Analysis Of The Soldier's Greed

Ethics Theory for the Military Professional by Chaplin (COL) Samuel D. Maloney illustrates the complex ethical decision making process. Army Leaders are responsible for professionally, and ethically develop subordinates. Developing unethical subordinates in a zero defect Army is a leadership challenge. Goal-Oriented Aspirations, Rule-Oriented Obligations, and Situation-Oriented Decisions provide leaders an understanding of the ethical decision making process. The first step to Professionally developing subordinates is identifying, and providing input on all subordinate goals. Leaders are obligated to enforce rules and regulations. Understanding subordinate character provides leaders with the information to evaluate a soldier’s integrity. However,

In the United States Army we are taught to live by the Seven Army Values. They are broken down to us in the acronym ‘LDRSHIP’ which is short for Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. We are all taught these 7 Army values repeatedly from day one in the United States Army. First we memorize these values. Then we are trained to live by them. All of these 7 values coincide with each other, and play an important roll in our Army lives. These 7 Army Values also play well into life outside the Army in our personal life. People sometimes do not realize the importance these values have on the way we are viewed by the people who look up to the men and woman who are privileged enough to represent the

Being a professional soldier goes a long way. It means a person take pride in everything they do throughout life. It takes a lot of energy and time to earn this title so upholding its standard is a must. A soldier abides by all his and her codes and creeds. Also, the soldier must follow the army set values. There are seven values and all have a significant importance to our nation; loyalty, duty, respect, selfless-service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. These seven values are all a soldier needs to be professional in the army. Following each of them and executing them will build your character and define you as a soldier and a person.

As long as man has had the ability to think for himself, there has been conflict and war. Wars are waged by the rich and powerful, but fought by the poor masses who march, inexorably into the meat grinder. The question of “why do soldiers fight?” arises when looking at the study of warfare. What compelled the hoplite from Sparta, the foot soldier in Napoleon’s Grand Army, the American Infantryman on Omaha Beach, or the Army Ranger in Baghdad to willingly enlist and fight for their cause? The most devastating war in American history was by far the Civil War, claiming more American lives in four years than all other American wars (except World War I and II) combined. What is it that made these

The Values identified, manifested and espoused by the US Army are: Loyalty, Duty Respect, Service &Stewardship, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. These are defined by our US Army as:

The seven Army values are the backbone of the United States Army. They are broken down to us in the acronym ‘LDRSHIP’. Loyalty, “Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. constitution, the Army, and other soldiers.” Duty, “Fulfill your obligations.” Respect, “Treat people as they should be treated.” Selfless Service, “Put the welfare of the nation, the Army and your subordinates above your own.” Honor, “Live up to the army values.” Integrity, “Do what’s right legally and morally.” and Personal Courage “Face fear, danger or adversity (physical or moral).”

Ethics matter in any kind of business or organization, but they are especially significant when it comes to the US Army (Blackburn, 2001). The reason behind this involves the chain of command and the risk to life and limb that are such large parts of military life. When a soldier in the Army has no ethics, he or she can cause trust and respect problems with other members of his or her unit. The US military is a stressful organization for most people involved with it, and people's lives are on the line frequently. Issues like PTSD and other medical problems are commonplace for those who leave the military and must adjust to civilian life, so it is very important that those who are in the Army work with their colleagues and higher-ups to get the help and support they need during and after their service. There is more to ethics in the Army than the problems that military individuals can face, though.

