Two senior swimmers at the Air Force Academy are facing court-martial for their role in a 2017 hazing scandal that saw 11 men removed from the team, the Air Force Times reported Saturday.
In February 2018, we reported that 11 Air Force swimmers had been removed from the team in the wake of preliminary investigations into a hazing ritual that took place in September 2017, and that nine of those swimmers were removed midway through the WAC Championships.
Cadet 1st Class Lars Knutson and Cadet 1st Class Michael Hannigan were charged Sept. 6 with the alleged violation of Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, or dereliction of duty, by “wrongfully and willfully fail[ing] to refrain from engaging in activities that constituted hazing” on September 29th, 2017.
They are each additionally charged with Article 81 of the UCMJ, “conspiring with other cadets to commit dereliction of duty on several occasions during September 2017,” and Article 134 by allegedly trying to “wrongfully impede the hazing investigation by influencing other cadets’ statements to investigators” throughout December 2017 and January 2018.
The two will have hearings at the end of September and in early October to determine whether there is probable cause to support the charges.
Hannigan and Knutson are accused of working with a number of other upperclassmen to plan and execute an event known as the “Chunker,” wherein freshman “were instructed to eat as much pasta as they could during a dinner at Olive Garden,” then “were then blindfolded and driven to the woods, where they were made to drink large quantities of milk, eat foods such as jello with mustard, and run until they vomited,” according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.
Additionally, seniors stripped naked and again blindfolded the freshman, then threatened to make them perform oral sex before revealing it was a joke. The tradition had reportedly been performed yearly for three decades.
All hazing-related issues at the Academy in the past have been handled internally, making this the first criminal hazing case in the school’s history; Knutson and Hannigan could face up to five years in jail if found guilty.
We reached out to the Air Force Athletics Department for comment, but have not heard back.
I thought it was going to end at forced to eat as much pasta as possible at Olive Garden and was prepared to exclaim, no big deal! But then? I thought this stuff didnt happen anymore, never mind in a service academy. Yes why wasn’t the coach disciplined?
The head coach is still coaching- he should be fired as well as the AD at the time but he left rather quickly for Berkeley. Obviously what these cadets did was wrong but why are they being held solely responsible when there were 9 other teammates present (one another senior team captain that graduated) any of whom could have stopped the ritual and shown leadership. Why are the coach/administrators not on the hot seat? Normally in the military the senior officer’s head rolls even if he/she was not directly responsible for the event(s) that occurred. This is not the first nor probably the last incident to occur and when these incidents happen the coaches and administrators are aware.
When… Read more »
What I think is interesting is why the Academy publicly announced the charges before there was a hearing to see if there was probable cause to move forward with a court martial. So they have suspicions? Waht is that all about?
“The two will have hearings at the end of September and in early October to determine whether there is probable cause to support the charges”
Sounds to me like the administration is trying to burnish their credentials as being tough on hazing, since there was a incident with the la cross team as well. A court martial is way over the top.
I would imagine the young cadet (and his family) who was hazed things differently.
Weren’t all of the freshmen were hazed not just one. While I don’t condone hazing in any form, I think the allegations against this team are one of the more mild cases occurring on in college. I think the gymnastics team at this academy was reprimanded for giving each another “atomic wedgies” a few years ago. Not sure what lacrosse was accused of. Someone mentioned OSI was called in for this one?? Really? Why? What was so egregious about this case that warranted the AF KGB? I get it with football and suspected serial rape/assault but this? Again the actions were not appropriate but were the freshmen scared or was it more prank-like?
Some of you guys need to grow a stomach. I went to a military academy and we waterboarded each other. My goodness anyone in an elite military unit is going to laugh this off as some stupid hooligans stuff. No one in the actual military thinks this is bad except maybe the ones in HR and the ones who got stuck in staff positions and needed to find this to advance their careers.
