On Monday, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice (R) approved recommendations from the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety to fire 30 corrections cadets and staffers over a photo wherein the Nazi salute was given by all participating members.

According to an investigation into the matter, female instructor Byrd, whose first name is not disclosed, told cadets to give the salute. The photo was taken multiple times until all members complied. The instructor then reportedly had the caption “Hail Byrd” added to the top of the photo and bragged that she’s a “hard-ass like Hitler.”

JUST IN: West Virginia corrections staff, cadets fired over photo of Nazi salute https://t.co/JkEaxKgNjV pic.twitter.com/4XvpJDqxXw — The Hill (@thehill) December 30, 2019

“I have reviewed the factual information regarding this incident that was provided by Secretary Sandy, and have approved all of his recommendations,” said Gov. Justice in a statement. “I expressed my thanks to him and the entire Department for quickly getting this report done.”

“As I said from the beginning, I condemn the photo of Basic Training Class 18 in the strongest possible terms. I also said that this act needed to result in real consequences – terminations and dismissals. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated on my watch in any agency of State government,” the statement continued.

“We have a lot of good people in our Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. But this incident was completely unacceptable. Now, we must continue to move forward and work diligently to make sure nothing like this ever happens again,” concluded Gov. Justice, who switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 2017.

Earlier in the month, DMAPS Cabinet Secretary Jeff Sandy recommended all the cadets in the photo be fired.

“I am further recommending the termination of all cadets participating in the open-handed salute and the closed fist salute in the class photograph,” Secretary Sandy said.

The secretary noted that some cadets “only followed what they perceived to be an order from Instructor Byrd to do the ‘Hail Byrd’ for the photograph because they feared they would not graduate, or would be disciplined for failure to follow the order of a superior.”

“Nonetheless, their conduct, without question, has also resulted in the far-reaching and harmful perceptions that are the antithesis of the values we strive to attain,” he said. “The inevitable consequence of the conduct has not only damaged the reputation of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, but also negatively impacts morale across the workforce.”