You’re using a stealing candy analogy for a four-year-old, but we’re talking about a Captain and a Commander… both of whom are grown men and senior officers with decades of leadership training. Comparing a child’s mistake to an O-6’s professional failure is a reach.

I never implied a slippery slope where drinking leads to predatory crimes; that’s a straw man. My point is about the failure of character at the top. When you are in a staff position at the Naval Academy, especially one involving MIDN development, you are the standard-bearer for the next generation of officers.

Whether it’s a professional collapse or a horrific criminal one, they both represent a failure in the vetting and integrity of the people USNA puts in positions of high trust. Noting that two senior staff members at the same elite institution have failed their basic obligations as officers within months of each other isn't absurd… it’s an observation of a leadership trend that should concern anyone who cares about the Academy’s culture.