When you’re expected to kill people and command others to kill people you should expect some crazy things to happen because that’s the mindset soldiers need to be in. At least in my experiences. Being forced to eat at Olive garden and being told you’re going… Read more »
Ok let’s go with “you’re right, this prepares people to be good soldiers.”
Let’s roll that forward then. Explain to me why these activities should encourage me as a private employer to ever hire a military veteran for my private sector company? Genuinely want to know how you reconcile those ideas.
They don’t. That’s why most combat arms MOS are not very good in civilian life. And most SO guys either start a small business or do private contracting.
There’s a reason veteran homelessness/suicide is high. You ask people to do nasty things and the majority, not all, will have a hard time entering civilization again.
Thank you for obliterating mr HR above.
When will people understand that hazing is not the worst thing in the world? Don’t you think there is a reason that bsaically every male institution does it to their members? And has continued to do so for as long as it has? Protip: its because it works. Building bonds between men requires struggle, hardship. Hazing is a part of that. Anyone who says otherwise fundamentally misunderstands human nature.
I cant believe anyone would say that publicly. Have you read the stories about young people who have died at the hands of college hazing ? You need to do your research !
This seems like a huge over reaction. Stuff like this has been happening on college campuses and the academies for years. The amount of hazing on my college football team makes this pale in comparison.These young men are at the academy to learn about leadership; no one is perfect and there are lessons to be learned here about respect and leadership. There should be some form of punishment but a court martial seems way to severe for the actions of these young men.
The court martial is not for just the hazing, if you read the article they also impeded with an OSI investigation and tried to influence other cadets to cover up the events in question. That’s conduct unbecoming on top of dereliction of duty. As somebody that is prior active duty, I can tell you that they probably would have gotten a slap on the wrist for the hazing infraction. Once they messed with an investigation they stuck the stick in the beehive. Interfering with an investigation is not an exercise in leadership, it is willful dishonesty. We have a saying in the Marine Corps….play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Exactly.
They are not facing a court-martial yet, this article is a little misleading. After reading the Air Force Times article linked above they will have an “Article 32 hearing, similar to a civilian grand jury proceeding, to determine whether probable cause exists to support the charges and proceed with a court-martial.” Looking at probable cause before a court-martial is started. I assume trying to determine if they actually attempted to impeded an investigation.
There are hazing laws in 44 states, and while it is a low-level misdemeanor, it is still a criminal conviction. Having to answer “Yes” when asked about a conviction can be a deciding factor with employers. Additionally, there have been cases around the country where hazing has resulted in serious harm and even death. Students need to think about the harm they can cause when participating in hazing as well as the consequences they could be facing.
This has been going on for 30-yrs? Why isn’t the Academy holding itself responsible?
Anonymity encouraged: Any commenters that swam in college do stuff like this on their team?
It is odd to me how it is prestigious schools/academies that have been getting in trouble lately. You could easily argue that prestigious schools take these things more seriously, but I know for a fact that my college team did nothing like this or what you’ve heard from Brown. And my college team definitely liked to have some fun, so it’s not like we were “lame”.
Just curious if there is something to these prestigious schools/academies and hazing.
I went to a mid-major Div 1 school with a fairly successful swim program. My freshman year we were hazed… it was really just two nights, but the details were definitely worse than this. It was an annual tradition, but this year the administration found out, and sophomores and up were suspended for the first two meets; captains were suspended entire first semester. End of story. Until budget cuts came later that year, and they had to cut an athletic program. When deciding which team needed to be cut, our team made their decision much easier than it otherwise would have been. There was no team my sophomore year.
Anteater, your experience sounds exactly like mine and they dropped the swim program. Clemson?
I did not go to clemson
I’m currently on a d3 coed team. My school is in the middle of nowhere and the population is generally pretty conservative. The only thing we did that might be risky is that the study hours sign in sheet will ask you to answer a random question, typically something silly like who on the team would you want to be stranded on and island with? Sometimes they get a little personal or inappropriate and are read by everyone there. But there is no real hazing.