Air Force Pilot Trainees, NCO Face The Music In Cheating Scandals

The Air Force dealt harshly with two cheating scandals this week. One involved officers cheating on academic quizzes in pilot training, and the other involved an NCO illegally distributing materials for enlisted promotion exams.

Attitudes in the military towards cheating range from the rock-solid honor code of the service academies, to the more casual, "If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'."

In the first case, some Air Force pilot trainees found out the hard way that the corollary to the latter is, "If you get caught, you're tryin' too hard." The outcome for the eleven junior officers caught cheating on emergency procedures tests at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, was non-judicial punishment under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and expulsion with prejudice from pilot training.

In addition, the miscreant lieutenants and captains received reprimands and forfeitures of pay. It is an airman's discretion to decline non-judicial punishment and seek a court-martial instead. The consequences of a court-martial conviction can be far more severe than non-judicial punishment; for all intents and purposes it's a Federal conviction.

One officer, Capt. Richard Brimer of the 41st Flying Training Squadron at Columbus, does face a court-martial for conduct unbecoming an officer (distributing controlled test answers), making a false official statement, and failing to obey a lawful regulation. During August, an Article 32 investigation will determine whether his court-martial goes forward. It was unclear from Air Force statements whether Brimer elected a court martial or whether he was not offered nonjudicial punishment.

The specific charges against the group that received nonjudicial punishment were broadly similar to those offense with which Brimer is charged, including conduct unbecoming an officer (cheating on academic tests), dereliction of duty and making a false official statement. While the officers were not dismissed from the Air Force, having such a punishment in one's record is not career enhancing.

The tests in question are quizzes on emergency procedures that are given every week during the T-37 phase of Undergraduate Pilot Training. The quizzes make up 7.5% of student ranking. Student ranking in turn has an influence on the student's ability upon graduation to get a desirable assignment.

In the second case, in Ramstein, Germany, an Air Force NCO was sentenced to 42 months in prison, reduction to the lowest enlisted grade, and a dishonorable discharge after a two-day court-martial. At the opening of the trial, Master Sergeant J. Abdur Rahim Saafir pled guilty on most counts facing him, and was speedily convicted of the rest and sentenced by a military judge. His offense was distributing materials that enabled enlisted airmen to cheat on promotion exams.

FMI: www.af.mil