Posted on Sep 4, 2015
Should charges be leveled at West Point Cadets who knowingly injured other Cadets in a Weaponized Pillow fight?
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The aftermath of this "pillow fight" left 30 injured, 2 medically removed, 3 broken arms, 1 broken leg, 1 broken neck, numerous with missing teeth and 24 concussions.
Cadets knowingly beat and seriously injured other Cadets in a yearly pillow fight event. The actions of those who weaponized (don't laugh) their pillows with the intent of harming other Cadets in the yearly fight are being investigated.
It's disturbing that this was observed by upper classmen and allowed to continue and that staff knew of it's occurrence and did not oversee or stop it from occurring. There is failure on multiple levels.
I'm sure it's seen as a right of passage at West Point but I can't get around the fact that they were intentionally seriously injuring their own comrades. It's obvious that the goal was to injure and be injured given the Upper classmen telling the plebs, to wear their body armor and kevlar helmets. If this had happened in a Unit, charges would be filed and heads would roll.
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From: NY Times
For generations, freshmen cadets at the United States Military Academy have marked the end of a grueling summer of training with a huge nighttime pillow fight that is billed as a harmless way to blow off steam and build class spirit.
But this year the fight on the West Point, N.Y., campus turned bloody as some cadets swung pillowcases packed with hard objects, thought to be helmets, that split lips, broke at least one bone, dislocated shoulders and knocked cadets unconscious. The brawl at the publicly funded academy, where many of the Army’s top leaders are trained, left 30 cadets injured, including 24 with concussions, according to West Point.
In interviews, cadets who asked that their names not be used for fear of repercussions in West Point’s strictly controlled culture, said the fight had left one cadet with a broken leg and dislocated shoulders in others. One cadet was knocked unconscious and taken away in an ambulance and had not returned to school, they said. But a spokesman for the academy, Lt. Col. Christopher Kasker, said all cadets had returned to duty.
Though talk about the brawl on Aug. 20 had circulated on social media, West Point did not confirm it to The New York Times until Thursday.
Colonel Kasker said the annual fight is organized by first-year students as a way to build camaraderie after the summer program that prepares them for the rigors of plebe year.
Upperclassmen overseeing freshmen “allowed the spirit activity to occur out of the desire to enhance the spirit of the class,” Colonel Kasker said, adding that those upperclassmen took “mitigating measures” to prevent injury, including requiring cadets to wear helmets.
But video shows that many of the cadets did not wear helmets. Cadets said that in at least a few cases helmets became weapons stuffed into pillowcases.
“West Point applauds the cadets’ desire to build esprit and regrets the injuries to our cadets,” Colonel Kasker said. “We are conducting appropriate investigations into the causes of the injuries.”
So far no cadets have been punished, and the academy has no plans to end the annual tradition. Colonel Kasker said commanders were not available for comment on Friday.
Video of the fight posted online showed crowds of cadets, some wearing body armor as well as helmets, surging together in a central quad, their yells echoing off the stone walls of the surrounding barracks.
As the first-year cadets collided into a boil of white pillows, pummeling one another in the fading light, Army-issued glow sticks flew through the air and an impromptu cavalry of riders in laundry carts dashed in, cushions swinging. At one point, a smoke grenade appeared to go off.
Photos posted later on Twitter show plebes, as freshmen are called, with bloody faces and bloody pillows, and at least one person being loaded into an ambulance.
“My plebe was knocked unconscious and immediately began fighting when he came to,” an unnamed upperclassman, who was apparently observing from the sidelines, wrote on the social media forum Yik Yak. “I was so proud I could cry.”
As the battle continued, cadets clustered around at least two classmates who had fallen, apparently unable to get up. Others stumbled to a medical area set up beside the fracas.
“4 concussions, 1 broken leg, 2 broken arms, 1 dislocated shoulder, and several broken ribs. That’s one hell of a pillow fight. #USMA19,” one freshman posted on Twitter, echoing many who seemed to see the injuries as a point of pride.
As the scope of injuries became clear, cadets said in interviews, West Point staff members went door to door in the barracks giving quick concussion checks.
In interviews, cadets said they saw the fight as a chance to have fun after seven weeks of basic training in which they were not supposed to speak to one another. It was also a chance to show grit.
