Ethical And Unethical Decision Making In The Army

When I joined the Coast Guard 21 years ago, I would never have guessed I would be writing a memo based on my leadership philosophy. My first two years and ten days in the Coast Guard was the most miserable I have ever been. I was one of two females at a Small Boat Station in Rockland, Maine. My roommate and I were treated differently, to say the least. We were the only two mess cooks out of 20 non-rated personnel. Her and I would switch every other month for more than one year. It took us twice as long as the men to get communication room and boat crew qualified. We had to do colors only in the rain or snow. We were assigned Extra Military Instruction (EMI), like throwing heaving lines for hours on the pier, because we were “weaker” than men. Our BM3, who was the Master at Arms (MAA) would unlock our barracks room and try to climb in bed with us when he was drunk. We had to move furniture in front of the door to keep him out. My Chief Boatswains Mate put me in a Gumby suit and he dropped me off the side of the small boat, in to the water, in October, at night - to see if they could “find me” again. I was in the water for more than one hour. These things are important to know, because as an 18-year old girl from a small town, the actions, as well as lack of action of these men would shape almost every aspect of the leader and person I have become today.

Often throughout life you are approached with situations that may make you question your ethics. This could very well happen in any profession, on any day. Being a part of the military is one of those professions that could put individuals in many moral/ethical dilemmas. “An ethical or moral dilemma is a situation in which a person is required by their ethical code to take at least two actions and, while able to take either, is not able to take both. In other words, they face an ethical failure no matter how they choose to act” (“What is an ethical dilemma?”, 2007). The popular movie film Lone Survivor has a few points where ethical dilemma stands out.

I thought completing Marine Corps boot camp was my most cherished accomplishment, completing boot camp merely stood in the shadows of my last work up for my last deployment. I was holding the Bravo Squad Leader position. At this point in my Marine Corps career I obtained three combat oriented M.O.S.’ or jobs; however, there was little to no preparation for what I got myself into.

I embraced my time as a junior Marine, as I saw it as a time to learn from the experienced NCO’s appointed over me. Even after I picked up the rank of Corporal, I would still come to my former NCO’s for advice on things since they will always have more experience that I do. I was fortunate to have NCO’s that took their role seriously and strived to train the Marines under them to the best of their effort. I was a junior Marine for a relatively short amount of time, I was promoted to Corporal at 19 years old and at the time I felt that I was nowhere near ready to assume the role of an NCO. I can honestly say I don’t think any of the junior Marines under my charge that were promoted felt the same way as I did, I didn’t feel that they understood the gravity of the responsibilities that they were being given.

Marines in the past have lost their lives from just as simple as not being accounted for. Marines never take this serious because a lot of people in today’s day of age are always just assuming their numbers are up. That factor is where leadership and responsibility fall into play. “On the night of 30 August 1988, Lcpl Rother was posted alone as a road guard/guide along a desolate trail. In order to guide the Battalions midnight training movements, he was posted on the last of a 3day live fire training exercise the concluded the Battalions training package.” (Almazan) This Marine was still posted 40 hours after he should have gotten relieved. The Marines in in the unit just assumed that Lcpl Rother got picked up and the platoon sergeants had an all hands formation and they all reported “All present”. “At approximately 1730 on 1 September, a weapons inventory highlighted the fact that Lcpl Rother had not been seen in 2 days. From where his remains were found, Lcpl Rother could have seen US Highway 66 (National trails highway) 2 miles away.” (Almazan). This article clearly shows the importance of being accounted for and shows how the sergeants of those platoons were not responsible. They let that Marine suffer when Lcpl

Ethics and ethical decision making play a large role in the duties of the coroner, everything they can affects someone or something. The main ethic would be confidentiality; the only topics that are not confidential are cause and manner of death. Any other information can only be given to legal next of kin. For example, if the media call asking about a homicide the only information the office will release is the cause and manner of death. However, if the decedent’s next of kin calls we are able to release any and all information to them.

“All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). In the Army, we have a list of core values that make up the acronym LDRSHIP: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. Much like the Bible, they guide us in our ethical decision making process. As a Warrant Officer in the United States Army, I am charged with the responsibility of the safety and well-being of every individual that carries a part in the aviation maintenance process. Along with safety, Maintenance Managers have to be accountable for the actions and decisions of those individuals that are of junior ranks.

