<p>JustAnotherMid:</p>
<p>Coming from someone who got here without a family, whose parents died by drug and alcohol abuse at the age of 8, lived as a foster child for 10 years, lived in and out of dumpsters for three years, and was ultimately given the opportunity to serve as a future officer, I would say that ALL midshipmen should really know how fortunate they really are to be at the academy and to confront each situation like grown men and women, and not be afraid to do so, knowing the legacy that we have all worked so hard to achieve and maintain. The dream should not be your family’s, but your own to lose. I am just a normal mid like you who has made it a personal obligation to spread the good word about why the moral mission is essential to our personal development and to operational readiness as we will all be serving in a leadership capacity.</p>
<p>“Shipmate” is a term used to degrade someone, and that should never be used when we’re talking to each other in a respectful way. If you want to talk one on one, email me and I’ll set aside as much time as you want to in order to talk about 2010’s aim with the honor instruction. It is not to get the athletes and those “non-performers” and get them thrown out. In fact, we’ve spent the past 2 years trying to level the playing field by being consistent with all of the sanctions. We have worked hard to gain the Brigade’s trust back as they understand that the honor staff is not out there to get anyone. If you remember the single slide that was put up at reform at the Brigade Honor Advisor’s call - it said, “we work for you”. While previous year’s staffs told the Brigade that THEY knew what was best, we wanted to get as much participation as possible with the Brigade, thus the creation of the honor congress.</p>
<p>I’ve spent hours counseling accused midshipmen ONE ON ONE. When a mid knows they’ve been accused of an honor violation and they see it as the end of the world, don’t they need leaders (dare I say people on the honor staff) that can assure them that it’s not the end of the world, and that they can still be redeemed? Guess what, this happens everyday! However, there are some acts that cannot be forgiven, and I do hope you agree with me on that point.</p>
<p>To clarify, if I’m an upperclass midshipman, and I tell my 4/c exactly which 3 platforms to study from a 17 platform possibility on a pro-quiz, that is a little more than “passing gouge”. JustAnotherMid, I did say all four classes were involved in this, and they main goal is not to send them packing, it is to realize the dangers and moral shortcomings of passing “specific” gouge for a test. The real “honor” in all of this is the leadership that comes from the honor staff in motivating those involved to understand what was done wrong, why it is wrong, and to help spread the word around that actions like these shouldn’t happen. Leadership is the ability to affect positive choice and change, and that is the main goal.</p>