Rising from the ashes, former Cadet Joe Scioscia tells his story of his time at the United States Air Force Academy came from a family of service, and was failed by permanent party when he sought out leadership the most.

Then Cadet Scioscia put in for a "Staff Summary Sheet" or Triple S to go to a wedding for a friend. He was initially given permission by his instructors and his Air Officer Commanding (AOC). He was accused of lying to his AOC about going to the wedding, despite getting permission prior to leaving USAFA for the wedding. A classic case of miscommunication and lack of empathy, Cadet Sciosica was charged with an "Honor Violation" in a clear case of overbearing unlawful command influence from a spiteful commander. This is another classic case of a Cadet's experience is completely dependant on their AOC, and Joe's case in particular is a classic example of failed leadership within the Permanent Party of the United States Air Force Academy. This is a perfect example of why the Cadet Handbook/Cadet Sight Picture needs to be abolished because the rules only pertain the the Academy, and are not in line legally with the Uniform Code of Military Jusitce. As a result, the Cadet Rules can be taken out of context and utilized by a poor commander to drastically affect the lives of their Cadets that they should be mentoring to become good lieutenants. 

Cadet Scioscia's mother was diagnosed with cancer and went through an extensive procedure, and instead of expressing empathy and understanding, Cadet Scioscia's philosophy professor tried to charge him with an Honor Violation for submitting a draft assignment without a works cited page, and his AOC at the time jumped on the opportunity crush him once again. His story is disheartening, because instead of mentoring and helping Cadet Scioscia through one of the most difficult periods of his life, he sent him to another Honor Board for parking his vehicle at the Cadet Chapel while working as an altar server at the Cadet Chapel, and his professor accused him of cheating on an assignment during his mother's cancer recovery. Despite explaining the entire situation with legitimate evidence of not violating the Honor Code, Cadet Scioscia was removed from the Academy. 

Despite his personal failures as a Cadet, Joe rose from the ashes of his experiences at the Air Force Academy and became a Constitutional lawyer based upon his journey at the Academy, to ensure that other American's do not have their rights violated as his were during his time in the Air Force.