Additional secondary and tertiary consequences - major conduct offenses may make one ineligible for graduate programs during or immediately after graduation, may cause removal from leadership positions or such a serious dink they won’t be considered for them, will definitely cause a tumble in OOM, and may cause trouble in service selection consideration down the road, in addition to the actual awarded demerits, restriction, etc. Delay of graduation can also occur. I realize that is up in the air anyway this year, but to be punitively delayed to August or December to get your degree and commission, while your classmates have gone onward, that bites deeply.
These are all administrative actions, part of the disciplinary system available to military commanding officers that stops short of courts martial under the UCMJ. If they want to make an example of him (hang ‘em high), they could take him to a Court Martial (there are a couple different flavors, with various powers) for failure to obey a lawful order and do a punitive discharge, which is the kind that sticks in your record forever. Under both paths available, administrative and punitive, the commander has the authority to recommend separation to SECNAV, the discharge authority.
Foolish, foolish, foolish to test this order in a national emergency. USNA cannot be seen to let him off lightly. There are precedent-setting and deterrence factors to consider. The big question - do you want to commission someone who has done this, who can’t be trusted to honor his oath, who knowingly and intentionally put the good of others and his unit below his own desire? Do we want to place Marines and sailors in his care? In any decision such as this, the commander looks at what the regs are, what’s best for the service, what’s best for the command, what’s best for the accused and considering his record to date/impact of action/implications for commissionability, what precedents are involved.
I’ve been using “he/his” instead of being gender-neutral, because I don’t have facts in front of me. It could just as easily be “she/her.”
During my tour of duty at USNA, I had a Batt XO, spring semester, do a major conduct thing in April. Delayed grad until August. Had to explain to fiancée and her parents why the June wedding was off. I had a 2/c detailer do a major conduct thing during PS - lost his eligibility for med school selection out of USNA, and was a sure-thing contender. Had a sports team captain do a major conduct thing, lost her captaincy. These were all administrative proceedings, with demerits, restriction, etc., but also consequences.
One of the things it is imperative to learn as a future junior officer is to practice operational risk management, to take the time to assess a situation/decisions available, evaluate for risk and impact, think through potential consequences, and have the discipline to choose wisely.
