Ethics In The Military Essay

Through the teaching and instilment of how we do things as soldiers and discipline, we honor and respect the rich heritage which the Army is built on, while also ensuring the future success of the Army and the soldiers who come after us by, inspiring us to adhere to and exceed the standard. One of the standards you learn in the early training phases in the military is right place, right time right uniform. Standards and discipline are the foundation of what is professionally, legally, and morally correct and as such instills trust in ourselves and our fellow comrades. It is this definitive trust in one another, in our leaders, and in the Army that Creates and strengthens our esprit de corps, sense of pride, and our Army culture. My leaders had trust in me being a senior lower enlisted

At 5pm eastern standard time on a Friday in late October, 2010, an independent website publisher named wikilieaks.org released documents alleging government and corporate misconduct as told by soldiers in the United States Army. This marked the single largest classified documentation leak that the United States government has ever encountered. This leak included 391,832 classified documents that covered a span of five years, from 2004-2009. I would like to take a second to dive deep into the five ethical examinations that our textbook covers including the utilitarian perspective, rights perspective, fairness or justice perspective, common good perspective and virtuous perspective.

During a Pentagon news brief on February 7, 2014, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel stated, “Ethics and character are absolute values that we cannot take for granted. They must be constantly reinforced. It is the responsibility of all of us — all of us who ask for the trust and confidence of the American people — to ensure these values are imbued in all our people and we all live up to them.” Confronted with inappropriate emails detailing sexual activities; military personnel from recruiters to generals and admirals and department of defense employees taking advantage of their positions of trust; to massive adultery scandals with Air Force and Navy nuclear officers; right down to the top Army prosecutor for sexual assault cases being suspend

General H. Norman Schwarzkopf stated, “The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.” Although Schwarzkopf makes a compelling argument, his premise is invalid due to its inflexible scope and absolute finality. In other words, not all decisions are metaphorically black and white. Based on differing perspectives, and most certainly for military leaders, there are often shades of grey. General Schwarzkopf’s statement suggests that regardless of the complexity of a problem, there is always a right and a wrong answer to every question. Simple terms of right and wrong are an over simplification of the complex process of ethical

The Army is one of the biggest corperation in the United States of American, and is always change to wants is needed of them. Ethical rule in the Army will never be the same when you are dealing with people that have different background and all ages. This is why the Army envest as much time and money into devloping their Leaders in the Army. It take a lot of of Leaders to deal with the ethical rules when there is no set ethical rules in the Army. It is the responacablity of every Soldier to be able to balance their personal belifes with what the Army belifes are. The Leadership will find ways to help reniforce the Ethical rule in the units the way they feel works the best.

To obey someone means to comply with or fulfill the commands, restrictions, wishes, or instructions of that specific person. We are taught as children to obey our higher-ups. Starting from our parents, teachers, managers, police officers and etc… So how does this relate to the military? Well, when a person enlists in the United States Military, active duty or reserve, they take the following oath; “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations

While on deployment, individuals in the military will be challenged with both moral and ethical decisions. The results of these decisions can come with unforeseeable repercussions which may greatly affect the mental state of a soldier. “Ethics are standards by which one should act based on values (JSOU, 2016).” As members of the SOF community, we must be culturally perceptive and ethically proficient. In the next few paragraphs, we will discuss and evaluate ways to mitigate and resolve ethical issues that may present itself to an individual on the battlefield.

A profession is defined as a paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification. Professions are built on expertise, values and service. All of which are inherent qualities of the American Soldier. The military profession, or Profession of Arms, must also provide security and trust that society lacks. Professionals earn the trust of their clients through ethics, which is their motivation. The United States Army’s professional ethic is built on gaining the trust of the American public. Because of this, the American People grant significant freedom to allow the military to create it’s own expert knowledge. The Profession of Arms is unique in it’s cultivation of comradery and sacrifice. Some would

Officers must guide their units by making informed decisions that are abreast with the Army Values and Warrior Ethos. Officers are tasked with implementing relevant training that stays aligned with an ever-changing enemy. As the enemy evolves, so does the Army’s way of combat. As an officer entrusted with the development and success of a unit, they must continue to educate themselves on current adaptation measures executed by both the enemy and the Army. Officers are also responsible for establishing policies that outline actions for good order and discipline within the unit. Many of these policies aide leaders in managing resources within their sections and balancing risks while completing effective and efficient training.

Considering there are countless people that encounter each other every day whose ethical mindset may differ completely with each other it is important to understand that these difference can live harmoniously or quite dangerously. For example when a personal is in charge of large group of people and their ethical opinions interfere with decision making a follower may proceed in a critical thinking analysis of the now problem into a constructive solution.

While sitting in this class, I have begun to realize the large role that ethics play in not only my life, but the entire world around me. Ethics are morals, or a system of principles to one’s life which can help us choose right from wrong. Throughout history, many well-known figures have endeavored to explain and classify this behavior, but it seems that no man has ever ultimately answered the question to what exactly is ethical. Personal code of ethics are formed through experience and observation throughout life and they are crucial to who we are. Many times, they can be challenged by our family, friends, coworkers, significant others, and society. My personal ethics have changed drastically throughout my life

As a healthcare professional, I have never had a true battle with values and beliefs until my first deployment. When I think of values, I think of my strong attitude towards my personal beliefs. Several years ago, I was deployed as a medic to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. This was the most challenging test I have faced in my entire military career. While deployed; ethics, beliefs, and values were the big objectives for me. I was faced with caring for patients that I believed were the enemies of the U.S and not our allies. I spent days and nights piecing together members of our U.S military forces and to care for those who I thought were enemies not only bothered me, but put me in a position to where I no longer wanted to participate in healthcare.

Ethics is a moral guide that helps a person understands right from wrong. A person’s moral guide is developed by how they were raised, the books they read, the experiences they have lived through, religious beliefs, and cultural beliefs. These experiences allow a person to learn right from wrong, good from bad through their own and other’s experiences and creating their own set of ethics. People take their set of ethics into their personal and professional life and continue to develop them throughout life. This paper will look at ethics, morals, and values from the author’s point of view.

Christopher Browning cites this as a major reason for compliance in the Police Battalion, where the refusal to follow orders could lead to repercussion from peers. In some instances, a refusal to follow orders could be interpreted as being oneself to be above the orders given, therefore better than those who had complied (CITATION). To refuse orders simply pushed the one person's workload onto the rest of the group, meaning that they would endure what one was too weak to handle.

Introduction: I am going to discuss about how some of the personal experiences I have had in my life have shaped my definition of ethics. These experiences have shaped me into the person I am today and taught me how important ethics is in the modern society.