“If you don’t come back with a bloody nose,” a male first-year cadet said his upperclassman commander told him, “you didn’t try hard enough.”
West Point pillow fights have existed since at least 1897, according to testimony in a 1901 congressional inquiry on hazing at the school, but there have been no other reports over the decades of injury until recently.
In 2012, a cadet put a lockbox in a pillowcase, injuring others, and in response, the 2013 fight was canceled, cadets said.
Similar violence has occurred at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs during ceremonial warfare traditions in recent years.
During the first winter storm of the year, Air Force freshmen try to throw their cadet leaders into the snow. But in 2012 the snowball fight turned into a brawl, and 27 cadets were treated for concussions, cuts, broken bones and a bite wound.
The Air Force did not punish any cadets at the time, choosing to treat the episode as what a spokesman called “a teachable moment.”
West Point cadets had mixed reactions to the injuries this year. Some saw them as a rite of passage in a school known for being tough; others saw a lack of judgment and restraint.
“At first the body count, people were joking about it,” a female first-year cadet said. “My friends were really excited. And right after, when we learned how many people had gotten hurt, everyone felt totally hard-core. I know it looks weird from the outside, but it really bonds us.”
But when she saw a male cadet being loaded into an ambulance outside her dorm room, she began to have second thoughts.
“If you are an officer, you are supposed to make good decisions and follow the rules. You are supposed to mediate when everyone wants to go out and kill everyone,” she said. “The goal was to have fun, and it ended up some guys just chose to hurt people.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/05/us/at-west-point-annual-pillow-fight-becomes-weaponized.html?smid=tw-bna&_r=0
Cadets knowingly beat and seriously injured other Cadets in a yearly pillow fight event. The actions of those who weaponized (don't laugh) their pillows with the intent of harming other Cadets in the yearly fight are being investigated.
It's disturbing that this was observed by upper classmen and allowed to continue and that staff knew of it's occurrence and did not oversee or stop it from occurring. There is failure on multiple levels.
I'm sure it's seen as a right of passage at West Point but I can't get around the fact that they were intentionally seriously injuring their own comrades. It's obvious that the goal was to injure and be injured given the Upper classmen telling the plebs, to wear their body armor and kevlar helmets. If this had happened in a Unit, charges would be filed and heads would roll.
--
From: NY Times
For generations, freshmen cadets at the United States Military Academy have marked the end of a grueling summer of training with a huge nighttime pillow fight that is billed as a harmless way to blow off steam and build class spirit.
But this year the fight on the West Point, N.Y., campus turned bloody as some cadets swung pillowcases packed with hard objects, thought to be helmets, that split lips, broke at least one bone, dislocated shoulders and knocked cadets unconscious. The brawl at the publicly funded academy, where many of the Army’s top leaders are trained, left 30 cadets injured, including 24 with concussions, according to West Point.
In interviews, cadets who asked that their names not be used for fear of repercussions in West Point’s strictly controlled culture, said the fight had left one cadet with a broken leg and dislocated shoulders in others. One cadet was knocked unconscious and taken away in an ambulance and had not returned to school, they said. But a spokesman for the academy, Lt. Col. Christopher Kasker, said all cadets had returned to duty.
Though talk about the brawl on Aug. 20 had circulated on social media, West Point did not confirm it to The New York Times until Thursday.
Colonel Kasker said the annual fight is organized by first-year students as a way to build camaraderie after the summer program that prepares them for the rigors of plebe year.
Upperclassmen overseeing freshmen “allowed the spirit activity to occur out of the desire to enhance the spirit of the class,” Colonel Kasker said, adding that those upperclassmen took “mitigating measures” to prevent injury, including requiring cadets to wear helmets.
But video shows that many of the cadets did not wear helmets. Cadets said that in at least a few cases helmets became weapons stuffed into pillowcases.
“West Point applauds the cadets’ desire to build esprit and regrets the injuries to our cadets,” Colonel Kasker said. “We are conducting appropriate investigations into the causes of the injuries.”
So far no cadets have been punished, and the academy has no plans to end the annual tradition. Colonel Kasker said commanders were not available for comment on Friday.
