May 28, 1995|By Kris Antonelli | Kris Antonelli,Sun Staff Writer
On April 15, Midshipman Mark Harper died with enough alcohol in his blood to be well over the legal limit. He smashed his car into a guardrail on Bay Ridge Avenue, illustrating what Naval Academy officials say is their biggest problem: alcohol abuse.
Now, Adm. Charles R. Larson, who took over as academy superintendent in August to repair the image of a school racked over the past six years by several sexual harassment cases and the largest cheating scandal in Navy history, is attacking the alcohol problem.
He has told the brigade of midshipmen he will not tolerate behavior that leads to a negative public perception of the Navy and appointed a committee to develop an alcohol educational program.
"This is not prohibition," said Capt. Randy Bogle, commandant of midshipmen. "But don't drink and drive and don't disgrace the Navy. We are going to have zero tolerance for alcohol misuse and abuse."
The military, Captain Bogle said, is taking a much tougher stance on excessive drinking, and midshipmen should realize that drunkenness can jeopardize their careers.
According to a draft of the admiral's plan, he will start the program with the plebes, who arrive June 30 to begin their academy careers. He will make it clear that Naval officers never put themselves or others in danger by drinking, they never tolerate alcohol consumption that embarrasses the Navy, they understand their limits and they do not glamorize drinking or tolerate underage drinking.
"Alcohol has always been an issue since I have been in the service," Captain Bogle said. "When I came to to the Navy, you were kind of considered an odd ball out if you didn't go out and get drunk on a Saturday night. But it is not socially acceptable anymore."
About 60 percent of the serious conduct offenses at the academy are alcohol-related, academy officials say, and many of the underage midshipmen drink.
"We are going to train them to handle alcohol responsibility and to understand that the designated driver is not the one who has had the least amount to drink," he said. "It is the one who hasn't had anything to drink."
Long before the death of Mr. Harper, whose blood alcohol level was .15 on a scale where .10 is the legal limit, excessive drinking has been a source of embarrassment and disciplinary problems at the academy.
In January, an unidentified Navy lieutenant who worked with the cheerleading squad was dismissed after he was caught drinking with several underage midshipmen. Last year, six midshipmen were investigated for drinking, vandalism and theft of license plates and parking lot signs at the Renaissance Festival in Crownsville.
Three of them were dismissed, two resigned and one was allow to stay, but is required to lecture his classmates about the dangers of drunkenness, officials said. Two years ago, six senior midshipmen were investigated for getting drunk at a dinner on the Yard. The outcome of that case was not clear yesterday.
"So it's not just one thing that has happened," Captain Bogle said. "This happens often enough that it is a topic of discussion among the lowerclassmen. When the first classmen, the leadership, is coming back to the hall rowdy and sick, that's not good leadership."
Midshipman Amy Morrison, next year's brigade commander, agreed.
"As a plebe, I was pretty surprised by the amount of drinking the upperclassmen were doing," she said. "If you saw them drunk continuously it would really hurt their ability to lead."
Mark Mhley, who will be a senior next year, agreed that drinking was a problem among his classmates, some of whom come back to Bancroft Hall, the midshipman dormitory, loud and obnoxious after a night on the town, he said.
"Because of the alcohol, they lose control," he said. "It's a poor example of leadership."
Mr. Mhley said while it seems to be socially acceptable for students at public universities to get drunk, it should not be at the academy, where leadership is emphasized and excessive drinking undermines respect. While alcohol offenses always have been grounds for dismissal, Captain Bogle said, the brigade can expect the admiral to show even less tolerance than in the past.
"I can't say everyone who gets a DWI will be dismissed," the captain said. "But it is more likely that I will recommend that they be dismissed."
Officials at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., say excessive drinking is not a problem.
Andrea Hamburger, a West Point spokeswoman, said cadets receive 18 hours of alcohol education that focuses on personal use and leadership. Punishment for illegal or excessive drinking varies, she said.
Officials at Air Force also say cadets receive alcohol education and excessive or illegal drinking can lead to dismissal.
