropriate.
It is at the Naval Academy that the traditions and values of the Navy and Marine Corps must be passed from each generation of officers to succeeding generations. Preeminent among these values must be the “nicest sense of personal honor.” Nurturing that sense of honor has and always will be the principal mission of the U.S. Naval Academy.