Not long after talking about the discharge of the cheating Marines, Stars and Stripes noted that two Navy Chiefs are being “forced to retire” after helping a Sailor cheat on a military advancement exam.

During a rare court-martial at sea, chief petty officers Reynaldo M. Bernardo and Ferdinand P. Quinto were found guilty May 24 of failing to obey a lawful order, said the aircraft carrier’s spokesman, LtCmdr Bill Urban…

It appears the cheating, which occurred on the USS George Washington, was fairly obvious: 

During the exam, Bernardo and Quinto moved a sailor to a different table and then instructed the sailor to cheat off another sailor’s test, Urban said.

The other sailor reported the incident that evening, and an investigation began soon afterward, Urban said.

Though the decision by the senior leaders to tell a young subordinate to cheat reflects poorly on the Navy and the military as a whole, it is heartening to see that another young subordinate had the moral courage to report the incident, despite the potential repercussions.  That subordinate was “rewarded,” in a manner of speaking, by being the only one allowed to retake the test:

Neither test in question was processed after being held as trial evidence. Only the sailor who reported the incident was allowed to retake the test, Urban said.

The exams for the rest of the sailors who took the test were allowed to be processed after the Naval Education and Training Command determined that the ship’s testing procedures were correct, Urban said.

It is still possible the young seaman will get grief from his peers as a result of actions, but as noted here often, military members, especially Christian officers, must choose the harder right, rather than the easier wrong.