Keeping honor first and foremost

(Excerpts from Major General John S. Grinalds' remarks to Cadre
on August 16, 2002, before the arrival of the Fourth Class)

You, as members of the Cadre, will make a special contribution to the Long Gray Line through your training of the Class of 2006.

MG John S. Grinalds U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) President, The Citadel

While you are teaching members of the fourthclass military skills and orienting them to the ways of The Citadel, you will also be indoctrinating them in The Citadel's most cherished values. Those values include teamwork, excellence and persistence. But the most important value to come from The Citadel experience is loyalty to the honor system.

The honor system belongs to cadets. You commit to one another that you will not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do. An enduring respect for the truth has always been first and foremost throughout the history of this institution.

Members of the Class of 2006 have pre-selected themselves to come to The Citadel for the same reasons that you did: They want a good education, they want to learn leadership and they want to be part of a place that upholds a system of personal honor.

There are plenty of other colleges where students can develop their minds or gain leadership skills. It is the honor system as the foundation for those other values that sets The Citadel apart.

I challenge you to do all that you can to bring the Class of 2006 into the Long Gray Line. Inspire your knobs by setting high standards and indoctrinate them with the idea that honor comes first and foremost as the primary value of a Citadel education.

The Citadel is counting on you. And we trust you to use your leadership, initiative and values to make the Class of 2006 the best that it can be.