PMA Honor Code primitive

PMA Honor Code primitive

Proof that 1st Class Cadet Aldrin Jeff P. Cudia did not lie in his explanations why he was late for two minutes in his English class

It turns out that the PMA is primitive in implementing the Honor Code it copied from the US Army Academy (West Point).  

The Honor Code at the West Point had long been changed after vowing to public demand to shed its secrecy in its procedure of implementing honor cases following the Cheating Scandal of 1976.  

The concept of Honor Code that the PMA still implements up to today removes any cadet  found guilty of lying, cheating and stealing as well as those who tolerated any, without even forgiving those cadets found guilty of small acts of lying, cheating, stealing and tolerating the same. 

At the US Naval Academy, it is different.

The US NA in 1953 formed its own Honor Concept far distinct than the Honor Code followed during that time at the US Army and Air Force Academy.

The Honor Concept was drafted by Ross Perot while he was then a first class cadet midshipman and the president of the Class '53 at the USNA.  That Honor Concept is still the one being observed until today at the USNA and, similarly, the US Coast Guard Academy.

In justifying the Honor Concept, Ross Perot described as ineffective the Honor Code at the US Army and US Air Force Academies as one that seeks to instill discipline by the power of fear of dismissal from the academies.    Cadet Perot criticized the Honor Code as an incorrect way of developing the person of a man into one who does not lie, cheat or steal.    He said that when these cadets would graduate from the Honor Code that fear of dismissal would be gone.     When that fear of dismissal was gone, these cadets would now be free from fear and with some powers in their hands they would tend to demonstrate their natural being as natural liars, natural cheaters or natural thieves. 

Ross Perot stressed that the HONOR CONCEPT in the US Naval Academy is different.

Upon the other hand, the Honor Concept seeks to develop the cadets into wholesome leaders who naturally develop themselves by means of persuasive indoctrination for Navy cadets not to lie, not to cheat, and not to steal.

Is this Honor Concept better than the Honor Code?

Well, the biggest proof of the effectiveness of the HONOR CONCEPT is the fact that Perot later became a billionaire to be the 101st richest man in the USA.  

He founded Perot Systems Corporation, Inc.   When his company became big it was bought by Dell for $3.9 billion.   Perot is also the most successful independent Presidential candidate in 1992 and 1996. 

The USNA HONOR CONCEPT trains the cadets not to lie, not to cheat and not to steal but it allows another cadet to confront the violator without being obligated to report the same.   This system empowers the confronting cadet to indoctrinate the violator instead of reporting the violator to the honor committee.  

The Honor Concept firmly believes in its stand that with Honor Concept system of indoctrination, the fear of removal from the Academy is removed and the violator naturally develops a change of his self and galvanizing him into a person having desirable trait to be a part of his human system of characters.   So that Honor Concept makes the violator develop himself into a man of integrity without the interference of fear.

Perot was proved true later on his point.  

The Honor Code at the US Army Academy (West Point) was drastically changed from purely a cadets' secret undertaking to one that is supervised by the Army Corps of Officers.

This change occurred following the biggest scandal, the Cheating of 1976, the year of graduation of 4-star General Odierno who became a hero to the US when he caught Saddam Hussien and of 4-star General McChrystal who became a hero when his Iraq surge tactic made the US finally win the war in Iraq.  

As part of the change that cracked the secrecy code of the Honor Code, 86 cadets found guilty of cheating in 1976 were recalled to the West Point and eventually graduated as second lieutenants of the US Army in 1978.

If only the PMA cadets study the history of the Honor Code, it could have not repeated the history that one day one cadet will challenge the Honor Committee and will compromise its secrecy.

Just like in the case of 1st Class Cadet Cudia today, the West Point scandal of 1976 invited strong public demand for the Honor Committee proceedings to be opened, anchored on the argument that the West Point has been financed by public funds.

That West Point scandal led to many lawyers challenging the authority of the Honor Committee to dismiss cadets, to Congressional investigations, and massive internal investigations conducted by the US Army.  From there, everything changed:  All Honor Committee proceedings today at the US Army Academy cannot proceed without the guidance of the Corps of Officers of the US Army.

In other words, the PMA must change its Honor Code implementation for it to be attuned with the changing world order.  The power of netizens is too strong to handle.

The PMA should take a cue that for the first time in its history, a cadet has challenged the PMA head-to-head on the insistence that the cadet, Cadet Cudia, is innocent.

It is now asked: 

What if Cadet Cudia will not leave the PMA even during or after the graduation where he is not included in the list of graduates?

What honor will those concerned cadets bring if they are conferred higher honors because the deserving salutatorian was removed?