Ink. To annotate. To add to. Persona. One’s character.
Each service academy has a cadet honor code. The West Point Honor Code is listed above. This is well known.
What is not well known is there are mandatory facilitated discussions to discuss the cadet honor code. For the plebes (freshman), this occurs monthly as ink is added to their foundation. As the cadets progress, the conversations are more impactful and less frequent. For my classmates, these were not the Cadet Honor Education classes of old.
Let me give you two vignettes of the types of conversations that took place:
- During their first year, there is a conversation on the tolerate component of the honor code. This is often the most difficult part of the honor code. The cadets are instructed in a series of scenarios to either tolerate or not tolerate a lie and to stand with their group. There is no right or wrong answer. Each group has a member explain why they made that decision with no judgment. The scenarios progress from a murder/robbery/cover up to a sibling and fellow cadet asking the cadet to not report them. This discussion always becomes emotional as cadets, in their words, realize their sibling does not love them if they put them in this situation.
- During their third year, the cadets engage in a worldwide conversation on a real world scenario that is occurring in a combat zone right now. It is always a morally ambiguous situation. The cadets are joined online by lieutenants around the world in a combat zone. The conversation continues for six weeks. After six weeks, the cadets are told they will be in that situation in 18 months. What are you going to do for the next 18 months to prepare? There is a pregnant pause in the room. Reality sets in. Ink is added to persona. The discussion is facilitated by West Point but the ink is added by the cadet building on top of their own unique persona.
For twelve years, every month I volunteered and served on a team that facilitated these conversations for my West Point company, H-1. For the last several years, I led the team.