Video of the fight posted online showed crowds of cadets, some wearing body armor as well as helmets, surging together in a central quad, their yells echoing off the stone walls of the surrounding barracks.
As the first-year cadets collided into a boil of white pillows, pummeling one another in the fading light, Army-issued glow sticks flew through the air and an impromptu cavalry of riders in laundry carts dashed in, cushions swinging. At one point, a smoke grenade appeared to go off.
Photos posted later on Twitter show plebes, as freshmen are called, with bloody faces and bloody pillows, and at least one person being loaded into an ambulance.
“My plebe was knocked unconscious and immediately began fighting when he came to,” an unnamed upperclassman, who was apparently observing from the sidelines, wrote on the social media forum Yik Yak. “I was so proud I could cry.”
As the battle continued, cadets clustered around at least two classmates who had fallen, apparently unable to get up. Others stumbled to a medical area set up beside the fracas.
“4 concussions, 1 broken leg, 2 broken arms, 1 dislocated shoulder, and several broken ribs. That’s one hell of a pillow fight. #USMA19,” one freshman posted on Twitter, echoing many who seemed to see the injuries as a point of pride.
As the scope of injuries became clear, cadets said in interviews, West Point staff members went door to door in the barracks giving quick concussion checks.
In interviews, cadets said they saw the fight as a chance to have fun after seven weeks of basic training in which they were not supposed to speak to one another. It was also a chance to show grit.
“If you don’t come back with a bloody nose,” a male first-year cadet said his upperclassman commander told him, “you didn’t try hard enough.”
West Point pillow fights have existed since at least 1897, according to testimony in a 1901 congressional inquiry on hazing at the school, but there have been no other reports over the decades of injury until recently.
In 2012, a cadet put a lockbox in a pillowcase, injuring others, and in response, the 2013 fight was canceled, cadets said.
Similar violence has occurred at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs during ceremonial warfare traditions in recent years.
During the first winter storm of the year, Air Force freshmen try to throw their cadet leaders into the snow. But in 2012 the snowball fight turned into a brawl, and 27 cadets were treated for concussions, cuts, broken bones and a bite wound.
The Air Force did not punish any cadets at the time, choosing to treat the episode as what a spokesman called “a teachable moment.”
West Point cadets had mixed reactions to the injuries this year. Some saw them as a rite of passage in a school known for being tough; others saw a lack of judgment and restraint.
“At first the body count, people were joking about it,” a female first-year cadet said. “My friends were really excited. And right after, when we learned how many people had gotten hurt, everyone felt totally hard-core. I know it looks weird from the outside, but it really bonds us.”
But when she saw a male cadet being loaded into an ambulance outside her dorm room, she began to have second thoughts.
“If you are an officer, you are supposed to make good decisions and follow the rules. You are supposed to mediate when everyone wants to go out and kill everyone,” she said. “The goal was to have fun, and it ended up some guys just chose to hurt people.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/05/us/at-west-point-annual-pillow-fight-becomes-weaponized.html?smid=tw-bna&_r=0
Posted in these groups: 
United States Military Academy (USMA West Point)
United States Military Academy (USMA West Point)
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 108
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Tombestone
I hope they get this under control before the USMA annual spelling contest commencement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPTA8HbdLjw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPTA8HbdLjw
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MSG (Join to see)
Yes. It's called "hazing" and since the Army has banned this type of fraternization, I completely think that our future Generals need to be held to the same standard.
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SGT Michael Glenn
Cadets!!! Lock and load your pillows!!! the compound is no longer clear !!!! Bash at will !!!! Ohhhh snap !!!! who loaded the bricks in there???Cease Fire!!! Cease Fire!!! Cease Fire!!!!
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SGT William Howell
I can see it now. 2Lt Smith at the front lines, charging into the enemy with his battle pillow. Mercilessly slaying all the opposition as he pushes forward. Leading his troops to victory. While the Platoon SGT looks from behind and says, "What the fuck is that moron doing?"
