The release continued: “It was intended to demonstrate ‘unity’ and ‘pride,’ according to the findings of the inquiry.”

The photograph showed 16 cadets posing at the U.S. Military Academy, all pictured in cadet dress uniforms and raising their fists. The cadets won’t face any punishment, the release stated.

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A letter from Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen, Jr., academy superintendent, did note that the cadets would receive some instruction, though.

“As members of the Profession of Arms, we are held to a high standard, where our actions are constantly observed and scrutinized in the public domain,” the letter states. “We all must understand that a symbol or gesture that one group of people may find harmless may offend others. As Army officers, we are not afforded the luxury of a lack of awareness of how we are perceived.”

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In a report last week, Army Times noted that the image had “been shared widely in military circles, with claims the women are supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.” As the suggestion arose, however, others said the picture displayed something else entirely.

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“It was a sign of unity,” Mary Tobin, a 2003 West Point graduate, told the Associated Press. “They weren’t trying to imply any allegiance to any movement.”

Army Times reported that “several readers” sent the picture to the publication, raising questions about whether the cadets were in violation of a Department of Defense directive about political activities.

Among those who have openly questioned the picture was John Burk, who blogged about it last week in a post headlined “Racism Within West Point.”

“This overt display of the black lives matter movement is not, in itself wrong, but to do so while in uniform is completely unprofessional and not in keeping with what the USMA stands for,” Burk wrote on his site, In the Arena, while also calling it a violation of the directive.

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Burk did not reply to an email from The Post earlier this week.

“The fact that it could offend someone by its usage qualifies it as a symbol that goes against Army policies,” Burk told the New York Times.

He added: “It’s not the fact that they are wrong for having their beliefs, it’s the fact they did it while in uniform.”

The inquiry found that there wasn’t any violation of the directive though, and stated: “based upon available evidence none of the participants, through their actions, intended to show support for a political movement.”

Sue Fulton, a West Point graduate, posted a similar photo of the group to Twitter in late April; she told The Post in an email Monday that the style of the picture was a “long-held tradition” at West Point, in which “different teams and groups get together on their own to mimic the high-collar, ultra-serious photos of 19th century cadets.”

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“These women took dozens of photos; I saw a couple on my Facebook feed because I’m friends with a few of them,” she said in her email. “I tweeted my favorite — with the caption ‘Fearless, flawless, fierce’ — and the acting secretary of the Army retweeted it.”

She continued: “Look, they are 16 African-American women graduating in a class of close to 1,000 cadets; they’ve worked hard, accomplished a lot, and I thought that the pride, unity, and determination that picture expressed was not only earned, but in keeping with the best of West Point traditions and values.”

Final exams are ongoing this week, but about 1,000 cadets are expected to graduate from West Point on May 21.

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“For them it’s not a sign of allegiance to a movement, it’s a sign that means unity and pride and sisterhood,” Tobin, the 2003 West Point graduate, told the New York Times. “That fist to them meant you and your sisters did what only a few people, male or female, have ever done in this country.”

This post, originally published on May 9, has been updated.