Citadel still running pansies out of the Corps of Cadets
Oh, boo-fricken-hoo.
Christopher Kibbee expected The Citadel to be tough.
He didn’t expect abuse, harassment and hazing from older cadets who held leadership positions, or the other knobs who were trying to emulate them. That’s what the 20-year-old from Saegertown, Pa., said he got when he enrolled at the state’s military college in 2009.
Kibbee, who left The Citadel after one semester, said upperclass cadets told him to jump off the top floor of the barracks (which he didn’t do), denied him meals, threatened to cut him, trashed his room and glued the pages of his Bible together.
Former Citadel cadet Christopher Kibbee said this photograph was taken in the fall of 2009 soon after an upperclass cadet repeatedly drove an unsharpened pencil into his forehead, a move that sent him to the infirmary.
Physical hazing of first-year students, known as knobs for their extremely short haircuts, has been entrenched at The Citadel for decades. The school has made strong efforts to stop hazing among the Corps in recent years, requiring all cadets to take classes on proper behavior.
Lest I be accused of beating around the bush, Christopher Kibbee is a total pussy, and I am glad his punk ass left my school.
Look, when I was a senior in High School, my dad told me that I had to have a college lined up by Christmas, or I was not wrestling that year. I went to the guidance office, tossed a bunch of info into a computer and it spit out “The Citadel” which I had never heard of. Content, I told my dad that that was where I was going.
No, I had no fricken clue it was a military school. When I found out, I thought it would be like Enders Game type shit. Then I went down for pre-knob weekend, where you stay with a knob and see what it is like. My pre-knob was Beau Turner, son of Ted Turner, and he got the shit beat out of him every night I was there. Rather than deter me from attending, I knew then I had to go. Because the place scared the every love crap out of me, and if I didn’t go, I knew I would always find myself wanting as a man. Wasn’t fun, but I finished.
Now look, I’m no advocate FOR hazing. It is what it is. However, this little panty waste at ANY POINT could have gone to his TAC officer and said, “hey, dudes are doing psychotic shit to me.” He didn’t. And that is the reason I am glad he is out, not that he should have submitted to the hazing.
Every now and again I remember James Darren Byers. I can barely remember my own name most the time, but from the day I got to the Citadel, I had a VERY healthy fear of that man. Mind you, the facts probably don’t match my recollection, but he had to have been 6-3, about 105 lbs, with no blood, except what he drank from the neck of knobs he killed. The day I got there some dude said about me “Oh man, Byers is going to be pissed at this kid, this one may be the only person uglier on campus.” Hard to argue, I had coke bottle glasses, a scar from ear to ear, and a plastic nose. One time I had to report to Byers’ room. I was so scared I forgot to announce myself and request permission to enter, and just ran in. It was the scariest thing I ever saw. Dude was brushing his teeth in his underwear and his head slowly pivotted to me, and in his Carolina accent he just quietly noted “wow did you just fuck up.”
I wanted to quit that night.
But I didn’t. And not later when they kicked the shit out of me either. Nor when I had to exist on grits for about a week. Nor the next year, when I again walked over 100 tours. Nor the next 100 I walked. Not even my last year when I was arrested riding the Coburg Milk Cow butt ass naked on ring night. (And Harvey Dick, Col, 1 ea, called my dad and forgot my name and just kept calling me Delbert Dumbass.) Not even when I walked tours for the 24 hours leading up to graduation, as my grandmother on her first foray out of Maine stood at the portcullis and cried.
Anyway, all that crap I put up with is what made me what I am today, albeit a deeply flawed and mental person. Ask my wife, or anyone else that knows me, I don’t even speed, because every time I so much as veered over the line at The Citadel, there was Col Dick calling me Dumbass again.
I can’t say I am glad that this kid got hazed. But I am real glad he left before he got a chance to get a mans ring. Let him go to Clemson, he’s not cut out to be a whole man.
UPDATE: I googled him, and turns out he also is a lawyer now.
I think I may have peed a little just watching his commercial:
Category: Politics
I get that hazing isn’t right or that it can get out of hand, but you’re in a military school in the hopes of being in the military some day. Do you think that any hazing you would receive in school is a tenth as extreme is what you would endure at the hands of the enemy? If you can’t handle the hazing and don’t have the sense to take it to school officials, then stop crying like a bitch now, cupcake. You don’t belong in a an environment that causes you to wet your diaper if someone yells at you, including the military, and it’s better to weed out the weak sisters now than have them fold like a cheap card table when there are asses on the line.
