Do you believe that these West Point first classman are violating the UCMJ by making a political statement while in uniform?

One of the response is that these are kids and they should be forgiven. I on the other hand have a different opinion. They are OFFICERS, not kids. They are supposed to lead by example. And YES, people do make mistakes and we don't want to hold it against them for the rest of their lives, but we do it all the time. If these cadets were to get a BCD or an OTH discharge, it is held against them all their lives (if the take the OTH instead of a Court marshal, the discharge will never be upgraded). Do not try and excuse their actions based on youth. they spent 4 yrs at the Nationsl Premier Military Academy. If they don't know about "political correctness", then they should graduate. A person rises thru the ranks based upon merit, PC and friendships. One mistake as an officer usually ends a career.

Don't let these ladies off. Hold them accountable as you would any enlisted or officer.

Sir, I don't believe these Cadets were making a political statement, and consequently, I don't think they violated the UCMJ. Demographically, the Corps of Cadets is only 14% female, and of that number, a very few are African-American. I don't believe these Cadets worked through four years of challenges to crap it away; I think they are too smart to do that.

I think the key lesson for the Cadets (and the Army, and America) is the power of Social Media, and how you need to be aware of not only what you are doing, and also how your organization and everyone else will perceive it.

(I am not tap-dancing, dodging the issue or crazy...I just don't believe these Cadets were making a BLM or Black-Panther Statement...For what it matters, I am also a conservative officer who worked at USMA for a few years).

The fact that this is even a question under consideration proves this is conduct unbecoming-at the least.

BLUF: If you have a political message, keep it out of uniform.

The answer is unequivocally "Yes." Whatever reason or motivations they had for doing what they did, they still violated UCMJ by making a political statement in uniform, as simple as that. When someone wears a uniform, they cease to speak for themselves as an individual, and instead represent EVERY SINGLE PERSON who is wearing that same uniform.

The public perception does not view them as individuals first, it does not identify them by their name, but by their uniform. Even in the title of this question, the first words that describe the people involved in this actions are "West Point." Whenever a soldier finds themselves on the wrong side of the law, it is always "A Fort Bliss soldier" this, and "A Fort Carson Soldier" that, not "Joe Snuffy." They represent us all.

As the cream of the crop, Officers, most especially those from West Point, must be held to the highest standard. If we allow this sort of blatant defiance of the rules to go unchecked, we accept this as the new standard.

I believe if anything these cadets are violating the Army's EO policy. The USMA is supposed to be the premier military academy where the best and brightest are educated. This is a poor example of that education of Seniors are showing a lack of discipline.

This is part of what is wrong with society these days. People pull crap like this, and then play the "I didn't know card" or "That isn't what I meant" kind of crap. These young officers will be sent throughout the world to lead our young men and women (sometimes into combat). We should expect more out of them than this. Do I think that this is a career ending move for them? Not at all. But do they need to be punished? I would state a firm "Yes" to that. With that being said, I hope that these young women have a long and successful career; but next time, please think before you post something!!

Yes I do

Reading some of the responses have me laughing...What if there was a few white cadets in there with their fist raised ??? Would it still be promoting Black Lives Matter or because they are all Black, it means it does. When I graduated from my Law Enforcement Academy, we all raised our fists in solidarity of finishing the academy...I guess that was for Black Lives Matter too ??? Why is it when something is done, be it by Blacks or Whites, the first thing that pops up is race-related comments. Until all people can look beyond color, there will always be racism and groups to protest them...I try to live my life looking at people as individuals, not as races. All Blacks aren't thugs, All whites aren't racists, and all Cops aren't Bad !!!!

I wonder if they understand the magnitude of their offense? What particular reg are they violating and are all the "elements of the offense" present? It does seem wacky that these cadets get a pass on this when a respected general (Boykin) can get un-relenting flak for speaking at a church in uniform about what are his PERSONAL beliefs. I even recall a minor shitstorm when a compo 2 or 3 soldier went to downtown Columbia [near Ft Jackson] to show support to the Occupy Columbia squatters. She even spoke to media and voiced her approval.
Here unfortunately I think there are any number of things the clenched black power "fascist fist" salute could potentially represent. I think had these been white males making any kind of Sieg Heil stiff armed salute things would be much different. But if you hammer these women too harshly you likely face an EO accusation for bias bigotry against African American women. Was their intent that this picture be widely disseminated?

Yeah, you're right, MSG (Join to see), there is a lot of tap dancing. There always is on issues like this if you stand on one side of the fence. My take is...If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, you can bet your sweet bippy that it's a duck!!! For decades in this country, there have been two sets of rules for civil decorum in this country. The time has long since past when a whole bunch of somebodies need to stop dancing "around" the Sombrero!!!

don't know if this has been said, but I'm going to say it. If this was a group of white cadets, we would be seeing this compared to the Nazi salute and they would be being called racists.....

They screwed up! This is not conducive to good order and discipline. They are training to become Army Officers. They just lost that opportunity. This should not be tolerated. This is an example of what not to do in uniform. As a retired Officer, I feel that the Academy has failed if they let these Cadets get away with this. Kids or not, Officers or Enlisted, this is not how Soldiers carry themselves!

Definitely prejudicial to good order and discipline.

Walt

I this throw this book at them.

Yes they did. Obviously they didn't get the 4 years of the proper conduct of an officer "while in uniform"....bye bye

Not per say but are close to the line and really shouldn't be engaging in this activity. As a Senior FGO best advice I got in Command leadership school has been if you got to ask more than once about whether its right or will be called into question then you probably shouldn't do it. The fact that two pics were taken (as confirmed in a similar article in Washington Post - one with the fists upraised and one without) suggest that there may have been some question as to if this was a good choice. Otherwise why not just have one picture taken and posted for West Point to celebrate this event-their graduation?

As a officer/leaders appearances DO matter and this should not have been "advised" by their mentor especially while in uniform. Unfortunately social medial and reality tv that many millennials embrace is a dual aged sword now a days! They act without thinking and then have their actions spread far beyond the often initial intended reach!

We really shouldn't be looking at this from the here and now.

Will this have an effect on some PFC under one of their command? My guess is that some PFC Smuck will claim that his or her Lieutenant is a racist to get out of some detail or just to spite the Officer.

I won't pretend to know their intentions. However, if it is being interpreted as a political statement, they knew or should have known that was a possibility.

Here is my 2 cents they are wrong and should be immediately counseled and reprimanded. They are there to defend the lives of all Americans. Not just Black lives or White lives or Native Americans But all Americans. While in uniform they should not be distinguishing between races but seeing soldiers. This kind of thing damages their credibility with their soldiers. When they assume their positions in their units you know they will have soldiers of different races under them and this will only cause tension with those soldiers feeling their super visor doesn't have their back because they aren't Black. Which will cause poor ratings and lack of communication when soldiers don't trust their leaders. Officers or not this kind of action is not acceptable and I really find it hard to believe that any good officer would be trying to find ways to condone it. If they want to send a message it should be ALL lives matter and not to divide the Races further but to do things to end the divide and to show solidarity in the ranks. This is coming from a soldier that when he was in they wouldn't have put up with this mess it would have already have been dealt with no questions Black, White doesn't matter.

Jane Fonda's leftist salute. Its a different context but the fist makes one or them look bad. Jane Fonda is a Socialist that wishes the USA was communist back in 1972. It does not help the BLM movement since perception is reality.