West Point cadets deserved due process: Column
These women remain willing to sacrifice their lives for the very freedom of speech their critics enjoy.
In the course of one year at West Point, we forged a lasting relationship rooted in hard work and shared experience. One of us was a 22-year-old white cadet from Seattle and the other a 44-year-old black lieutenant colonel from Texas. Together, we shared responsibility for the day-to-day operations of West Point’s historic First Regiment and its 1,100 cadets spanning the classes of 2015 to 2018. We inspected barracks, visited classrooms, cheered at football games, attended funerals and walked the battlefields of Gettysburg together. We oversaw the resolution of cadet disciplinary investigations, cases of sexual assault and the aftermath of attempted suicide.
On May 23, 2015 — graduation day — we stood across from each other in West Point’s Taylor Hall, mentor and mentee, as one administered the oath of office to the other, a newly minted Army lieutenant.
When the Military Academy’s Class of 2016 graduates on May 21, 16 of its 17 black female members might not have been there. A photo of them with their fists raised while wearing cadet uniforms plunged these young women into an online debate over race, political correctness and military tradition until the academy cleared them Tuesday night. And while their most gentle critics focused on a possible violation of regulations prohibiting political statements in uniform, others embraced a more virulent and divisive narrative.
In online forums and email chains, a combination of active duty servicemembers, former members of the military and everyday citizens had already reached a verdict — guilty. Guilty not only of blurring the line between social activism and military regulation, but also of embodying a cancer of political correctness destroying our military. Many went further, assassinating the combined character of the 16 women and dismissing their hard-fought accomplishments as perks of affirmative action.
The first casualty in this controversy has been the fundamental right of these cadets to due process. In their willingness to cast judgment before West Point’s senior leadership concluded its investigation, online detractors both diminished the young women and assailed the academy’s character. While decrying the cadets for a lapse in military professionalism, they subverted the very institutions they claim to cherish. The young women in the photograph entered the academy during a time of war. They deserve far better from their brothers and sisters in uniform, veterans and the public. Amidst the growing debate, these women remain willing to sacrifice their lives for the very freedom of speech their critics enjoy.
A second casualty lies in the portrayal of West Point as an institution riven by racial tension and distracted from its primary mission of producing military leaders. This narrative does not represent the West Point we left just a year ago. Clearly, the academy has work to do in addressing issues of race. This controversy does not, though, nullify the hard work of cadets across all races, genders, sexual orientations and backgrounds who seek to develop themselves and lead our nation’s soldiers.
Save the voices of a few black, female graduates, most have chosen to remain silent and allow the vitriol to spread. Cadets must recognize that standing up for the goodness of classmates and speaking against intolerance does not equate to choosing sides in the ongoing investigation — it’s the responsibility of those with true character.
POLICING THE USA: A look at race, justice, media
We’ve spent hundreds of hours talking with each other but never really discussed issues of race until now. Perhaps it is time to ask some important questions. How do we elevate this debate to a level worthy of West Pointers’ centuries of distinguished service? When, as leaders, do we stand against hateful rhetoric and allow the system to run its course? Staying true to the grand tradition, values and history of our beloved West Point first requires a cooling of emotions, a deep breath and honest reflection — face to face, away from the Internet’s dark corners.
Surely, the academy that overcame its imperfections to help lead our nation in the desegregation of its officer corps, the military’s integration of women and the repeal of “don’t ask don’t tell” can now contribute to our national discussion on race. Perhaps this photograph can prove a needed catalyst in resolving the unfinished business of races living side by side yet failing to truly understand one another.
Col. Stephen G.Ruth is a national security fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Lt. William P. Goodwin is an Army artillery officer. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. government.
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