Whether they are actually worthy of a salvaged future is unknowable under the circumstances described in the article or in other reporting where a large group is not treated to individual review before Honor Boards. Our sons and daughters are entitled to better than what we heard from Army leadership here.
@liamking, while you say you “don’t condone cheating in any way,” you go on to do exactly that by accepting and allowing behavior that was wrong. You suggest these young men and women deserve to be treated more gently than enlisted soldiers. I could not disagree more. Why would we want to entrust the lives of enlisted soldiers, let alone our security and defense, to these plainly untrustworthy soldiers. I see this quite opposite. That is, I would hold our future Officers to the highest standards - quite satisfied to see flawed “soon-to-be world leaders” out of our Army and stripped of the benefits they would have received by having attended WP. Certainly, many before them received harsh treatment for cheating. And, I see no reason to bend here.
Most of us who have Cadet kids know our kids are quite some distance from perfect. But, we also know that what sets them apart in a positive way is their desire to succeed as military Officers and their integrity - a willingness to suffer and do what is hard because it is right. My fear is that there are 70 or so Cadets missing that core character trait. Worse, Army leadership might not care. At least, that is the lesson of the reporting.
There are rumors as to why the Army has looked the other way. It is a serious concern that WP leadership does not recognize the damage that it’s statements and actions may cause, especially in the context of the rumors so widely discussed among the WP community. Fortunately, the shortcomings of leadership here are unlikely to rub off on most Cadets - I hope. Most will likely be disgusted with everything about this episode because it represents exactly the opposite of core beliefs.
