The Role Of Autonomy In The Military

The book Black Hearts by Jim Frederick is an in-depth narrative about the 1st platoon, Bravo Company 1-502nd Infantry 101st Airborne Division deployed to Iraq in 2005. The leadership failures documented in this book range all the way from the general officer level down to the lowest private. LT general Ricardo Sanchez failed to understand the climate his command group was entering as they were deployed into Iraq. From then on the entire leadership failures continued to compound upon each other with improper time to plan. It is customary to have a six month lead time to have a proper battle hand off when preparing to take over an AO from another unit. To compound this problem, the entire time the 502nd was in pre-deployment training, they

Dehumanization obviously has negative effects on a soldier’s mind and psyche, a fact that the military almost always ignores. A neuropsychiatric disorder known as “combat fatigue” often plagues soldiers in the line of an “unprecedented amount of indirect fire” but is almost never recognized. Many saw soldiers with the disorder as lesser, and “the Marine Corps official history failed to mention combat fatigue, even though it constituted 10 percent of the casualties and had a very negative effect on the fighting.” The trend of refusing to acknowledge that human soldiers also had human brains and hearts and feelings became accepted more and more as the war dragged on.

Another key issue from personnel at war besides physical injuries would be the mental damage they suffer. Statistics from the MOD show that between April and June 2013 there was 1367 new cases of personnel suffering with a mental disorder in the Armed Forces, putting them at the highest amount of mental disorder sufferers than any of the other services. That’s just within a three month period, and with Afghanistan tours running every six or ninth months it just seems that number will rapidly heighten.

What might have been the setback we previously faced in making decisive, clear or sound effective decisions? Was it a defect in how Commanders and Leaders led units or troops, or perhaps the philosophy in which we chose to command and control every aspect of the battlefield? What does it mean to recognize or comprehend the art of Command and the science of Control? The six principles of mission command are key in developing a cohesive team that will support all aspects of the mission. Asking “why” is now encouraged when it pertains to certain situations or missions. Understanding the purpose of why a course of action or desired outcome is necessary, leads to mission success and a cohesive unit with thinking leaders. Thinking clearly usually isn’t an issue for most leaders, but position an individual in a situation of extreme stress or complexity, then there might be a reason to be concerned. Through

Mental problems are burdensome for the soldiers, since these burdens cannot be extinguished. When soldiers are at war they are surrounded by responsibility, death and destruction. Adding to all this

To understand how some of the soon to be discussed failures arose, all of the key commanders need to be identified. When Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) began General Tommy Franks was the CENTCOM Combatant Commander in Tampa, Florida. Events on 9/11 lead to us having forces in Afghanistan soon after. From the beginning of the war Special Forces (SOF) were the primary assets utilized. As time went on conventional units were joining the forces in theatre. This caused the need for the Command and Control (C2) structure to adapt to the

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

A soldier of the United States Army has many values that are set forth in the “Soldier’s Creed.” The Soldier’s Creed states:

Accountability…. What does it mean? The responsibility of an individual or organization to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them, and to clearly show the results. The army definition of accountability is “the obligation imposed by law or lawful order or regulation on an officer or other person for keeping accurate record of property, documents, funds or soldiers”. Accountability should not be taken lightly, it is important for NCOs and squad leaders to have accountability over their soldiers. This could be at a formation or meeting, or through a phone call or text message. This is one of the most important things to make sure you have in order in the Army. Poor accountability can effect not on the person missing

As I have learned over the past seven years that I have been in the Army is that accountability and responsibility are the two

Integrity is one of the Army’s core values and one of the cornerstones of the army. The cornerstones of the army are important because they are the very fundamentals that we all must live to uphold. We must always embody and live up to the core beliefs and fundamentals of the army. We must try every day to respect and uphold the army core values and beliefs. These core beliefs are what all the rest of the army beliefs and discipline is built upon in the founding of the army. If we live up to the core beliefs of the army, we are honoring all who have served before. We also honor all those who have yet to serve by leaving the service better than we came to it. We are also honoring all those who have paid the ultimate price for their country. If, we cannot live to uphold the very fundamentals and the very cornerstones of the army way of life then we are letting our peers, subordinates, and senior leaders down. Not only are we letting our peers, subordinates, and senior leaders down but we are letting down all those who have come before and all those yet to come into the service. Not only are we letting our army down we are also letting down all the people who we defend, protect, help and support around the world. By the lack of integrity, we cause our fellow soldiers, leaders, and their families’ trouble as well. We also lose the trust of our peers, and we ostracize our self into becoming the outcast of

The following essay is definitions, and examples of how responsibility, accountability and time management are important to succeeding in today’s Army. Responsibility is increased when soldiers have a single, clear set of rules that apply to a specific event. When the guidelines are unclear, or when more than one set of rules seems to apply to an event, responsibility is decreased. Responsibility is: the obligation for the proper, custody, care, and safekeeping of property or funds entrusted to the possession or supervision of an individual. Being responsible in the United States Army has got to be of the utmost importance in my opinion.

One of the biggest disadvantages I saw in becoming a Warrant Officer was missing the opportunity to become an Operations Sergeant. The Operations Sergeant is the person who is responsible for running the Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (SFODA). The Operations

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

There are four commonly accepted principles of bioethics. The first is the principle of respect for autonomy. Respect for autonomy is a respect for the client to make informed and intentional decisions, provided that the client is judged to be capable of doing so. This principle is the base for the practice of informed consent as well as the right to accept or refuse treatment. The client is to be able to make a rational, informed decision, without any external factors influencing any decisions. This principle may cause what the health care professional perceives to be harm, but to the client, like a muslim client refusing to have a xenotransplantation from a pig, accepting the treatment would cause him to suffer