Honor Cannot Be Divided
Proceedings Magazine - December 2018 Vol.
By Midshipman First Class Noah Johnston, U.S.
At the U.S. Naval Academy, midshipmen are “imbued with the highest ideals of duty, honor, and loyalty.†1 There are many cases, however, of midshipmen who have committed honor and conduct offenses, and a small number have multiple honor offenses. This raises an important question: If midshipmen truly are being “imbued†with a sense of honor, why do they violate conduct and honor standards?
One explanation is that many midshipmen separate honor into personal and professional compartments, believing that honor applies only to their professional lives and that living with honor in their personal lives is not an imperative. This dichotomy inevitably will cause living dishonorably in their personal lives to seep into their professional lives, leading them to commit honor offenses within the Academy’s walls—and perhaps throughout their careers. Honor cannot be separated, and midshipmen should hold themselves, and each other, accountable to the Academy’s honor concept at all times. The honor concept states:
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2018-12/honor-cannot-be-divided
