Toward a Leaner, Meaner Army, Where Junior Officers Will Think For Themselves

Tim Cavanaugh | May 1, 2006

More than 1,000 West Point cadets protest after being subjected to an underhanded drug inspection:

"Hundreds of cadets were hollering obscenities out of their windows and some were throwing objects," according to an incident summary obtained by the Times Herald-Record of Orange County, N.Y., which ran an article about the incident yesterday.

The report, written by a duty officer, also stated, "It was a shameful, pitiful day" for the United States Military Academy, the official name of the institution, which trains students to be Army officers...

[USMA spokesman Lt. Col. Kent] Cassella said he believes that the incident grew out of a "misperception" among cadets that they had been tricked into complying with a surprise drug search. They had been awakened around dawn on April 19 for a fire drill, but while they were still outside, police squads entered the buildings with drug-sniffing dogs. Frustration built during the day, and the outburst began at about 10:30 that night and lasted an hour, he said.

No narcotics were found in the search, and no disciplinary charges have been brought since the incident.