Building the Foundation for Future Leaders of Character

At West Point, you will major in character. The Simon Center shapes your growth as a future Army officer by helping you understand what it means to live and lead honorably: to be the kind of leader others trust to make the right decisions, even when the right path is the harder one.

From the Cadet Honor Code, you will learn to build the habits of integrity and judgment that define lifelong leadership. Through courses like MX400: Officership, the Mission Command Conference, and the National Conference on Ethics in America, you will engage with real-world ethical challenges and learn to apply the Army’s professional framework of Character, Competence, and Commitment.

Your Army career starts—and continues—with a foundation of character, leadership, and trust that sets you up not just to serve, but to lead.

The Cadet Honor Code: A Foundational Ethical Identity

From Reception Day onward, the Cadet Honor Code is more than regulation, it is a practice of honesty, fairness, respect, and responsibility. The Cadet Honor Code forms the foundation of your growth. You’ll engage in daily decision‑making under this Code, forging habits of trustworthiness that remain long after you graduate. 

It’s not just a set of rules: it is a daily practice of honesty, fairness, respect, and responsibility. 

Living by the Code helps you:

• Make the “harder right” decisions when faced with ethical dilemmas.
• Cultivate habits of unwavering trustworthiness.
• Earn the confidence of peers, subordinates, and superiors alike.

MX400: Officership — The Capstone of Character and Leadership

In their final semester, cadets take MX400: Officership, West Point’s capstone course that brings together everything they’ve learned, academics, leadership, military science, and ethics.

Through real-world case studies and guided discussions, cadets explore what it means to lead honorably in complex, uncertain situations. They analyze moral and professional challenges drawn from modern military operations and reflect on how to apply the Army Ethic in decision-making.

MX400 helps cadets bridge the transition from student to officer, strengthening their confidence and sense of moral responsibility. By the end, each graduate is ready to lead soldiers with integrity, think critically under pressure, and uphold the Army’s highest values - Duty, Honor, Country.

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Advancing the Profession of Arms Together

SCPME ensures that every cadet at West Point is prepared to uphold the Army’s highest ethical standards. Through immersive education, experiential learning, and partnership with distinguished leaders, SCPME cultivates leaders of character who make decisions guided by integrity, fairness, and honor. 

The Simon Center’s impact extends far beyond the classroom. The cadets who benefit from SCPME go on to lead units, mentor soldiers, and shape the profession, having ripple effects across the Army and generations of service. 

SCPME collaborates with with military, academic, and professional partners who share our commitment to ethical leadership and character development to create transformative programs that shape the moral foundation of the Army’s next generation of leaders. 

Our partnerships include:

• Army Commands and Centers of Excellence advancing doctrine and professional ethics.
• Universities and research institutions exploring the moral dimensions of leadership and warfare.
• Nonprofit and public-sector organizations contributing to national conversations on trust, accountability, and service.

Together, we conduct research, host conferences, and exchange best practices that enrich cadet education, advance the study and practice of professional ethics in the Army, and strengthen the broader profession of arms. Each effort directly strengthens the Army’s ability to field officers of unmatched integrity and competence, leaders who can be trusted to uphold the Nation’s highest ideals in peace and war.

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Join the Mission

Educating, training, and inspiring the Corps of Cadets to become leaders of character is one of the most meaningful callings in the Army. As a member of the Simon Center team, you will play a central role in shaping the ethical foundations of America’s future officers.

Staff and faculty responsibilities include:

• Teaching MX400: Officership: Engage first-class cadets in seminars on character, competence, and commitment, emphasizing ethical decision-making in complex operational environments.
• Mentorship: Guide cadets through character development and leadership challenges.
• Research and Scholarship: Contribute to the study of ethics, leadership, and officership across interdisciplinary fields such as philosophy, psychology, history, and social sciences.

Officers selected for graduate study through the Advanced Civil Schooling Program pursue degrees in philosophy, psychology, history, or related fields—broadening their expertise before returning to teach and lead at West Point.

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