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This sentence says sooooo much. "It's disturbing that this was observed by upper classmen and allowed to continue and that staff knew of it's occurrence and did not oversee or stop it from occurring." This seems to go along with all of those horrible stories of bad things happening and those watching do nothing to intervene. There is a breakdown in our society when it comes to common sense and decency. West Point and all of our military academies are places we expect that to not be the case but it seems that the issue is even inside those walls. But are we really surprised? Sex scandals , murders, cheating, rape are just a few of the issues that have come up in the news related to our academies, our high schools, work places and homes in the last decade or so. It seems that we are devolving as a human beings. Becoming more violent, more cruel, less civilized and less empathetic as human beings. There does need to be punishment or the cadets and the staff but there needs to be something done to put civility and respect first. How is physically abusing the people who are supposed to have your back make sense and fun????
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Maybe it's time to stop the annual pillow fight! It's poor leadership that allows or encourages behavior that ends with people intentionally getting hurt!
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CPT (Join to see)
CH (MAJ) Thomas Conner This isn't the first time someone has been injured at the WP annual "pillow fight". Serious injury occurred during the 2012 "pillow fight" as well which led to the 2013 event being canceled. Which indicates the staff at the school were aware of the potential for this event to get out of control. Just food for thought about this entire event.
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CH (MAJ) Thomas Conner
Then it's time for the nonsense to stop. My son attended the Citadel and was injured by some upperclassmen during his first year. I found out and called the commandant's office and was told he was "busy." I responded if he did not call me within a hour, I would hold a press conference outside the front gate to talk about the hazing going on at the Citadel. He called to apologize within 30 minutes. Parents don't send our "children" to college or the Academy to get injuries that may prevent them from future service!
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MSG (Join to see)
I agree with MAJ Conner, although this organization has many traditions, some of those traditions are not good. These young men and women act in such an unprofessional manner and demonstrating to the world that they will be the leaders of our Army is quite embarrassing. In addition these are the same individuals that will be quick to punish a soldier in their command for commiting equivalent or lesser forms of morale building, bonding, rights of passage or any other term you would like to call it, at the end of the day when it involves physical abuse it's called HAZING, ASSAULT etc. I believe the cadets should be disciplined, and the Officers and NCOs that encouraged this behavior regardless of "traditions" should be severely punished for allowing a Platoon size element getting hurt.
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SMSgt Lawrence McCarter
I also feel that this sort of thing contributes nothing and gets out of control. I had been a Cadet at a Military Academy where hazing was not allowed at all and was cause for dismissal from the school if You were involved in such an event. The leadership of the school felt it made no contribution to anything and would NOT be tolerated. There was NO plebe system at that school. The supervision, discipline and control was however very much in place to include Penalty tours in Your free time handled under the Control of the Commandant of Cadets office. That Academy , Bordentown Military Institute in Bordentown, NJ applied those standards from its founding in 1881 to remain an Army ROTC Honor school until like many fine Military schools in the post Viet Nam era ceased to exist in 1974. With the leaders that emerged from BMI that is such a shame. BMI was also rich in tradition but NOT the sort of thing that injured or demeaned its Cadets but instead built leaders !
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Hmmm. Stop the harassment during CPO initiations, but OK to weaponize pillows and actually injure someone. More disconnect.
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SGT Michael Glenn
I have an answer to that MCPO Roger Collins and it goes something like this: Ahhhhhhh....Uhhhhhhhhmmmmmmm... I ahhhhhhhh.... Oh never mind!!!!! I cant figure it out either !!!!
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I can't quantify this adequately but I have to believe the answer is yes because I don't want believe otherwise.
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Here's What REALLY Happened At The West Point Pillow Fight
If you want to know what REALLY happened at the West Point pillow fight that the New York Times and others are talking so much about, read this article.
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COL Charles Williams
CPT (Join to see) - Responsibility and Accountability. Cadets should be learning this and Officers there are sworn to this.
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CPT (Join to see)
Pillow Fight = Tailhook, both were/are stupid traditions! No excuses, this needs to stop.
This 'Tradition' is just a glorified 'blanket party', it is done, no more pillow fights at West Point.
Corps of Cadets, welcome to the Army! When you do something unlawful that injuries another you will face disciplinary action.
UCMJ charges need to be brought on the cadets, the upperclassmen who allowed and especially the officer 'leadership' that established the conditions for this Event.