So beating the crap outta someone bulids character. Does it work on wives and girlfriends too. Pathetic.
Reading Comprehension, try it.
No, beating on someone does not build character. But facing it like a man instead of running away to Pennsylvania does.
Repeating for the cheap seats:
Now look, I’m no advocate FOR hazing. It is what it is. However, this little panty waste at ANY POINT could have gone to his TAC officer and said, “hey, dudes are doing psychotic shit to me.” He didn’t. And that is the reason I am glad he is out, not that he should have submitted to the hazing.
If you notice, Joe, I mentioned that the little princesses didn’t have the common sense to take it to school officials, which would have been the appropriate recourse. That way, school officials would be able to put a stop to it. Instead, we get thumbsuckers and their supporters that would rather cry about it now instead of dealing with it then.
In particular, the upperclassman with the pencil was tossed, as the article notes. And that is appropriate.
Incidentally, I should point out Byers never touched anyone that I saw anyway. Dude was scary enough just talking quietly.
That guy that was the bad guy in Die Hard 2 should play him in a movie.
Well, I’ve always considered El Cid to be THE place for panty-waisted pusses. Surprised the kid wasn’t made Regimental Commander on the spot; or did he fail to memorize all the names in his stairwell?
Sounds like this guy still believes he’s his Mama’s special little angel and no one can tell him any different.
I am by no means an advocate for hazing, it has the potential to get out of hand and be physically and emotionally painful. But so can the military. I second OT–if you can’t handle adversity and find a way to improvise, adapt, and overcome then you’ve got no business being there. Nobody said it would be easy, that’s why not everyone can or should do it. Part of the process of growing up into an adult is to step up, be responsible for yourself, and take action to fix something you don’t like, instead of crying about it and hoping somebody else will fix it for you. That is what builds character.
I sure hope he isn’t in some other college eyeballing the Greek system because he’s liable to run into exactly the same thing all over again.
So he turned into a lawyer? Man, that place really DOES fuck you up.
This guy quit? Hel my cousin graduated from there in 2002 and SHE is about 4’10” 90 lbs. She’s still in the Army, a Blackhawk pilot. And this guy quit?
This guy quit? Hell my cousin graduated from there in 2002 and SHE is about 4’10” 90 lbs. She’s still in the Army, a Blackhawk pilot. And this guy quit?
RE:”‘It happened a lot,’ Phillips said. ‘I couldn’t put a number on it.”. From further down in the article. If I got hit with a rifle butt, I’d probably remember how many times it happened, just saying. And, I’d probably say something, to someone. Like, you know, ________ beat me like a rug last night, with a rifle…..
And, #8 is absolutely correct, this douchenozzle will undoubtedly run into far worse if he pledges a frat. Or, in it’s case, a sorority.
Man would have never survived promotion in the Navy. Getting his crow tacked on would have sent him to the infirmary, or the shrink. Hell, I could hardly raise my left arm for a week after I made 1st Class Petty Officer.
Worse was when I was presented with my aircrew wings, and they got “tacked” in place by the rest of the AW shop who had theirs. They were “tacked” into place without the clutchbacks. I still have one small blue mark from where one of them went in. But hell, that’s the way it was done, and if you couldn’t deal with it, how were you supposed to deal with REAL adversity?
No one gave a damn if you winced or yelled. It was SUPPOSED to hurt. What you were supposed to do was take it, and remember. It was a part of becoming a member of a select crew. It was the price of admission, and I gladly paid it and would again.
I won’t even talk about the shellback initiation. I’ll leave that to Xero or Squidthoughts.
V/R
Just called the number on the commercial and said you told me that J. Darren was a goat-rapist…
B5: LMFAO!! I think TSO just peed on the carpet!
#14 AWESOME !!!
I think we should ALL call him….. heh, and much milmirth ensued. 😉
I got his voice mail. Left a message that “some guy said you wanted to be his best friend after he was caught naked riding the Coburg Milk Cow at the Citadel. You southern boys sure have some weird ass rituals down there”. 🙂
Damn TSO….Your a Citadel brat? Who’d a thunk it? J/K! *salute*
Ok B-Five….you & them goat fantasies gotta stop! *cough*
Pencil to the forehead. what…the…fuck?
He could trade memories with me. I’ll gladly give up Tran’s blood on me from the VBIED, and the now dead left ear, for a half dozen pokes from a pencil. Hell, I’ll even let him sharpen it first.
Makes you wonder what Cadet Haynsworth was thinking when he fired the first shot of the Civil War: “Ooooo, perhaps that was hasty. I certainly hope nobody gets offended by my war-mongering deed. Lordy, what will Mummsy say!”
