The U.S. Naval Academy tightened alcohol restrictions on midshipmen this school year with a policy that will include random Breathalyzer tests and punishments as severe as expulsion for students caught violating the rules.
The new policy comes in the wake of two high-profile sex assault allegations against midshipman that involved drinking.
Under the rules, underage drinking and drunken driving are prohibited and midshipman 21 and older are limited to three drinks per occasion. Any midshipman with blood alcohol levels above .08, the legal impairment level, will face punishments.
“The Naval Academy has recently established clear standards for the responsible use of alcohol is order to best develop midshipman into responsible officers and leaders,” said academy superintendent, Vice Admiral Rodney Rempt in a statement.
To enforce the policy, the Academy will administer random Breathalyzer tests to underage midshipmen, as well as any midshipman 21 and older who appears intoxicated. The tests will be administered to about 840 midshipmen per week, officials said.
Consequences for violating the policy range from substance abuse counseling for minor violations to possible expulsion for driving drunk or consuming more than eight drinks.
Rempt asked an alcohol task force to research a policy update in October of last year, officials said. Midshipman were briefed about the policy, formalized in August, before they went on summer training in May.
“The vast majority of our midshipmen meets or exceeds our exacting standards on a daily basis, and we will continue to educate, discipline and remediate those who fall short,” Rempt said in the statement.
The Academy hand-delivered letters to popular midshipman hang-outs in Annapolis this week to ask for bar owners? compliance in the new policy.
