Military Core Values

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,

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

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

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

Imagine someone being out to sea for eight months, and them having their only towel or shower shoes stolen from them. As Senior Enlisted Leaders, we should understand that a deceitful man is no different than a thief and both contradict the Navy’s Core Values. Integrity and honesty are essential characteristics of every sailor because the Navy is built on trust and comradery. This essay will examine the Navy’s ultimate deceit; discuss how this one man’s actions contradicted the Navy’s Core Values, and the importance of honesty and integrity within the Navy.

The values are the principles or standards which could include rules of conduct, respect, honesty, kindness, sharing and appreciation.

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.

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

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."

In the US army we are taught to live by the 7 army values. 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.”

As with any management practice, the most important outcome is behaviors preferred by the organization. The best of ethical values and intentions are relatively meaningless unless they generate fair and just behaviors in the ministry. That's why practices that generate lists of ethical values, or codes of ethics, must also generate policies, procedures and training that translate those values to appropriate behaviors.

More specifically, the grade eleven World Religions course gave me a little taste of ethical decisions. My teacher had given us a scenario regarding an ethical dilemma that we had to make a decision for. If I remember correctly the scenario was The Trolley Dilemma. It involved us being the driver of a trolley. As the trolley turns we start to see five track workmen who are repairing the tracks. We cannot stop because the sides are too steep and the only way to avoid killing them is to merge onto another track, but that track has one workman on it. We have to make the decision to either kill five workmen or one. This was the first taste of ethics that I have taken in. After this exercise I started thinking about what someone would really do in situations like these. I honestly have no idea if I am an ethical person or not because I let my feelings make decisions for me sometimes. I think I am a good person in general but when it comes to decision making, I am not the best. I act impulsively and do what I feel like is right but is actually ethically wrong. Being ethical matters to me because I do not want people to think I am selfish for making the decisions I make. I want to make decisions that benefit the most people and not just me unless I really have to and have no choice

Service members in the military are faced with tough decisions on a daily basis. Despite the difficult situations, the majority of service members will opt to the right thing. However; there are several service members who will elect the easy path and end up choosing the wrong decision, even though they know the right thing to do. I agree with General. H. Norman Schwarzkopf that people know the right thing to do and that it is difficult to execute because of a person’s belief, risky behavior, and integrity.

The leader should know that living in harmony with these basic principles, the human enterprise can flourish and be sustained (Berghofer & Schwarts, ud). Ethical leaders should focus on moral values and fairness in decision making, consider the impact of organisational decisions on the outside world, and clearly communicate to employees how their actions at work contribute to the overall goals of the

Leadership is fundamental to every successful process known to mankind. There must always be someone who is willing to initiate the first step, and by example, others are given inspiration or purpose to follow suit. Though many definitions exist, Josh Kuehler captures the essence of leadership in business by noting "Leadership is the ability to inspire motivation in others to move toward a desirable vision. While management is focused on tasks, leadership is focused on the person. All in all, the best leadership drives change and long-lasting motivation." (Helmrich, 2015, p. 1) Given the thousands of leadership definitions, why did I choose this one? Because it clearly highlights a clear difference between leadership and management. Leadership is about people, not about processes, and people enable a strong ethics program. Therefore, my belief is that leadership, not management is the primary catalyst behind a flexible yet sustainable ethics program in any organization, private or public. Whether establishing, modifying, or cultivating a successful ethics program, leadership involvement at all levels of an organization is absolutely paramount.