For example, while in Iraq, our office could not account for a printer. On the next duty day, everyone in my section went through the Connex to see if we could locate the printer. To my surprise a motorcycle was found. The response from the Section Sergeant was that the motorcycle was going to be shipped back to the States. I continued to inquire about the reasons for the motorcycle being in the Connex. I was told that the motorcycle was authorized by the First Sergeant. It was my ethical duty to report the presence of the motorcycle which was located in the connex. As a result, the motorcycle was taken out of the Connex and a 15-6 was conducted. Throughout this process, the ethical question reappeared in my head of should I report the presence of a motorcycle in the Connex or allow my unit to ship the motorcycle back to the States. As a leader with a conscience and ethical morals, I could not allow this motorcycle to return to our duty station. Just like in the slogan Army Safety is everyone’s business, I feel that when you see unethical situations it is your duty to intervene and to report

The military and civilian employees encounter many ethical challenges throughout their career as professionals. In this essay I will identify some of the current ethical challenges military members’ face, while also recognizing current professional ethical challenges government civilians face. In concluding, I will identify things that can be done to help remedy some of the situations or keep those situations from getting worse.

Ethics is the study of what is “right” or “wrong.” Morality is a person’s values, beliefs about what may be wrong or right, good and bad. They can be similar in the case of killing an innocent person as a police officer. It would be ethical wrong to kill someone that has not broken the law or pose as a danger to those around. At the same time, it would be immoral to kill an innocent person since it would be unfair and wrong. They also can differ, in a situation such as an airplane that has been hijacked and heading for the Pentagon that would kills thousands is shot down. Morally it is wrong to kill innocent people but ethical the Defense Department has a duty to keep those safe. You begin to get into the question of whether or not it is morally

Making ethical decisions is a complex process, involves morality and morality is relative this imply that never a decision is going to be completely right decision. This complex process involves three factors such as personal feelings, feelings can provide admirable behavior and people should follow their feelings but not every time also can lead to a really bad behavior this bring us that maybe to follow our feelings it is not correct at all when we are talking about making ethical decisions, the second one it is connect with the first one and is the individual conscience this is our sense if something is good or bad and it is more reasonable than the feelings; the third is the majority view involves cultural relativism, is to adopt a point

The first step to make prudent decision-making is anticipating possible dilemmas, alternatives and answers; then reflects objectively and analytically about them. For these alternatives be considered reasonable, it is essential that these are aligned with the standards, laws, and institutional policies that shelter us. Supported decision-making methods will conduct professionals to strong sound objective ethical decisions. Moreover, these allow professionals to meet the challenges whether legal or personal with integrity and a clear understanding of the proper way to behave. The ethical decision-making should be a continuous educational, maturation, and personal process. Additionally, decision-making involves the responsibility of operating

This experience helped me become a better leader. It made me look at myself and ask if at any point in my career have I ever been that resentful to another soldier based on their MOS and not by their performance. It made me think of all the great leaders who’ve I’ve had the honor to work with and how much of a positive impact they had on me. Throughout all our military careers, we will always encounter outstanding soldiers and not so great soldiers. In the end it’s all up to us as individuals to keep the positive from the good and not let the negative influence us in any way, shape, or form. Something that my first Team Leader (TL) told me and that I’ll always remember is that a leader doesn’t just bark orders around, he leads by example

As a new member of deck force, I quickly learned how hard I was going to be working and the amount of effort it took to take care of the ship. I’ll never forget the first time getting in line for lunch and being pushed back by all the E-6’s prior to all lower ranking members eating. In the Marine Corp we were taught as an NCO your subordinates never saw you hungry or tired, you lead by example. In the field the most junior member was always the first one to eat, being fed by the CO and the senior leadership of the company. Then, once the entire company had been served the CO and his staff would serve themselves. This was not something the CO was trying to do to be nice, but a way of life in The Marine Corp that put others before you. It was such a strong lesson in my development that I carry it with me today around my own family and even at large gatherings. The example of being pushed back by seniors in the galley line not only disappoints me, but is representative of the epidemic of entitlement across the Coast Guard. It is not only something that we complain about the younger generation, but just as prevalent in a lot of the Chiefs and senior leaders around us. I don’t remember part of the Chiefs creed, including that I get to go home early because I am a Chief and I earned that. That type of example ripples across the junior members we are trying to lead like a virus. Everything that we do is watched very closely by those around us whether

Decision making then leads to two kinds of choices. An ethical decision which is characterized as a choice that is both legitimate and morally satisfactory to the organization and an unethical choice which is either unlawful or morally inadmissible to the organization (Jones 1991, p.367).