I went through ROTC, so I am sure many West Point graduates will tell me I don't understand. Got it.
If my Army ROTC department allowed this type of event, I would expect it to be shut down.
People and institutions make mistakes, this one needs to be remedied and resolved.
Pillow Fight = Tailhook, both were/are stupid traditions! No excuses, this needs to stop.
This 'Tradition' is just a glorified 'blanket party', it is done, no more pillow fights at West Point.
Corps of Cadets, welcome to the Army! When you do something unlawful that injuries another you will face disciplinary action.
UCMJ charges need to be brought on the cadets, the upperclassmen who allowed and especially the officer 'leadership' that established the conditions for this Event.
I went through ROTC, so I am sure many West Point graduates will tell me I don't understand. Got it.
If my Army ROTC department allowed this type of event, I would expect it to be shut down.
People and institutions make mistakes, this one needs to be remedied and resolved.
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CPT (Join to see)
Conflict Over Tradition Ends A West Point Cadet's Dream
By STEVEN ERLANGER
Published: January 18, 1988
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WEST POINT, N.Y.— From the age of 12, John Edwards had wanted to go to the United States Military Academy, and he made it the hard way, first enlisting in the Army and then distinguishing himself in military intelligence and language studies.
Last week, Mr. Edwards, a 24-year-old second-classman, or junior, was expelled from the academy. Despite an excellent academic record and a reputation for probity, he had failed Military Development, a subjective evaluation of ''leadership'' that is treated like an academic course, for the second consecutive semester.
West Point officials, citing privacy rules, would not discuss Mr. Edwards's case, and those most directly involved with him declined to be interviewed. But Mr. Edwards said the primary reason for his failure was his refusal, as an upperclassman, to participate actively in ''the fourth-class system,'' the intricate set of rules, obligations and traditions that govern the lives of freshmen, or plebes, and the relationship other cadets may have with them. How to Treat Plebes
To the academy, the fourth-class system is an integral part of turning young civilians into officers, teaching discipline, camaraderie and the ability to perform under pressure, said Lieut. Col. Stephen Cook, regimental tactical officer in charge of about 1,100 cadets. It is also intended to teach upperclass cadets how to behave with subordinates, he said, and how to lead them.
But to Mr. Edwards, now home in Portland, Tex., ''the fourth-class system is hazing,'' a degrading process that teaches little, is subject to abuse and ''by no means needs to last a year.''
''I swore to myself when I was a plebe,'' he said, ''that I would never put anyone through what I had to go through.''
The treatment of plebes has long been a sensitive topic here. The days of physical hazing - Gen. Douglas MacArthur told of having to do deep kneebends over broken glass until he fainted - are gone. And as the academy re-examines its notion of leadership, and how it should be nurtured and evaluated, there has been a continuing refinement of plebes' duties and the extent to which upper-class cadets may harass them about Army lore.
''We want to develop not just good Army second lieutenants, but leaders capable of serving the nation generally,'' said Col. William L. Wilson, director of the academy's Center for Leadership and Personal Development. ''We're trying to get more into the notion of the caring leader.'' 'They Stop and Argue'
To that end, a new set of criteria for measuring leadership and military development went into effect just last year, said Colonel Wilson, the man most responsible for drawing them up. They are an attempt to respond to changing requirements in a transitional time, he said, when ''cadets do more thinking about why and does it make sense, and they stop and argue with instructors.''
To traditionalists and older officers like himself, said Colonel Wilson, 47, ''That's heresy - it drives us crazy. When I was here 25 years ago, you did what you were told.''
Mr. Edwards, said one cadet in his company, ''ran up against a real zealot,'' a reference to the company tactical officer, Capt. Joseph E. Martz, who declined to be interviewed.
Opposition to the fourth-class system is not unusual. ''But most people hide it or act indifferent to it,'' said another cadet. ''John was vocal about it. I told him many times he couldn't go around doing that without trouble.'' Student of Arabic
Mr. Edwards's stance, cadets say, deeply upset Captain Martz, whose decision to fail Mr. Edwards in Military Development for a second consecutive semester, Mr. Edwards feels, sealed his doom. Consecutive failure in any course ''typically results in separation'' after a review, said Colonel Wilson. Separation for failing Military Development, he said, is rare.
