A Mile And A Half In His Shoes

I found this article after poking around in some Yahoo! groups to which I subscribe. As the officer that used to brief these cases to Academy leadership, I know that the Review Board has shown more than its share of leniency-- to the detriment of consistency.

I recall Mr. Shannon, but he had not risen to a level of great concern when I was in this position. Despite his size and reputed strength, any football coach will tell you that a 10:30 1.5-mile time should be easily attainable. I know from experience that any student in this position is screened by a panel of senior physicians to eliminate the possibility of any physical ailment. Barring a physical condition, there should be no reason why a 23 year old man cannot meet this relatively low standard. But the physical fitness standard is not the issue here.

I'm sorry that he is shouldered with this monstrous debt at such a young age. Truly, I am. However, the Naval Academy espouses itself to be "the cradle of leadership." And without standards, there will never be growth and development of, supposedly, the nation's finest.

Mr. Shannon has invoked the name of his Congressman for assistance. Sen. Mikulski, bless your heart, it is your astute body that set the compliance to these standards. And these standards, I argue, are broken not only by the midshipmen, but more egregiously, by the administrators themselves. My chief complaint during my tour at USNA was the murk of unpredictability and opacity that surrounded these separation hearings. In my experience, an identical set of facts could yield any permutation of administrative discipline, ranging from a verbal warning to discharge with debt recapture. Frighteningly, I was rarely able to correctly predict the outcome of a student's case.

I'm not givng Mr. Shannon a pass. I'm not giving the Academy leadership a pass either. When exceptions are more common than the rule, the rule making body needs to reevaluate their effectiveness.