Posted on Gazette.com, thought I’d share the link here for those who visit the blog more regularly than our paper’s site.
Attempts to reach Clark haven’t been successful. A phone message left at his parents’ house wasn’t returned. Air Force coach Troy Calhoun hasn’t returned messages regarding Clark.
Thank you Asher for helping us win a lot of games.
I don’t know all of the details of the case. But it sounds to me like a witch hunt and they threw this kid away like taking out they are taking out their trash with no remorse or hesitations. Where is the loyalty? He committed no severe crimes and the leadership destroyed a young mans career before he ever had a chance to get started. The academy leadership and the Secretary of the Air Force need to reverse this decision and reinstate his commission in the United States Air Force. The young man did everything asked of him as a cadet and even more by playing and excelling in collegiate sports and this was not taken into account. They waited until the very end to throw him away and this is what is truly unjust and just plain wrong. I hope that this young man will fight this unjust decision and get back his commission which he rightly deserves and earned!
Wake up, Chris. The process has been going on for months and he was granted due process like any other cadet–and like the several others that didn’t make the press that were also disenrolled. The bottom line here is that the Supt sent a message to ALL cadets two years ago that there was a ZERO TOLERANCE policy for certain activity–and he was consistent enforcing it. This is the most football-friendly Superintendent in USAFA history. If the evidence was strong enough to convince him that AC was guilty of violating the order, then I have zero doubt that he deserved the consequences of his actions. I don’t want someone serving in the AF that does something that the leadership EXPRESSLY and SPECIFICALLY says NOT to do. Standards have value–but only when they’re enforced.
If Asher Clark completed the graduation requirements, he should be on stage graduating tomorrow. If the Air Force does not want to commission him or have him serve, that is their choice.
Political correctness, and posturing is what the cadets are being taught by the ancient group of managers running the Academy.
NO ONE knows with absolute certainty what he smoked, neither does he. The lesson learned is you don’t ingest anything someone else hands you.
The moronic staff at USAFA shows its incompetence again.
http://www.gazette.com/sports/force-138915-asher-smoking.html
Don’t know if you guys have seen this story I wrote for Gazette.com explaining Asher’s side of the story – have been on vacation and didn’t have a chance to make a separate blog post on it.
Good article. Frank. Why isn’t Asher graduating tomorrow? He must have taken a plea to not have to serve, in exchange for leaving quietly. He should have appealed. He should be on that stage. It looks like he took an easier way out.
If Asher’s Fathers side is true, and he never failed a drug test, the USAFA admin might be overreacting. They could have given him late grad or other non judicial punishment. To my knowledge (albeit limited) All the cadets who got booted on drugs failed a drug test and were continual users.
However, General Gould and General Clark are VERY football friendly. I’m sure this decision is absolutely killing them. I suspect there might be more to the story. Right off the bat I’m skeptical that Asher didn’t know he was smoking Spice, and even good students can run with some pretty shady characters.
He is not the only one who got kicked out!! there were others, and so far you only have heard one side of the story, Asher’s. There was a lenghthy investigation, which started over a party in Dec, and and has grown to uncover other findings. We will never know the full truth, and it seems like those who were removed are going quitely and not fighting it.
I am sick and disheartened by all of this. BUT as a grad it has always been the same on graduating from USAFA. Mr. Rix, with all due respect, you are wrong. If an individual does not complete all educational and military related requirements he/she does not earn the right to graduate from the Academy. That, in my mind, is black and white. Why would anyone want to give a degree from such an institution if that individual was kicked out prior to graduation?
Now…going back to your concern. An individual will have all credit hours earned on their transcript if leaving the Academy prior to graduation. So in a case like this, the individual cannot have them taken away (those that were completed with a final passing grade). Subsequently they would have to enroll for one semester at another insitution, transfer those credits that are transferable (which I assume would be all) and get an official degree from that institution.
I feel badly for this young man but I do not know and neither does anyone on this blog or any other, what went on in any investigation or at the incident so we all should ‘becareful’ on how we throw rocks and shoot arrows as we do not know what the full story is. Sadly, ‘Situational Awareness’ was not being used at this party. Just like everyone should tell their kids (especially daughters) as they begin to go to public events, do not drink anything someone has given you unless you see it poured and know what it is. Want to extrapolate that into ‘hey dude, here’s a PIPE, have a hit”. Sadly, common sense did not prevail if indeed it was ‘thought’ to be tobacco.
Good luck to Asher, I hope he lands on his feet in the future.
I would expect to see this on Mr. Clark’s resume
BS United States Air Force Academy 2012
He earned his degree. Didn’t he?
No.
Good comments, and I think on the mark RJP. It’s an unfortunate situation. I can only imagine how difficult it was for the Supe to recommend dismissal – and he would only do so with overwhelming evidence that he had no other recourse. We will never hear the ‘full’ story – nor should we have any reason to as we really don’t have a ‘need to know.’
Unfortunately, there are good kids dismissed every year from each of the academy’s for various infractions – and it’s always been like this. Had Asher, and the others who have been ‘let go’ , gone to another institution – they would have graduated; but that’s not the case – these kids are attending a school with the purpose of becomming leaders of our miliary and as such know they must take responsibility for their actions.
Lets hope Asher takes this as a hard lesson learned, takes what he has learned from the Academy with regards to being a mentally, morally and physical leader within our society; and makes his mark. If he wants to ‘return’ to the military – he can still do that, it just won’t be as an Academy graduate.
Sadly, looks like another Academy has had a similar situation…. http://bit.ly/MIFizq
I truly admire Asher Clark’s performance on the footbal field…but reading a few of the posts here, I’m experiencing deju vu: “I don’t know all the facts, but ______ acted stupidly” is ringing in my head. All we have heard is one side of the story (Asher’s) and we will NEVER hear USAFA’s side due to privacy issues….unless this results in a lawsuit and it all comes out in open court, but by then everyone will have moved on and only have faint memories of this incident. Having met Mike Gould, and having seen him in action, I can guarantee he has lost hours of sleep over this incident and wishes it had never happened. Anyone who says “well, he performed on the football field so he deserves to graduate” clearly has no clue about the mission of a service academy, and should probably refrain from making further comments.