Bullet - get out the Webster's and look up "retroactive".
Hmmm. Retroactive, retroactive, retroactive.... That starts with "R". So it comes after "E", like in example. And it comes after "I", as in integrity. Also comes after "J", as in judgment. Comes after "L" as well, as in leadership.
Ah, here it is!
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/retroactive
Retroactive; adj., Influencing or applying to a period prior to enactment.
As in: the rules in this situation were retroactive, so even though they changed in the middle of this fiasco, they were correctly applied to the entire time the improprieties were committed.
In the great words of Inigo Montoya from
Princess Bride: "I don't think it means what you think it means".
And whom do I believe? Well, let's look at motivation for each of the parties involved, shall we? What motivated the IG to investigate and report what it did? Love? Jealousy? Job security? A sense of revenge because the entire IG was previously rejected from the USNA? Really can't pin in on anything obvious, can we?
Now let's take a look at our Congresswomen's motives, shall we? Hmmm, member of an Board that was supposed to make sure the USNA was performing to standards. Said Academy gets in trouble for possible shady book keeping. Oversight Board looks now either 1) complicit, or 2) incompetent. Congresswomen now looks either 1) or 2). Yeah, no motive to disagree with the findings there!
And quite frankly, I am a little angered by your assumption that if this was occurring at the AFA (or USMA, or any of the other Service Academies for that matter) I would not be so quick to point out the integrity issue. Sorry, I'm just not that petty in my "support all things AF" stances as you obviously think I am. I prefer to stand for good examples of leadership an integrity, wherever the example may be from, whatever service demonstrates it.
And I was one of the first, and loudest, in my squadron to protest my outrage when the AFA went through it's own issues a few years back with Coaches pushing religion in the locker-room.
And I remain one of the loudest in my office in my protests that the push for success in NCAA sports by our service academies is doing more harm than good at these fine institutions. It is my fear that similar situations will be discovered there, but I hope not. I know Lt Gen Gould VERY well (former boss), and would hate to see him be brought down by a similar situation. But I also had another great former boss brought down by the whole "Thundervision" fiasco, and although I personally liked the guy, I at least opened my eyes on the lack of integrity involved and admitted he did wrong.
Funny how you and Mongo remain one of the few (outside of the BoV) who refuse to do the same.
It will also be interesting to see the CNO's and SECNAV's reaction to the BoV's now public statements on the matter. I wonder whose side they'll choose, the political appointees or their own IG?
Like I said earlier, a sad, sad story that should have died, but for the efforts of a sorry few who couldn't accept facts that integrity trumps all....