Mr. Edwards had always wanted to go to West Point, said his father, Robert Edwards. John enlisted in December 1982. After advanced training in intelligence analysis, he was sent to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., where he studied Arabic. He was then admitted to the United States Military Preparatory School in Fort Monmouth, N.J., the route for enlisted men to enter West Point. Of the entering class of 335, some 200 graduated. Mr. Edwards finished third in his class. By all accounts, he was a fine student, with an overall average of 3.59 and A+ grades in Arabic. His last semester at the academy his average was 4.10 out of a maximum 4.33, putting him among the top 10 in his class.
Captain Martz is 31 years old, a 1979 West Point graduate who served as a troop commander in West Germany. He is described by Mr. Edwards and some of the other cadets in his company as ''a stickler'' and ''a hard-liner,'' who sometimes, some say, ''bears grudges'' and ''can leave out the human factor.''
Mr. Edwards is not the only cadet to have difficulty with Captain Martz. John Lau, a senior, was suspended last week after Captain Martz failed him for the second time in Military Development, though not in consecutive terms. Cadets say the captain recommended that Mr. Lau also be separated, but was overruled.
Conflict Over Tradition Ends A West Point Cadet's Dream
Published: January 18, 1988
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(Page 2 of 2)
''Martz had a personal vendetta against Lau,'' a cadet said. ''Lau made the mistake of accusing him publicly of having a personal vendetta.'' Mr. Lau confirmed his suspension and said he had had ''lots of problems with Captain Martz.'' But he said to discuss them would be ''tough in my position.'' Mr. Lau is seeking to appeal his suspension. 'He's a Lineholder'
Cadets in Company E4 say they were also told that a New York Times reporter was looking into Mr. Edwards's expulsion and that they should keep silent, a message repeated by Captain Martz. Andrea Hamburger, an academy spokeswoman, confirmed the two meetings but said cadets were warned only that they should not discuss matters about which they had no personal knowledge.
''I know Captain Martz,'' said Colonel Wilson. ''He's intense, he's dedicated, he cares - he's a lineholder, he's not easy to work around and slip by on the edges. And when Martz says, 'No, you can't,' by God, it's going to cause some problems.''
Mr. Edwards says that after his first failure in Military Development, the captain told him to type up a list of goals, including improvement in physical education and ''working professionally with the fourth class.''
''These are the things I needed to do not to get an 'F' again,'' Mr. Edwards said, ''and I thought I'd done them. Obviously it meant different things to me and Captain Martz.''
To him, Mr. Edwards said, it meant ''keeping quiet about the fourth- class system, keeping my distance from plebes and trying to set them a good example. For Martz, it must have meant correcting them all the time over trivial and stupid things.''
''No one is obligated to ask the plebes anything,'' said Colonel Cook, the regimental tactical officer. ''But if you see something wrong, you're to ask, same as if you saw a soldier doing something wrong. You're expected to make on-the-spot corrections.''
Mr. Edwards said he is appealing his case to his Congressman, Representative E. (Kika) de la Garza, Democrat of Texas. His parents, say they are shocked. ''John would come home and go to church and wear his uniform, he was so proud,'' his father said. ''We're backing him all the way.''
''This is all about non-support of the fourth-class system,'' his mother, Carol, said. ''Is it that important to them that he hazes the plebes? That's what we want to know - what their real values are.''
''I'm not in the Army yet,'' said Cadet John Fortson, Mr. Edwards's roommate last semester. ''But I'd say, 'Yes, sir,' he would make a good officer. Surely there would be a role for him.''
photos of Col. William Wilson; cadets at West Point (NYT/Vic DeLucia); John Edwards
By STEVEN ERLANGER
Published: January 18, 1988
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SINGLE PAGE
REPRINTS
WEST POINT, N.Y.— From the age of 12, John Edwards had wanted to go to the United States Military Academy, and he made it the hard way, first enlisting in the Army and then distinguishing himself in military intelligence and language studies.
Last week, Mr. Edwards, a 24-year-old second-classman, or junior, was expelled from the academy. Despite an excellent academic record and a reputation for probity, he had failed Military Development, a subjective evaluation of ''leadership'' that is treated like an academic course, for the second consecutive semester.
