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Corps Discipline
There are two types of discipline in the
Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M, each one associated
with a different set of rules.
Violations of Corps traditions and culture
are handled informally, usually by the cadet who notices
the infraction, and punishment involves physical activity,
additional or distasteful duty, or the loss of a privilege
for some period of time. For example a fish who wore
his biter
in the dorm could be required to do a number of pushups;
a pisshead who forgot to speak to a
white-belt could be required to shine that white-belt's
shoes or combat boots. In situations of a particularly
egregious nature, or taking place early in the semester,
the entire class in an outfit might share in the consequences
of one cadet's misdeed(s).
Violations of Corps regulations (as codified
by The Standard) are handled formally, by a cadet officer
or First Sergeant, and documented through demerit slips
(known as "rams").
Accumulate enough rams, and you "sit a weekend",
which involves having to appear in the guardroom every
couple of hours for an entire weekend (except for the
time between about 11pm and 6am). Accumulate more, through
a series of medium infractions or a few major ones,
and you could be required to do a "marching tour",
which meant marching around the quad a number of times
in full uniform throughout a weekend. Accumulate enough
rams, and you could be expelled from the Corps. For
example, a fish who got discrepancies on his hole during
a Group or Wing inspection could get rammed; a sergebutt
who missed a required formation could also get rammed.
The number of demerits permissible for a certain infraction,
as well as procedures for contesting an assessment,
are also spelled out in The Standard.
It was up to the First Sergeant
or cadet officer responsible for a cadet whether to
treat an infraction as a violation of Corps traditions
and culture, or as a violation of Corps regulations.
I distinctly remember one night when Bill Moore and
some of his buddies came into the dorm after a night
of drinking, and then noticed some infraction by a pisshead.
Bill hollered out to our First Sergeant, Rex Stewart,
"Ram him, Rex! No, f**k him, Rex! Hell, ram him
AND f**k him!"
John (Yankus) Yantis
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