Duty is one of the values outlined the Army values. In my opinion it is one of the most important of all of them. It is very important but without the other values, Duty by itself cannot assist in accomplishing the mission. We still have the other values like leadership, respect, selfless service, honesty, integrity, and personal courage. These all set up the framework for us to be able to accomplish or duty as soldiers. All of them work hand in hand with each other. Duty is defined in Webster’s dictionary as, “obligatory tasks, conduct, service or functions that arise from ones position.” It is one of the primary values in the Army today. Duty is the reason while we get up every day and prepare to and defend the United States of America with

The movie Platoon tells the story of a platoon of soldiers during their time serving in the Vietnam War. The soldiers find themselves in a variety of ethically challenging situations, and many make decisions with massive ethical ramifications. The situations vary, from searching a village for enemy activity to deciding whether to save a fellow soldier, and the soldiers are forced to choose between varieties of less than ideal options. The movie’s ethical spectrum ranges from individuals concerned only with accomplishing their mission at all costs to those who express concern for the lives of all people they interact with. The two ends of this spectrum are represented in the movie by Sergeant Barnes as the soldier who values only completing his mission contrasted with Sergeant Elias who attempts to preserve the life and humanity of the Vietnamese people he encounters when possible (Kopelson, 1986). I believe that the decisions exemplified by Elias represent a better way of conducting warfare, while those of Barnes represent a descent into understanding only the immediate objective at the expense of winning the overall war. The following key ethical decision points from the movie demonstrate the superiority of the decisions made by Elias

Every organization, both large and small, will typically have a well-defined set of values that they wish to espouse. This is the template for a successful, trained work force. These values will guide individuals during the decision-making processes that they will encounter. This blue print helps to ensure the integrity of the company and the individual, as well. Our Army today is no different. We can find our values and creeds everywhere we turn. One quick trip to a company or battalion headquarters will yield all the information a Soldier ever needs to assist them in making ethical choices. We hang posters touting the seven Army values on every wall. Units will prominently display the

Throughout history, protests have been proven to be the more effective methods of getting a message across, whether it’s to express disdain for the misdeeds of police officers, or to protest the U.S.’s involvement in war. This was seen especially during the Vietnam War, one of the more recent wars this country has been involved in. Many people around the country expressed their opinions about the idea of war, in several forms, including riots, protests, and draft dodging. Along with this form of expression and practicing of free speech, several music artists, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Marvin Gaye, and Edwin Starr, joined in the anti-war movement by conveying their own two cents about the matter through the lyrics of catchy, impassioned songs. In the song “War” by Edwin Starr, Starr attempts to portray his negative view on war, through the use of pathos to create a more intimate bond with his listeners, a very aggressive, yet passionate tone, and the song’s close resemblance of a protest, in auditory form.

The article by Thomas Cassidy, points out the instrumental role that greed plays in the modern corporation. Modern Economists have always seen greed as not only a necessary element in the corporate environment, but as also a vital part of the successful evolution of a public company. As the article points out, “Economists from Adam Smith to Milton Friedman have seen greed as an inevitable and, in some ways, desirable feature of capitalism. In a well regulated and well balanced economy, greed helps to keep the system expanding”.

According to FORSCOM G8, "Army leaders honor everyone’s individual worth by treating all people with dignity and respect. The leader who feels and gives the respect which is due to others cannot fail to inspire in them regard for himself. While he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect toward others, especially his subordinates, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself. Respect for the individual forms the basis for the rule of law, the very essence of what makes America. In the Army, respect means recognizing and appreciating the inherent dignity and worth of all people. This value reminds you that your people are your greatest resource."

As an organizational- level leadership, he will confront many thorny problems and missions that challenge their moral criteria and military profession. In particular, when they receive the order from the upper- level, how he employ his expertise to exercise his moral leadership and undertake the tasks. Actually, both of the profession and ethic are interdependent, and inseparable. Thus, a professional commissioned officer should understand how to fit ethic into his expertise. Moreover, people would face the dilemmatic situation between the obedience of rules and the consideration of the consequence. When it comes to the moral or ethical, should I follow the deontology or consequentialism? Which one is the most critical priority to the stewardship

During my time in the military there were many accounts of ethical and unethical decision making. When in uniform we are often forced to make quick decisions to get the job done. Like many organizations we also have our own code of ethics, morals and principles that we follow. The problem with this is that in times of need we often can make decisions that were unethical but got the task completed. We also must factor in the many differing opinions on what is ethical and what is not.