West Point officials, citing privacy rules, would not discuss Mr. Edwards's case, and those most directly involved with him declined to be interviewed. But Mr. Edwards said the primary reason for his failure was his refusal, as an upperclassman, to participate actively in ''the fourth-class system,'' the intricate set of rules, obligations and traditions that govern the lives of freshmen, or plebes, and the relationship other cadets may have with them. How to Treat Plebes
To the academy, the fourth-class system is an integral part of turning young civilians into officers, teaching discipline, camaraderie and the ability to perform under pressure, said Lieut. Col. Stephen Cook, regimental tactical officer in charge of about 1,100 cadets. It is also intended to teach upperclass cadets how to behave with subordinates, he said, and how to lead them.
But to Mr. Edwards, now home in Portland, Tex., ''the fourth-class system is hazing,'' a degrading process that teaches little, is subject to abuse and ''by no means needs to last a year.''
''I swore to myself when I was a plebe,'' he said, ''that I would never put anyone through what I had to go through.''
The treatment of plebes has long been a sensitive topic here. The days of physical hazing - Gen. Douglas MacArthur told of having to do deep kneebends over broken glass until he fainted - are gone. And as the academy re-examines its notion of leadership, and how it should be nurtured and evaluated, there has been a continuing refinement of plebes' duties and the extent to which upper-class cadets may harass them about Army lore.
''We want to develop not just good Army second lieutenants, but leaders capable of serving the nation generally,'' said Col. William L. Wilson, director of the academy's Center for Leadership and Personal Development. ''We're trying to get more into the notion of the caring leader.'' 'They Stop and Argue'
To that end, a new set of criteria for measuring leadership and military development went into effect just last year, said Colonel Wilson, the man most responsible for drawing them up. They are an attempt to respond to changing requirements in a transitional time, he said, when ''cadets do more thinking about why and does it make sense, and they stop and argue with instructors.''
To traditionalists and older officers like himself, said Colonel Wilson, 47, ''That's heresy - it drives us crazy. When I was here 25 years ago, you did what you were told.''
Mr. Edwards, said one cadet in his company, ''ran up against a real zealot,'' a reference to the company tactical officer, Capt. Joseph E. Martz, who declined to be interviewed.
Opposition to the fourth-class system is not unusual. ''But most people hide it or act indifferent to it,'' said another cadet. ''John was vocal about it. I told him many times he couldn't go around doing that without trouble.'' Student of Arabic
Mr. Edwards's stance, cadets say, deeply upset Captain Martz, whose decision to fail Mr. Edwards in Military Development for a second consecutive semester, Mr. Edwards feels, sealed his doom. Consecutive failure in any course ''typically results in separation'' after a review, said Colonel Wilson. Separation for failing Military Development, he said, is rare.
Mr. Edwards had always wanted to go to West Point, said his father, Robert Edwards. John enlisted in December 1982. After advanced training in intelligence analysis, he was sent to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., where he studied Arabic. He was then admitted to the United States Military Preparatory School in Fort Monmouth, N.J., the route for enlisted men to enter West Point. Of the entering class of 335, some 200 graduated. Mr. Edwards finished third in his class. By all accounts, he was a fine student, with an overall average of 3.59 and A+ grades in Arabic. His last semester at the academy his average was 4.10 out of a maximum 4.33, putting him among the top 10 in his class.
Captain Martz is 31 years old, a 1979 West Point graduate who served as a troop commander in West Germany. He is described by Mr. Edwards and some of the other cadets in his company as ''a stickler'' and ''a hard-liner,'' who sometimes, some say, ''bears grudges'' and ''can leave out the human factor.''
Mr. Edwards is not the only cadet to have difficulty with Captain Martz. John Lau, a senior, was suspended last week after Captain Martz failed him for the second time in Military Development, though not in consecutive terms. Cadets say the captain recommended that Mr. Lau also be separated, but was overruled.
