ARUN RATH, HOST:
Life is intense for cadets at the Military Academy at West Point. With intense physical training and battle simulations, people can get hurt. And last month, one skirmish left 30 cadets with injuries, including 24 concussions, one report of a broken nose, one dislocated shoulder and lots of scrapes and bruises and blood. What caused the carnage?
(SOUNDBITE OF CHEERING AND TRUMPET MUSIC)
RATH: Pillows.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHEERING AND TRUMPET MUSIC)
RATH: The plebe pillow fight is an annual tradition, possibly dating back to 1897, according to The New York Times. The event is meant to build espirit de corps among the new classmates. It looks like a scene out of "Braveheart," with swords and shields switched out for pillows and mattresses. Things got out of hand when some cadets apparently added helmets and other hard objects to the pillowcases.
Photos posted on social media revealed smiles and congratulations on the plebs's new reputation as the fiercest pillow regiment of the U.S. Military. Still, West Point commanders are taking discipline very seriously. In a press release, U.S. Military Superintendent Lieutenant General Robert L. Caslen Jr. stated that an investigation into the incident is ongoing to, quote, "ensure accountability and reinforce with the corps that we all must take care of our teammates." All cadets have since been returned to duty, minus their down-stuffed weapons. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