Sounds like you just picked someone to talk bad about so you could tell everyone how cool you were getting arrested for imitating a drooling high school jock. How did mentioning your brush with the police prove anything on why you are or are not against hazing? You must really love writing haikus. Could you be more vague?
#22: Get bent.
Joe–believe me, we’re all better off for your not having served. And yeah…nothing quite like having a BT1 tack on your crow when you make pushbutton PO3.
There’s a reason why it’s “tacked on”…it has to do with being reminded that you carry a heavy weight, be it sergeant’s stripes or a PO’s “crow”, or a particular warfare badge–you are part of a brotherhood, and by God you better live up to the standards and never forget it. At least that’s how I looked at it.
AW, looks like you do with wings what we did with fish. Same’s same.
NHSparky,
Yup. You said it bang on. Thanks for that. The Petty Officer IS the Navy, and weight of that crow only gets heavier the further up you go.
Hotter the heat, purer the metal. Some can with stand it and others fold like a cheap card table in a wind storm.
I am a Citadel grad and hazing was the norm back in the Old Corps. Did we complain? No, it was part of the tradition of toughening up young men as they prepared to debark for war. Just a side note to those not familiar with the Citadel, this Christopher Kibbee may or may not be telling the truth about his experience. I am sure there is plenty more to the story that he did not address — possible honor code violation, unsatisfactory grades/behavior etc which may have been alternate reasons for why he left. But given the whiny story, it is obvious that he did have the mental or physical deportment to graduate from a military college.
TSO, the Colburg Cow is still on the Savannah Highway but has been crying ever since you graduated. My neighbor’s son just graduated from the Citadel. He was their place kicker, Sammy Keeler. His daddy married Deb and I. Sammy loved the Citadel and said it was the best experience of his life. I have other friends here in Beaufort that have also graduated from the Citadel and to a man, the best experience of their lives. This guys a bigger pussy than Sharon Fulkner. I proudly had a “Shave the Whale” bumper sticker for years. I’m glad he’s gone. I’m also glad that El Cid hasn’t dumbed down their standards like most colleges and Universities today. Big Red regularly flies from my home in tribute to the Corps past and present. If I had my life to do over, I’d have certainly tried to get into the Citadel.
Here’s the thing, if you aren’t a product of The System, you’ve got no place to comment. Ain’t your RIGHT to comment. There’s thousands of graduates who have all been through the same System and are happy and grateful for their experience. They are strong family men who are productive in our society and keeping your country safe and you safe so you can have your precious feelings. The system is GOOD, and not for everyone, praise God!
#29, November’89: what “System?” You mean the slack standards that pass for the Military College of South Carolina’s informal system of discipline? And unless the blog owners and administrators say otherwise – what’s posted is fair game.
As to whatever it is being good, don’t disagree with you.
#28….Me…I meant SHANNON Faulkner. Not Sharon.
This dweeb would never had made through the junior high I did, nor the crap I did.
Meant the “crap” that I had to put up with. Of course, certain of my tormenters found out that there was a steel core inside me. I just didn’t go looking for trouble.
Going to the 1st/506th as a leg, then on to Jump School, I too had my wings “tacked on”, and didn’t even feel a tear in my eyes. But that could be because I knew that I was elevating myself to a greater level, and that nothing in life is free. I would so dislike being Joe. I bet he takes the morning off work if he spills his Latte on his crotch.
Suck it up, you sissies!
Anyone whining about hazing and “the big bad cadets of The Citadel” have blinders on. I am a PROUD GRADUATE of The Citadel, I am currently a Critical Care Paramedic, which has worked around many large campuses. I have seen crap done to frat boy wannabes that is far worse than what is done at The Citadel.
What I find interesting is that all the “poor tormented souls” wait three years to tell their stories, in hopes that anyone who remembers them has long since graduated and left school. It was no different when Sports Illustrated ran a similar article.
A real man, would have handled this situation differently. 1) If you truly feel you are being abused/hazed, report it up the Chain of Command. They have endless hours of discussion on hazing will not be tolerated. 2) FIGHT BACK! Trust me, if you rely on your classmates, there will be a time when the offender is vulnerable. What is he going to do, report he was hazed by the knobs? This newest “victim” dropped out (which The Citadel is not for everyone)and couldn’t be man enough to say “I quit” he had to make excuses. He was not worthy to graduate and wear the ring!
As was said earlier, if you don’t wear the ring, your comments don’t really matter because you are talking out of your ass. Our school has a great track record of alumni across the years. I’d say for those of us that WANTED it bad enough, we are all the better for it.