Conflict Over Tradition Ends A West Point Cadet's Dream
Published: January 18, 1988
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''Martz had a personal vendetta against Lau,'' a cadet said. ''Lau made the mistake of accusing him publicly of having a personal vendetta.'' Mr. Lau confirmed his suspension and said he had had ''lots of problems with Captain Martz.'' But he said to discuss them would be ''tough in my position.'' Mr. Lau is seeking to appeal his suspension. 'He's a Lineholder'
Cadets in Company E4 say they were also told that a New York Times reporter was looking into Mr. Edwards's expulsion and that they should keep silent, a message repeated by Captain Martz. Andrea Hamburger, an academy spokeswoman, confirmed the two meetings but said cadets were warned only that they should not discuss matters about which they had no personal knowledge.
''I know Captain Martz,'' said Colonel Wilson. ''He's intense, he's dedicated, he cares - he's a lineholder, he's not easy to work around and slip by on the edges. And when Martz says, 'No, you can't,' by God, it's going to cause some problems.''
Mr. Edwards says that after his first failure in Military Development, the captain told him to type up a list of goals, including improvement in physical education and ''working professionally with the fourth class.''
''These are the things I needed to do not to get an 'F' again,'' Mr. Edwards said, ''and I thought I'd done them. Obviously it meant different things to me and Captain Martz.''
To him, Mr. Edwards said, it meant ''keeping quiet about the fourth- class system, keeping my distance from plebes and trying to set them a good example. For Martz, it must have meant correcting them all the time over trivial and stupid things.''
''No one is obligated to ask the plebes anything,'' said Colonel Cook, the regimental tactical officer. ''But if you see something wrong, you're to ask, same as if you saw a soldier doing something wrong. You're expected to make on-the-spot corrections.''
Mr. Edwards said he is appealing his case to his Congressman, Representative E. (Kika) de la Garza, Democrat of Texas. His parents, say they are shocked. ''John would come home and go to church and wear his uniform, he was so proud,'' his father said. ''We're backing him all the way.''
''This is all about non-support of the fourth-class system,'' his mother, Carol, said. ''Is it that important to them that he hazes the plebes? That's what we want to know - what their real values are.''
''I'm not in the Army yet,'' said Cadet John Fortson, Mr. Edwards's roommate last semester. ''But I'd say, 'Yes, sir,' he would make a good officer. Surely there would be a role for him.''
photos of Col. William Wilson; cadets at West Point (NYT/Vic DeLucia); John Edwards
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LTC John Shaw
CPT (Join to see) I have tried a few google searches on John Edwards with West Point included and don't see follow ups. Sadly with John Edwards the prior Dem candidate and Edwards being a common name, it may take time to find out.
We need to stop the 'traditions' that are effectively hazing in all the military branches and schools. They lend nothing to the skills and experiences required to do an outstanding job. They are leftover from brutish bullying behavior and survive through institutional inertia.
We need to stop the 'traditions' that are effectively hazing in all the military branches and schools. They lend nothing to the skills and experiences required to do an outstanding job. They are leftover from brutish bullying behavior and survive through institutional inertia.
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CPT (Join to see)
LTC John Shaw - This may help you in your search, I found something where he was quoted as saying he probably go Texas A&M or Baylor but would not join their ROTC programs because he had decided against a career in the military.
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LTC John Shaw
CPT (Join to see) Yes, I saw that to and then decided to leave well enough alone. Maxed out the time, I can spend on my RP hobby.
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Also charge those who did not stop it or encouraged it. They are not welcomed into the officer corps. Go find a job flipping burgers.
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If you need to wear body armor and a helmet to a pillow fight, you might need to reexamine the way you conduct things. So hell yes!
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Yes. If this happened at a public school anywhere else, this would be called hazing and the silly frat boys would be dismissed from JROTC and the Uni they attended.
Additionally;
http://www.salon.com/2015/01/05/lets_abolish_west_point_military_academies_serve_no_one_squander_millions_of_tax_dollars/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/09/15/service-academies-congressional-nominations-history/15660721/
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/opinion/nocera-the-military-prep-school-scam.html?_r=0
Additionally;
http://www.salon.com/2015/01/05/lets_abolish_west_point_military_academies_serve_no_one_squander_millions_of_tax_dollars/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/09/15/service-academies-congressional-nominations-history/15660721/
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/opinion/nocera-the-military-prep-school-scam.html?_r=0
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