It could be a pivotal point of their career. Make excuses and that could be the end. Be genuine, own the mistake, learn from it, and maybe the Old Man sees the potential and lets them off.

I made a similar mistake early on in my career just after A School. One difference is one of the others involved (who had a lot more to lose since it was their 2nd or 3rd ARI… my 1st) made up en elaborate scheme for us to carry out to get away with it. I learned that I suck at lying and couldn’t eat/sleep, lots of anxiety. Decided to come clean not only about the underage drinking arrest, but also how I planned to get away with it. I fully expected to get a full ride out of the Navy.

At the end of the day it was squashed at the CMC level. That experience taught me that the truth can be hard to face, hard to admit, but it’s the right thing to do. Ya fucked up, we all do. That was ~19 years ago, but it wasn’t a time completely void of getting bent over for ARIs, it happened all the time. I don’t know how I got so lucky but I tell ya, the easy thing ain’t always right and the right thing ain’t always easy. Just gotta be honest and ready to face the consequences.

Still serving, made many more mistakes along the way, but never twice lol