Ethical Dilemma on the Battlefield: Analysis of Lone Survivor Scene Military personnel operating in combat missions must maintain mental and situational awareness of their area of operations. This includes a complete understanding of their physical and doctrinal training. Besides accomplishing their mission, soldiers must also consider the rules of engagement and the personal and professional ethics, values and morals that factor into their decisions in high stress environments (Allen, 2013). Well planned missions will never be executed perfectly. Due to human nature, soldiers may be faced with an ethical dilemma. Ethical dilemma comprises an individual selecting the most effective course of action, identifying the different courses presented and realization that any one principle will be conceded (Allen, 2013). In the movie, Lone Survivor, 4 Navy Seals were conducting recon for a high target value mission in Afghanistan to take out a Taliban leader. During their mission, they encountered two boys and an older man who were herding sheep. To not compromise the mission, the civilians were detained. The language barrier and stress of this unexpected event opened the door for the major ethical dilemma posed in the film. The seals were unsure of the affiliations of these civilians to the Taliban, the consequences to their mission or the treat to their lives. This pivotal scene showcases the conversation between the seals evaluating the multiple courses of action. At which,
The United States Air Force is comprised of 313,722 personnel. These personnel all have varying backgrounds and both positive and negative values and motivations for being in the world's greatest Air Force. With such diversity, there will be situations that challenge the first Air Force Core Value, "Integrity First." All Airmen will either find themselves in or be pressured into a situation that will challenge their ethics. Knowing how to decipher your way out of any ethical traps is the crux of Dr. James Toner's six tests and is the concept I value most from module 6. Being able to navigate ethical dilemmas is an important facet of a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO). Without this skill NCOs risks being taken advantage of and failing to
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,
An ethical dilemma is defined as a moral issue, where a situation has two equivalent undesirable alternatives and neither choice will resolve the ethical predicament.
Deceased philosopher Bertrand Russell once said, “War does not determine who is right- only who is left”. Those left are the soldiers of the 1-502nd, specifically Bravo Company 1st plt, and the Janabi family and to a greater extent, the ever-changing global world we all live in today. The tragic events that conspired in a small Iraqi village became a microcosm of how leadership failures at every level shaped the actions of a few soldiers who committed atrocious acts. One can also see how a high operational tempo, along with prolonged violence and death, has on a person’s psyche. It is the ugly side of war that the average American citizen may not want to hear or talk about. For a soldier, it is inevitably what they train their
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.
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.
While these three points are extensively discussed and dissected, it is apparent that the key factor that makes us professionals is the ethical standard that we must hold every individual soldier, from the lowest private to the highest general, to. One of the major points that are missing is what happens when the ethical standard is breeched and how it is dealt with.
The following are the key ethical decision points shown in Platoon. In each of them soldiers make decisions with large ethical ramifications. For each example, where the
In contrast, an Ensign or Second Lieutenant in the United States Military are restricted under the ethics and laws of war, which require them to enforce a well-balance in all three categories of moral basis. Their virtues and ethics are the building foundation for their decision making. The Doctrine of Double Effect allowed them to measure the worth of sacrificing the safety of non-combatant and their subordinates in order to complete a mission. When comparing to the terrorist cell leaders, the naval officer’s mission is to protect the peace and prevent humanitarian abuses by ensuring the safety of civilians. The U.S. Military have always has a belief that they will “leave no one behind”, meaning protecting their own troops is a very important
An ethical dilemma is a situation that will often involve an apparent conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing another. This is also called an ethical paradox since in moral philosophy, paradox plays a central role in ethics debates. For instance, an ethical admonition to "love thy neighbour as thy self" is not always just in contrast with, but sometimes in contradiction to an armed neighbour actively trying to kill you: if he or she succeeds, you will not be able to love him or her. But to pre-emptively attack them or restrain them is not usually understood as loving. This is one of the classic examples of an ethical decision clashing or conflicting with an organismic decision, one that would
Combating in modern warfare does not simply mean killing the enemy. There are ethical rules and standards of behavior that soldiers must strictly follow because these rules are essential for defeating the enemy, winning "hearts and minds" of potential allies, and maintain the morale of the troops. These tasks have become especially challenging in the face of the proliferation of guerilla warfare that has been adopted by weaker military forces in the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries. In fighting insurgencies, abiding by the ethical standards of the Army behavior may be even harder than in fighting conventional battles. The ethical rules may sometimes put the soldiers in dangerous positions. Disregarding the acceptable standards of behavior, however, may have even graver consequences, putting innocent non-combatants at risk and risking total demoralization of the Army unit participating in disorderly behavior. It is therefore essential that Army leaders maintain an ethical command climate during the war.
One the other hand, ethical dilemmas are circumstances where an individual has to decide what to do. The right choice may be difficult because of the scarifies involved or it may be unclear. Dilemmas usually happens when a person struggles with making a personal decision, where ethical issues may be a topic the person has an opinion about but doesn’t have a chance to make a stand that impacts the decision (Slade, & Prinsloo,
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
Based on their sense of duty to follow the order, Captain Miller and his men used a deontological ethical framework to guide their decision-making process. The University of Texas Business school states that deontology ethics, “requires that people follow the rules and do their duty” (McCombs School of Business, n.d.). The duties of a soldier are to follow the orders of the officers and individuals appointed over them. In this case, Captain Miller and his men fell underneath the command of General Marshall.
Ethical Dilemma is A difficult situation in which an individual is unable to make a decision, due to moral conflicts. Picking one solution would cause undermining another. My ethical dilemma was about the time my boss stole from me.