{"id":48479,"date":"2021-07-13T18:10:19","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T18:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/07\/13\/new-book-pulls-back-curtain-on-1976-west-point-cheating-scandal\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:15:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:15:32","slug":"new-book-pulls-back-curtain-on-1976-west-point-cheating-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2021\/07\/13\/new-book-pulls-back-curtain-on-1976-west-point-cheating-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"New book pulls back curtain on 1976 West Point cheating scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The release of a new book, one coming on the heels of the 2020 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2021\/04\/18\/51-west-point-cadets-caught-cheating-must-repeat-a-year\/\" target=\"_blank\">cheating scandal<\/a> that shook the United States Military Academy at West Point, is offering new perspectives on another cheating controversy that ensnared cadets at the institution 45 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cChoosing the Harder Right\u201d tells the story of Cadet Timothy Ringgold, who stood up to senior leadership at his beloved school and aided fellow cadets during the infamous 1976 West Point cheating scandal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ringgold was a year away from graduating in 1976, when he and other cadets were selected at random to meet with then-Under Secretary of the Army Norman R. Augustine. Each was questioned about a scandal involving 153 upperclassmen who resigned or were expelled for cheating on an electrical engineering exam. The secretary of the Army went as far as appointing a select commission headed by former astronaut Frank Borman to review the case. By the end of the ordeal, more than 90 of those caught cheating were reinstated and allowed to graduate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Ringgold was not directly involved in any violation, he believed the institution\u2019s honor system was \u201cnot fairly administered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI thought it was a bunch of nonsense,\u201d Ringgold told Military Times, explaining what he told Augustine during the 1976 meeting. \u201cIn my opinion the cadets who were involved did no more or less than we all have done. Cadets are only human, cadets make mistakes. This just did not seem to me to be an an incident worth making a crisis out of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As news spread of the 1976 incident, which was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1976\/04\/08\/archives\/more-than-90-cadets-at-west-point-face-charges-of-cheating-on-a.html\" target=\"_blank\">considered the largest cheating scandal<\/a> in service academy history, Ringgold called for outside assistance, going as far as asking Arizona Republican Senator Barry Goldwater for an impartial investigation. In doing so, Ringgold became the de facto spokesperson for the accused cadets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWest Point clearly lost its way in the 1970s,\u201d he said. \u201cI think the changes that have occurred since have made West Point the very strong institution that it is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ringgold faced expulsion for his stance, but would go on to graduate in 1977 after West Point <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1976\/05\/14\/archives\/charges-dropped-against-cadet-who-called-cheating-common.html\" target=\"_blank\">dropped all charges<\/a> following the discovery of \u201cnew evidence\u201d that implied cheating was far more widespread than West Point leadership suggested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, Ringgold, who would go on to enjoy a distinguished career at the Pentagon, Capitol Hill and the White House, said he hopes the information in this book will be a reminder of what it takes to keep an institution in check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEvery revered institution like the military academy can have flaws and lose its way,\u201d he said. \u201cIf there\u2019s not a constant vigilance to make sure you\u2019re on the right path &#8230; then history will repeat itself and we will have the chaos and confusion and disappointment we had so many years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"578\" height=\"833\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Book-Cover.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-88873\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Book-Cover.jpg.jpg 578w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Book-Cover.jpg.jpg?resize=208,300 208w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 578px) 100vw, 578px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Choosing the Harder Right was released on July 12, 2021. Above, the cover of the book. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Cinquino)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Discovering the Untold Story<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Author Destiny Jennifer Ringgold, the subject\u2019s daughter, was unaware of her father\u2019s story or role in the scandal until discovering following a recent online search of his name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was in the process of doing a sequel to my first book and I knew [my father] had a complex relationship with West Point,\u201d she told Military Times. \u201cIt really took my breath away because I didn\u2019t understand the history behind the story until I sat down with my dad and asked him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite his daughter\u2019s newfound curiosity, Ringgold initially ignored her queries, telling Military Times that the story is one he would have never written himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m very much at peace with what my role was,\u201d he said. \u201cI have no regrets about the stand I took, but that doesn\u2019t mean I want to relive it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eventually, however, Ringgold acquiesced to his daughter\u2019s inquiries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think this is an important part of West Point history,\u201d Destiny Ringgold said. \u201cThis was a dark period but I knew there was a lot of good that came out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1649\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cadet-Tim.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-88876\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cadet-Tim.jpg.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cadet-Tim.jpg.jpg?resize=196,300 196w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cadet-Tim.jpg.jpg?resize=768,1173 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cadet-Tim.jpg.jpg?resize=671,1024 671w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cadet-Tim.jpg.jpg?resize=1006,1536 1006w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">TKTKTK (___)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The book\u2019s title, meanwhile, comes from an excerpt from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.west-point.org\/academy\/malo-wa\/inspirations\/cadetprayer.html\" target=\"_blank\">Cadet Prayer<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMake us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole can be won.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sentiment also explains why Ringgold stood up to West Point leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe were all fighting for the same thing,\u201d he said. \u201cWe all believed in the honor code and we wanted standards; it was just a difference of how we got there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even though \u201cChoosing the Harder Right\u201d<i> <\/i>is based on his own story, Ringgold, whose father and older brothers also served, wants readers to know that the story remains bigger than him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe real story here is how a lot of people came together and were willing to sacrifice their career to put values [first],\u201d said Ringgold, acknowledging the West Point-graduate attorneys, the chaplain and officers who fought alongside him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey all sacrificed their careers in order to force West Point to correct the ills of the time, so that it [could] become the world class institution that it remains today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Choosing-Harder-Right-Cheating-Scandal\/dp\/1646633865\" target=\"_blank\"><i>\u201cChoosing the Harder Right\u201d is now available for purchase. <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>The Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cChoosing the Harder Right\u201d tells the story of Cadet Timothy Ringgold, who stood up to senior leadership at his beloved school.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":60608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-observation-post","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":70,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,24,89,70,16,26,17,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3332,3406],"class_list":["post-48479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-military-culture","category-news","category-newsletters","category-off-duty","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"SMIDFATX2VCVHH2NKICHLVE3BI","arc_canonical_url":"\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2021\/07\/13\/new-book-pulls-back-curtain-on-1976-west-point-cheating-scandal\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"observation-post","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New book pulls back curtain on 1976 West Point cheating scandal - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cChoosing the Harder Right\u201d tells the story of Cadet Timothy Ringgold, who stood up to senior leadership at his beloved school.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New book pulls back curtain on 1976 West Point cheating scandal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cChoosing the Harder Right\u201d tells the story of Cadet Timothy Ringgold, who stood up to senior leadership at his beloved school.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2021\/07\/13\/new-book-pulls-back-curtain-on-1976-west-point-cheating-scandal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-07-13T18:10:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T08:15:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Caitlin O&#039;Brien, J.D. 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