Honor Code

The United States Military Academy (more commonly known as West Point) was founded in 1802.  Since its inception, the officer corps operated upon a code of honor - an officer's word was his bond.  Cheating was informally added to this code by superintendent Sylvanus Thayer a few years later in order to increase the academic standards at the academy.  Allegations of theft (stealing) were addressed via the normal Army regulations.  Superintendent Douglas MacArthur (yes, that one) formalized the honor code in 1922 when he commissioned the first Cadet Honor Committee to review all allegations of honor infractions.  However, Superintendent Maxwell Taylor (another famous Army general) drafted the first Honor Code in 1947, which has more or less existed in its current form until the present day (the words expressly forbidding toleration of honor code violations were added in 1970).

The Honor Code is simple, but powerful, "A cadet will not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do."

The punishment for violating the Honor Code, either the first part that forbids a cadet from lying, cheating, or stealing or the second part, which forbids a cadet from tolerating another cadet from doing so, can be significant, up to and including expulsion from West Point.  There is a standardized process to investigate any allegations of violation of the Honor Code, as well as a formal hearing process.  Cadets are first tried by a jury of their peers, and if found guilty, the case goes up to the commandant to either impose sanctions or recommend expulsion (the final decision on whether to expel a cadet is made by the Secretary of the Army).

As hard as it is for a Navy guy to say anything positive about the Army (though the United States Naval Academy has its own version of the honor code), the West Point Army Code is incredibly powerful and very well stated.  I really like the last phrase, "or tolerate those who do."  West Point is using what is commonly called "200% accountability" here - I am not only accountable for my own personal behavior, but I am also accountable for making sure that those around me are held accountable as well.  I've talked about this in a couple of posts in the past (see for example "Stop. Point and Cross" and "The Patriot Way").

I was just having this conversation with someone at the hospital.  Take the notoriously poor compliance with hand hygiene in most hospitals, despite the evidence showing that handwashing is one of the most effective ways to prevent transmission of infections between patients and between patients and providers.  While there are technological fixes to help improve compliance, one of the best ways is for those providers on the front lines to hold each other accountable for it.  It's like the famous adage, "If you see something, say something."  If you see someone who is not following handwashing rules, call that individual out!

200% accountability.  The Honor Code.  These are both ways to improve how we work together for a greater common goal.