If there is a place in this country where honor is still taken seriously, it is at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. The importance of the Honor Concept is drilled into incoming plebes from day one. Behavior that may be merely disapproved on other campuses is grounds for expulsion.

Given that standard, the recently disclosed Office of the Naval Inspector General's report issued last fall that uncovered a hidden "contingency" fund involving millions of dollars fueled by various private sources, including the Naval Academy Foundation, and used for such indulgencies as tailgate parties for senior staff, entertainment and gifts for coaches is downright shocking.

Such shenanigans may be common enough when athletic boosters are given free rein at big universities, but it is antithetical to what is expected of a military academy. Even civilian employees are expected to understand and appreciate the gravity of this.

Vice Adm. Jeffrey L. Fowler, the academy's outgoing superintendent, has obviously paid a price for the slush fund scandal. He will step down in early September, one year short of finishing his four-year tour at the academy. It is unclear whether he will retire as a three-star admiral or at some lesser rank.

The 110-page report suggests there was no deliberate wrongdoing and that Admiral Fowler did not directly benefit nor was he aware of the improper administrative practices of his subordinates. At least some of the purchases were clearly legitimate, such as the football team's $157,000 tractor-trailer. Such 18-wheelers have become standard for transporting equipment for major schools.

The tailgate parties at football games might even have been justified (at some less extravagant scale, perhaps), but keeping the money off the books and available at the whim of an unaccountable few was not. The inspector general's office also reveals that the academy's finance deputy was suspended for five days without pay for his role in the episode. Another unidentified employee was also subject to what a spokesman has described as "corrective measures."

At the very least, the episode reveals a sloppiness in accounting practices at the Naval Academy that is unbecoming of a government agency, let alone a military academy. It's hard to believe the admiral is the only individual who merits a separation from the institution under these circumstances.

All of this might have been avoided had the individuals involved simply established forthright rules and procedures to assure accountability and transparency. This is what people expect of government and especially the military.

The Naval Academy has a 165-year-old tradition of emphasizing honor. Midshipmen do not lie. They do not cheat. They are required to confront classmates they see violating the code. This produces officers of high moral character, men and women who can be trusted with the lives and welfare of those who will be under their command.

This lesson is thwarted when senior employees make poor ethical choices and the institution is not fully forthcoming about the facts. That the IG report has become public knowledge is due only to the investigative efforts of the Navy Times. The midshipmen deserve better from their leadership.