Well; I'm glad there are honorable people like you who when you speed in your car or go through a red light, you find a police officer and tell him/her that you did it.
Your 2nd paragraph above states perfectly why it ISN'T so cut and dry. You said: "Honor is NOT cheating in the first place"..... However, but, maybe, perhaps, by chance, etc... you DO CHEAT; then it's honorable if you turn yourself in BEFORE getting caught. Is that like "Losing salvation, then regaining it"? So, if you don't cheat, you're honorable. If you DO cheat, you ARE NO LONGER honorable. HOWEVER: If you fess up prior to anyone catching you or turning you in, you can REGAIN your honor.
And you really think the honor code, every infraction, and every discipline action is that clear cut? The honor code for army and air force says: We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does. "Variation for army". So; if a cadet did something illegal, but didn't include stealing or cheating; and No One asked him/her about it, so they didn't have to LIE; they would still be "Honorable" if they didn't confess or turn themselves in for the offense? If you can't see that "HONOR" is not as clear cut as you want to make it out to be, then we'll just have to agree to disagree.
Is it "Honorable" to slander a fellow cadet? Set another cadet up for failure? Abstain from helping out a fellow cadet? Is any of that "Honorable"? Yet, they didn't lie, steal, or cheat. I guess they are then honorable. Excellent team spirit. Sorry; but it's not that clear cut. Not the way you want it to be.