As one who put up with his share of crap for the longest 9 months of his life, I can attest that it was the only reason I made it though college and made me a responsible, productive member of society. Any other undergraduate school, I probably would have made it through 1 semester on probation before failing out. Now, I WEAR THE RING proudly, and scoff at anyone who criticizes the system.
you all are pussies. nuff said.
Mike Company? Isn’t that part of the MILK battalion? Mike India Lima Kilo? I have heard of it. LOL.
Thank you for this refreshing article… Its impossible to articulate or justify whooping a kids ass until he loves you, but God dangit some how some way that shit actually works… ten years from now I will have forgotten all the shining, marching, and little cadet creeds etc… but I will NEVER forget the guys that were willing to put their own ass on the line to torment me each and every day so that I could walk out of that school feeling like whatever harassment, obstacles, or bullshit I dealt with in the real world wasnt something I could ram through head first without issue.
I beat the ever living PISS out of my knobs… but I also knew more about their personal lives and genuinely cared for those groups of kids than anyone else did who was just meandering through the motions along a set of rules and regulations designed merely to ensure minimal attrition and maximum tuition money
I like hazing and think it should be harder, the harder it is the better, the more broken bones the more character one builds… come by my room later you pussy
Really? A MAN’S RING…..It’s a women’s ring now too. Your one of those aren’t you?
I am very proud to wear the ring and it sincerely disgusts me when these Post and Courier jokers rant and rave about the terrors of El Cid.
It becomes very obvious, very quickly that at no point in their lives have they ever been in “red phase” training and experienced the gratification and lifetime friendships that come with completion of such activity.
I dare them to take an opportunity to actually do something with their lives that gives them the opportunity to endure, sweat, and maybe even bleed alongside another individual. I guarantee it will change their perspective on the word “friend” and perhaps allow them to understand a small piece of who we are.
Reading through this banter has brought some great memories. I am a classmate of JD Byers and almost fell of my chair laughing, seeing him from the knob perspective. I was in R Company and JD was in T. JD and I shared some memorable hazing from the receiving end, not as knobs, but as sophomores and juniors (Black Bart knows). It was the most rewarding, toughest and heartbreaking experience of my life.
I was also in Mike Company when Turner was a knob, a great guy who appeared to be a great classmate to his brothers – a silver spoon that he never waved in anyone’s face.
As someone earlier in the thread pointed out, there are multiple opportunities to report improper behavior. It sounds like his classmates despised him. It’s not a place for everyone. Trust me. Starting day one at El Cid with a Boston accent, I took my share, and more. You either wear the ring or you don’t.
89, I assume you are referring to Guard stuff, or JSD.
As for the accent, I was luckily from Berkshire County to the West of you, but the Mass guys took good care of me. Luckily there was an East Longmeadow guy in November that watched my back.
Also some crazy bastard from Ninety Six, SC that was in Romeo ’89 whose name escapes me, but was a total piece of work.
Just wanted to say, that picture at the top is VMI. Only VMI is allowed to use open bayonets, because VMI is the only school to have its entire Corps of Cadets fight in a battle, The Battle of New Market during the Civil War. While hazing is not as big an issue at VMI, I would like to see a Citadel cadet come up here and compete. Academically they would not be able to keep up
No it isn’t, that picture is of the Summerall Guards ar El Cid.
Confederate States Army (larger gray)
Star of the West, January 9, 1861
Wappoo Cut, November 1861
James Island, June 1862
Charleston and Vicinity, July–October 1863
James Island, June 1864
Tulifinny, December 1864
James Island, December 1864-February 1865
Williamston, May 1865
[…] Didn’t like him, thought he was a bit of a dork. Wasn’t afraid of him like I was James Darren Byers (who probably would have ripped this dude’s head off and shat down his neck) but one thing I […]
Pretty funny about Beau Turner. I had a friend from high school who played football with him, and he used to get the crap beat out of him there, too.
Proud to wear the Ring? How about Skip ReVille and his ring of child abusers who are all Citadel grads who worked a child abuse ring at the Citadel and the big blue code of secrecy that is now rivaling the abuse ring at Penn State? The good ole boy code of secrecy and attitude that still pervades the Citadel to this day is once again protecting people who abuse child, that allow a homo-erotic atmosphere to pervade the campus, and allow harassment and other sexually based crimes to get swept under the rug. There are many more victims of ReVille on campus and the Citadel did NOTHING to protect the children at its summer camps! And he is another one of its proud grads who wear the ring?