My DS had a similar incident, unfortunately his outcome did not have the same happy ending. He was out with friends in unfamiliar territory. They had been drinking and he was evidently pretty inebriated, and trying to get back to his friends house. He thought he was there but unfortunately he was in the wrong house. The police were called and he was found in the house passed out. He was arrested and charged with trespassing, but after completing the court ordered classes, the case was dismissed. He has regretted his decisions on that day ever since, and did not receive his appointment. He has certainly learned from this experience and knows just how much this has cost him. He has picked himself up and hit the ground running, starting his applications for next year all over again. He is still determined to get into an Academy and plans to apply to all of them this year. He has already owned up to the consequences this year and knows he needs to be honest on his applications as he reapplies. My question is, on the applications where you need to state any run ins with the law and describe the incident, how detailed does that need to be? Is it just the date/place/and charges and the outcome, or does it have to be a full detailed account of the incident?
When I read your original post, my heart broke for your DS, as I know how hard it was for me. My DS has always been a good kid, well liked by his peers and others and really had never been in trouble until this point. I am hopeful for him to be able to regain what he has lost and realize his dream of going to the Academy and starting his military career.
My heart goes out to you and your son. My question I suppose would be, had he not been caught in this situation would his behavior have continued? I ask, because our twins just graduated from High School with AP and IB Diplomas, never got involved with anything remotely questionable (one because they understood the ramifications, two because we kept a pretty close eye on what they did and where they went), and now one is headed to an academy and the other has a full scholarship and is doing NROTC. Unfortunately many of their "good kid" friends (their IB/AP Class only had 20 students in it and they were all close) started this year "partying", with alcohol and sometimes pot. Two of the group of 20 got caught and punished and are now stuck with colleges they really don't want and are sorry for their actions. The others that didn't get caught, are now looking forward to going to college and partying and a good time. All of these kids are under 19, and in our state if they get caught intoxicated in public their DL is suspended until they are 21 and they would have a misdemeanor record if they ever needed a clearance for a job.
I guess what I am asking is....was this the ONLY time your DS did this, or is there a pattern here, even if you were unaware of it? Kids will be kids, but seniors who desire positions of trust and show a history or habit of not doing the right thing may not be right for the military. IMHO, if he was arrested, charged, and completed a diversion program, I really don't know if he would be offered an appointment or not, people with far greater knowledge of the academy and how they thing about indiscretions would be better to answer, but from what you have said, you may need to have a heart to heart with your DS and find out the whole story and think about how much "rope" you allowed him and how he used those freedoms.