If you witness a cadet bending rules to finish a time-sensitive task, what is the appropriate approach to maintain ethics and team trust?

• A. Address privately, describe observed behavior and impact, encourage adherence to rules, offer support to complete task within guidelines, and report if necessary per policy.
• B. Ignore it to avoid conflict.
• C. Publicly call them out to humiliate.
• D. Report immediately without private discussion.

Answer: (A)

When aiming to protect ethics and team trust, the best approach is to address the behavior privately. Have a calm conversation where you describe what you observed and explain the impact on safety, fairness, and the task, then emphasize the importance of following the rules. Offer to help find a way to complete the task within the guidelines and, if needed, commit to reporting the incident per policy. This route preserves dignity, reduces defensiveness, and gives the other person a real chance to correct course while keeping standards intact. If the behavior repeats or policy requires it, escalate through the proper channels after that private discussion. Ignoring it erodes trust, publicly shaming harms team cohesion, and reporting without first attempting a private talk can skip a constructive turn at remediation.