[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 131 (Monday, September 19, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                   ONE HONOR STANDARD, ONE HONOR CODE

                                 ______


                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 19, 1994

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I am concerned, as are many Americans, 
about the recent negative publicity surrounding the cheating scandal at 
the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis involving the electrical 
engineering examination, and the handling of the investigation. I 
believe that the vast majority of midshipmen are honorable men and 
women, who have the highest sense of personal integrity and honor 
demanded of them by our Nation.
  I am also concerned about recent media reports of an honor incident 
that occurred last spring at a restaurant in Annapolis, dubbed the 
``dine and dash incident,'' where three midshipmen deliberately 
attempted to leave the restaurant without paying for their meals. The 
Naval Academy should not be singled out because of the recent scandals; 
we know that in past years the Military Academy at West Point and the 
Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs have had their share of honor 
code problems.
  Let me emphasize again that an isolated incident is not necessarily 
indicative of a deeper problem, but the news reports serve to highlight 
an issue that I have addressed through legislation that I introduced 
today, H.R. 5047, the Military Service Academy Honor Code Act.
  Few people realize that while we have an expectation of a high sense 
of honor and ethics of our military officer candidates, the honor codes 
in use at each service academy differ slightly in wording. If the honor 
codes are different, are the standards different? Is the honor standard 
for West Point cadets different from the standard expected of Air Force 
cadets or Navy midshipmen? Is the honor standard expected of military 
officers different for each service?
  Most Americans would agree that the honor and ethics standards for 
our officer candidates should be uniform, even if the codes themselves 
are not identical. But without identical codes, does enforcement 
differ?
  The recent honor violations at the Naval Academy point out how the 
wording of the honor codes might contribute to different standards of 
enforcement. While the honor code in use at the Air Force Academy and 
at West Point have explicit clauses prohibiting the cadets' toleration 
of honor violations, the toleration clause in the Naval Academy's honor 
concept is an implied clause.
  The three honor codes in use at the military service academies are:
  U.S. Military Academy: A cadet will not lie, cheat or steal, nor 
tolerate those who do.
  U.S. Naval Academy: Midshipmen do not lie, cheat or steal.
  U.S. Air Force Academy: We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor 
tolerate among us anyone who does. Furthermore, I resolve to do my duty 
and live honorably, so help me God.
  A recent ``60 Minutes'' report on the cheating scandal at Annapolis 
included reports of midshipmen refusing to identify other midshipmen 
who may have used the compromised electrical engineering test as a 
study guide. One has to wonder if this is a situation where midshipmen 
are engaging in toleration violations by the standards of the Air Force 
and West Point honor codes.
  A more troubling example is the situation in the ``dine and dash'' 
incident reported in the Washington Post. Three midshipmen discussed a 
plan to leave without paying for their meals. One of the three left the 
restaurant early to wait in the car--the other two then took off but 
were caught by an off duty policeman. Only two of the midshipmen were 
expelled. The third person, who waited in the car, was exonerated 
because he assumed the other two were only kidding. While his actions 
leave much to be desired, again one has to wonder if all three 
midshipmen would have been expelled under the explicit toleration 
clauses of the Air Force or West Point honor codes.
  I will give the midshipmen of the Naval Academy and the 
administration of the Naval Academy the benefit of the doubt in their 
application of their honor concept and their understanding of their 
standards. My point is not to second guess past decisions by their 
honor boards or their administration. My point is to raise a question 
that deserves to be investigated by an outside commission.
  Over the past 2 years, the Naval Academy, and to some extent the Air 
Force Academy and the Military Academy, has conducted an intensive 
review of its administration of its honor concept. Internal reviews 
were supplanted by investigations by the Naval Academy's Board of 
Visitors. While some changes have been made, the question of what honor 
standard is demanded of Naval Academy midshipmen has not been addressed 
in a broader perspective.
  My legislation would require the Secretary of Defense to appoint a 
commission comprised of active duty officers, graduates of the military 
service academies no longer in the active or reserve duty in the Armed 
Forces, and educators from institutions of higher education to 
recommend whether there should be a standardized honor code for all 
three military service academies. It may be that such a standardized 
code would be useful, or it may be that the individual approaches used 
by each service academy should be continued.
  Additionally, my bill would have this commission recommend whether 
such a standardized honor code should also be applied to officer 
candidates enrolled in the Reserve Officer Training Corps [ROTC] 
programs and on the Officer Candidate School [OCS] programs. If honor 
is expected of our cadets and midshipmen, why not expect the same of 
all officer candidates? I recognize that the enforcement administration 
mechanisms for the ROTC and OCS programs would differ significantly 
from the mechanisms in use at the military service academies, but the 
bottom line would be the teaching of a common standard of honor.
  If in fact the commission recommends against a standardized honor 
code, the military service academies would be able to continue their 
individual approaches to an honor curriculum confident in the 
vindication from an impartial outside commission not beholden to a 
particular academy or service.
  Or, on the other hand, if the commission recommends that there is 
merit in a standardized honor code, it would still be left to the 
discretion of the Secretary of Defense to implement this finding in a 
way that would ensure a positive change at the service academies.
  I am aware of criticisms that the honor codes are the property of the 
cadets and midshipmen, not something that is imposed on them. But the 
cadets and midshipmen do not own the academies--the American people own 
the academies, and the American people in the end must be satisfied 
that the standards for our future officers are the same, that no one 
academy has set the bar too high or too low.
  I have also considered that much can be gained by a standard honor 
code--a joint honor and ethics curriculum is a natural byproduct. It 
would be easier to share the lessons of a problem that one academy may 
experience with the other academies. It would be more difficult for 
cadets or midshipmen to dismiss the lessons of an honor scandal by 
saying, ``That could not happen here because our code is different'' or 
for the administrations to say, ``That could not happen here because we 
administer our code differently''.
  While there is a good case that can be made for the individual 
approaches to the honor standard that the service academies have 
adopted, it is worth noting that the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 
which is the conduct standard for all officers after they are 
commissioned, is the same for all branches of the military. It is also 
significant that the Code of Conduct, which sets the standard for 
American prisoners of war, is also a standardized code.
  Our Nation has been well served by the graduates of the military 
service academies, and these institutions have performed their missions 
admirably over the years in producing the highest caliber of officers 
for our Armed Forces. The academies have evolved over the years, and 
have adapted to changing circumstances. Any change contemplated should 
strengthen the academies and improve the quality of the officers that 
graduate. I believe that the honor standard can be strengthened by a 
standardized code for all service academies, that is also applied to 
all officer commissioning programs. I therefore urge my colleagues to 
cosponsor H.R. 5047, the Military Service Academy Honor Code Act, so 
that a commission can review these issues and make recommendation on 
these matters to the Secretary of Defense and the Congress.

                          ____________________