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Subscribe to RSSDENVER -- Nearly 30 Air Force Academy cadets required medical care, with six of them hospitalized, after an annual tradition to mark the first snowfall of the season turned into an out-of-control melee, officials said Wednesday.
An unauthorized ritual last week called "First Shirt/First Snow," in which freshman cadets try to throw their cadet sergeant into a snowbank, grew violent and resulted in injuries, the academy said in a statement.
"A relatively small number of cadets chose to take part in this unsafe activity," Brig. Gen. Gregory Lengyel said in the statement. "This incident was unacceptable."
The six cadets who required hospitalization after last Thursday's incident have all been released, and the 21 others were treated for "bruises and/or lacerations" at the academy's cadet clinic, the school said.
Lengyel, who serves as the commandant of cadets, said school officials are investigating the incident. "Our Air Force expects better. I expect better, and I'm confident the cadets will learn and grow from this."
An internal email about the incident obtained by the Air Force Times newspaper, reportedly written by Brig. Gen. Dana Born to school administrators, said the annual ritual "has turned into a brawl" between freshmen and upperclassmen.
"This ritual has devolved to become increasingly violent, with significant numbers of cadets requiring medical care over the past two years," The Times cited the email as saying, adding that the latest injuries included concussions, an arm bite and cuts that required stitches.
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“Obviously, this has gotten out of hand and cannot be repeated,” Born wrote. “There is no way we can condone or defend this.”
The Times said the internal memo indicated Lengyel might allow the tradition to continue if cadets can show it can be conducted with "good order and discipline and proper risk management."
Located in Colorado Springs, 60 miles south of Denver, the academy has an enrollment of about 4,100 cadets, and graduates are commissioned second lieutenants in the U.S. Air Force.
The reported incident is a fresh blow to the reputation of the Air Force, which has dealt with a number of scandals in recent years.
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In 2003, the academy was accused of failing to investigate numerous incidents of sexual assaults on the campus.
In 2005, an Air Force panel concluded that officers and faculty members periodically used their positions to promote their Christian faith and failed to accommodate the religious needs of non-Christian cadets.
The academy has also been hit with several cheating and drug-use incidents in recent years, according to the Colorado Springs Independent.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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It is obviously condoned, since no action was taken last year or in any previous year. Start by getting rid of those that allow it, and make sure that everyone knows your out if it happens again.
I do not want my tax dollars wasted like this.
Our nation's brightest and finest are readying themselves to lead our poorest and most desperate to the next corporate dictated foreign war of attrition.
the service academies offer the toughest four years of any university in the area of academics, sports and military training - the cadets are stresses 100% of the time every day of the four years they are there - it is said the cadets get a $100,000 education from uncle sam shoved up their butt a nickle at a time - occassionally they have to let off steam - while sexual misconduct is never acceptable, the activity above understandably can get out of hand - it isn't excusable but totally understandable - give the cadets a talking to, fine them and get on with things - they are supposed to be learning to be officers and gentlemen and even officers and gentlemen slip up sometimes as we all do
This is the lamest tradition that I've ever heard of.
Yet one more example of the ridiculous behavior of "America's finest." Stupid, just plain stupid...
As an Air Force veteran I am completely ashamed of the unsavory news that keeps coming out of Colorado Springs. There needs to be a complete overhaul of the academy's leadership from the commandant on down to the instructors and an increase in the quality of the men and women who are permitted to attend it. This has been going on for way too long and seems to only get worst after each incident. Either get the academy up to par or close it down and stop wasting taxpayer monies to keep it open. Let the officer cadets attend one of the other service academies seeing that they don't seem to be as corrupted and full of miscreants. This really does make the USAF look very bad.
Then you really do not want to know why they welded shut the trap door on the BUFF at the North Gate or put grills on the intakes of the jets on display up in the cadet area.
Kind of easy to see why the upper echelon officers in the DOD are iso nept isn't it, when they can't even control a training academy.
Boys will be boys!!!!!
With this article NBC news has written more words on this incident than it has on Benghazi.
This:
Is USAFA.
For those of you whining about the behavior of future officers, please read the article again, especially the part where it says FRESHMEN cadets. 17/18 year old KIDS who will LEARN better over the next 3.75 years.
Overprivileged, rape-happy, testosterone-fueled jug heads going on a rampage?? Why, I'm shocked, shocked, I say!
Lisa you dont have any idea what these kids go through on a day to day basis. And when their time is up at the Academy they go on to fight for your freedom. You have no idea the amount of work it takes to get there and the work it takes to be there. Yes there are some bad apples but 3 or 4 rapes out of 5,000 people . Not to justify it at all because it is appalling that anyne would do that and they will get what they deserve. But you need to look at Universities those are the spoiled overprivelidged people here rapes happen on a daily basis. Kids who flunk and party their way out of school on their parents buck. So dont you dare talk about a group of 18 year old kids who have answered the call in a time of war to protect and serve people like you who call them rape-happy!
You rarely if ever hear of stupidity like this occurring at West Point or Annapolis. There is an obvious "culture" problem in the Air Force. Always has been and always will be. Put it under Army Command to clean it up. And yes, I did serve in the military and during my time in I was stationed at multiple Tri-service installations where Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines worked together regularly. During this time (1980's) the vast majority of Air Force enlisted personnel I worked with had less military bearing and discipline than an average teen aged Boy Scout. Military bearing and discipline flows from the top down so if it is weak at the top levels that weakness trickles downward.......
Just so you know West Point and Annapolis do the same things. Go on youtube you will find hundreds of videos on this from all the academies.
They should have to pay for the medical care they received.
Shut that academy down. It is not needed anyway.
It is time the military realized these are just 18 year old kids and they are not mature enough to be left to their own thinking. Those types of rituals are idiotic to say the least need to be ended.
Brig. Gen. Gregory Lengyel should do something commanderish and issue an ORDER banning the practice. Those disobeying this order or any other lawful order from a commanding officer should be punished to the full extent allowed by the UCMJ.
As a former cadet at the Academy media fails to report the whole story. This is a tradition at the academy that has taken place for at least the last 30-40 years at USAFA. Along with first shirt first snow. First Shirt First Snow is a tradition at the academy just like any other which all of the cadets look forward to and enjoy and one that is very much apart of Academy lifestyle. Cadets get hurt in training every day but you dont hear the leaders talking about the embarrassment of it. What it really comes down to is cadets these days are soft and weak. cadets have always been getting bruises and lacerations from things such as first shirt first snow and even at times broken noses and such. Not to say that cadets didnt get in trouble for taking it too far but the tradition has carried on. And if your a parent or a person who thinks this is obsurd and shouldnt carry on then stay out of it and dont send your kid to a service academy. These kids are in the military at schools of tradition and being a military institution these traditions arent going to be regulated pillow fights.
He is called Ben. I think that explains alot.
Maybe somebody yelled "Mazola party by the fireplace". Its a slippery slope from Sadism to Sodomy.
Just another example of our HONORABLE armed forces.
Thinking that just the act of putting on the uniform of the USA Armed Forces is the act of a hero is One Foolish Idea. When a serviceman (or woman) do a heroic act THEN and only then should the distinction be made that an 18 year old kid should be considered a HERO.
Until then, Mitt (dog-on-the-car-roof) Romney would consider them one of the 47%.