On his initial application we marked 'no' to the question re: have you ever been in probation, suspended or expelled from school.
We forgot he had beeen suspended. It was a complete and total miss on our part and unintentional.
I understand what it looks like but it was something we totally overlooked and there was no intent to cover anything up.
Thanks for your candor.
From what I think the Academy view would be, based on my own military experience, they expect the candidate filling out the application will pay attention to detail, taking the time needed to ensure accuracy on all answers - indicators of future officer skills. They would probably wonder how he forgot he was suspended. This is a critical question. Not such a big deal that he was, as long as he could describe the situation, mistakes he made, lessons learned. The military culture is such that people are held to high standards of accountability for that which they are responsible, even if it’s filling out a form.
I am sure your son did not get up the morning he was filling out his application, read that question and decide to check “no” in an effort to deceive. This is a costly, painful consequence to face for a moment’s oversight.
There is some truth to “whatever doesn’t break you, only makes you stronger.”
If I were in his shoes, and if there were no forgiveness this year, I’d head for the hardest Plan B possible, excel and go for re-application, laying out everything learned since the loss of the 2022 appointment. But it’s his journey. There’s plenty of heartbreak all around, but the only direction to go is forward.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
- Winston Churchill