1) Mountain out of a mole hill; these
mistakes were minimal and they were dealt with by West Point in an expeditious
manner.
2) I find it hard to believe that it is just
coincidence that this story was released by Colorado Springs the week of the
Army/Air Force game.
3) The title of story was inflammatory and
misleading.
4) Not that anyone cares about official information
(including the author of the Gazette article), but the official response from
the Superintendent of West Point is attached below. __________________
Public Affairs Office
West Point, NY 10996
845-938-2006/3808
Fax: 845-938-6035
Statement from the 59th Superintendent, U.S. Military Academy -- October 26, 2014
Ladies and Gentlemen:
You may have heard about an incident that was reported in the media Saturday, October 25,
involving members of the U.S. Military Academy's football team.
On January 25, 2014, the Army Football Office organized a trip to the Palisades Mall for some
of their recruits and football players and other cadet hosts without officer supervision. This trip
resulted in incidents of misconduct, which included underage drinking at a bowling alley within
the Mall among members of the team and several recruits, and other questionable behavior.
The incident was reported by a cadet during a classroom discussion, which led to a preliminary
investigation. As more facts surfaced during the initial inquiry, leadership initiated an Army
Regulation 15-6 investigation.
The investigation found several violations of the cadet disciplinary code and NCAA rules.
Specifically, those violations were underage drinking, inappropriate use of a police escort,
misuse of NCAA recruiting host funds, cadet participation without class privileges and failure to
maintain proper cadet accountability.
The AR 15-6 investigation was completed on April 28, 2014 and identified 20 cadets that
participated in this event. Cadets on the team were found to have violated the Cadet Disciplinary
Code for Unsatisfactory Behavior, Error in Judgment, Failure to Perform a Duty and a violation
of the General Article for actions which reflect discredit on the Corps of Cadets and the United
States Army. All 20 cadets were punished. Maximum allowable punishment under the Cadet
Disciplinary Code was administered for the most severe cases. Ordinarily alcohol related
offenses are adjudicated at the Brigade Tactical Officer- level, who is a colonel. However, in
this instance all cases were elevated to the Commandant, a brigadier general. Cadets also lost
cadet rank and opportunities for leadership positions. In addition, coaches administered team
disciplinary measures. Significantly, in the course of the AR 15-6, all cadet athletes involved
took full responsibility for their actions.
-more-Superintendent Statement 2/2/2
Two officers received general officer reprimands, were admonished by me as Superintendent,
and were temporarily suspended from all football duties by the Athletic Director. Two coaches
were officially admonished by the Athletic Director. The investigation did not find any
infraction that warranted a court martial or grounds for separation.
The athletic department self-reported the infractions to the NCAA, which classified the
infractions as Level III violations, and the NCAA had no recommendations and added no
penalties as part of the reporting process. Violations are Level I, II, III, or IV. The exact
wording of the NCAA's description of a Level III violation is: "Violations that are isolated or
limited in nature; provide no more than a minimal recruiting, competitive or other advantage;
and do not include more than a minimal impermissible benefit." In an effort to clarify
inaccuracies in the recent media reports, I would like to address several points:
Cadet host funds were distributed in accordance with NCAA regulations, which permit
cadet hosts to spend $40 per day per recruit. No "booster" monies were involved in the
event. However, the handling of the host funds by the cadet hosts resulted in NCAA
violations.
The 54-passenger charter bus was escorted by a single New York State Police officer in
compliance with state law that requires a bus to have a police escort while traveling on
the Palisades Parkway. No military police escort was ever utilized. The investigation
determined the police escort violated NCAA rules. We have discontinued this practice.
The media report implied that football staff arranged for female cadets to attend the bus
trip to the Palisades Mall. Preceding the bus trip to the Mall, athletes representing
multiple intercollegiate athletic teams, to include women's basketball, cheerleaders, and
women's volleyball, were invited to a recruiting dinner for parents and prospects on
Academy grounds. At the dinner, cadet hosts invited several female cadets to join the
trip to the Mall. At no time did West Point arrange "a dinner date with female cadets."
The AR 15-6 report noted that all cadets were forthcoming with statements and
cooperated fully with the investigation and accepted full responsibility for their actions.
There was no "cover up." West Point is prohibited from disclosing or discussing
personnel matters and ongoing investigations by the federal Privacy Act. We did a
deliberate investigation, held individuals accountable, and reported rules violations to the
NCAA.
We take all allegations of misconduct seriously and investigate them accordingly.
-more-Superintendent Statement 3/3/3
As Superintendent, I take full responsibility for all actions that occur here at West Point to
include the incident on January 25, 2014. I am fully committed to the values of West Point in all
of our cadets and in all of our programs, and will ensure they are upheld to the highest of
standards. We have programs that assess the climate and culture of our teams and clubs, and
have taken action when assessments indicate the need to do so. We have also commissioned
outside consultants to review our workplace culture and policies for blind-spots and weaknesses.
When violations occur, I am committed to investigate them in accordance with all due process
and adjudicate accordingly.
I believe those involved in this incident have learned from their mistakes, corrected their
behavior accordingly, and will have the character to be the leaders our Nation expects of its West
Point graduates.
Robert L. Caslen, Jr.
Lieutenant General, U.S. Army
Superintendent
This post was edited on 10/26 6:32 PM by usmafootballfan
