WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) -- Allegations of cheating by thousands of U.S. Army soldiers on a series of recent promotion exams are being investigated by military officials, a report said.
Army officials said they have begun looking into allegations that Web sites run by former U.S. soldiers may have offered test answers to troops taking this year's series of promotion examinations, The Boston Globe reported Sunday.
Among the tests such illegally obtained answers may have been used on were military tests regarding the use of high-tech weaponry such as the Patriot missile system.
Heritage Foundation defense analyst James Carafano, also a former lieutenant colonel in the Army, said cheating on such exams could have life-or-death consequences.
"These are things that could put lives at stake," he said. "If people are cheating to get promoted and make a couple of extra bucks, that is pathetic."
The exams are all taken voluntarily as part of the Army Correspondence Course Program.
An Army spokesman told the Globe cheating violates the military code of justice and those caught could face potential criminal charges.
