Naval academy charting troubled waters

Disciplinary problems prompt soul-searching

April 18, 1996
Web posted at: 7:55 a.m. EDT

From Correspondent Jamie McIntyre

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland (CNN) -- Reeling from a series of image-tarnishing incidents, the U.S. Naval Academy is now in what academy officials call a stand-down, which essentially means that the school's 4,000 midshipmen have been grounded for a week.

Is the academy a venerable institution turning out military leaders of the highest ethical caliber? Or is it, as a series of recent incidents might suggest, a school for scandal, filled with cheaters, drug-users, car thieves, and sex abusers?

Academy superintendent Adm. Charles Larson says the rot is being stemmed, but admits that there are "some bad apples who have refused to live up to the high standards that we have articulated and enforced."

Larson, the academy's first four-star superintendent, was brought in two years ago to institute reforms and reclaim the school's former glory.

Some argue that the midshipmen, or "middies," simply reflect the values of their times, but Larson sees it differently.

"I see young people today who have a higher tolerance level for other people doing wrong as long as they are not directly involved," he said.

But one academy professor has drawn the ire of Navy officials by saying the real problem lies in a culture that fosters hypocrisy and values loyalty above truth.

"Both are good values, but when the student or the officer is asked to choose between those two, the system very clearly says you choose loyalty," said Professor James Barry.

Barry says in a system where mistakes are rarely forgiven, the lesson "middies" learn by the second year is clear: The system rewards the liars.

Larson vehemently rebuts Barry's opinion. "I totally, totally reject that as being false," he said. " That's a gross misrepresentation and overstatement of the facts."

The Naval Academy says suspending the midshipmen's privileges for a week is not a punishment. They hope that it will be a time for soul-searching, both for the "middies" and the establishment itself.

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