The military is not a single entity and there is no central military
source supplying the ethics codes and training for US Military members. There
are five main branches of the Armed Forces which contain active and reserve
units ("Military Service Branches,"
2013). The Army, Navy, and Marine Corps trace their history back to 1775 ("Army," 2004; "Navy," n.d.; "History & heritage,"
2013). The Coast Guard evolved from five different services dating back to 1789
and the Air Force began as a division in the Army in 1907 ("U. S. Coast Guard," 2012; "History
– missions," 2013).
The five military service branches are under different government
agencies. The Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force are under the authority
of the Department of Defense (DoD) ("Organization,"
2012). The Department of Defense General Counsel maintains a Standards of
Conduct Office (SOCO) and is the DoD Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) which
“oversees the ethics and standards of conduct programs throughout DoD” ("SOCO online," 2013).
The DoD established a Joint Ethics Regulation (JER) in 1993
which identifies the ethical standards and behavior for military and civilian
employees. The regulation is continually amended and updated as changes are
approved ("DoD 55007-R," 2011). In
addition, each service branch has implemented service-specific programs to
identify their branch-specific standards and train their personnel in those
standards.
As I previously stated, there is no joint military organization that supplies the ethical values and training for the five branches of the military. The International Society for Military Ethics (ISME) began in 1979 as “an organization of military professionals, academics and others formed to discuss ethical issues relevant to the military” (ISME, 2011). The organization was originally incorporated as the Joint Services Conference on Professional Ethics (JSCOPE). The JSCOPE Board voted in 2005 to change the organization’s name to ISME and incorporated as a non-profit organization dedicated to “professional military ethics” (ISME, 2011).
ISME's goals are to:
·
1. Provide a forum for the discussion and
exchange of ideas relating to professional military ethics.
·
2. Foster the rigorous and systematic analysis
of military issues of ethical significance.
·
3. Clarify the ethical norms and related behavioral
expectations which should guide and constrain the conduct of military
professionals.
·
4. Enhance the quality of military ethics
instruction.
·
5. Afford service commanders informed, timely
analyses of the ethical impact of military service practices. (ISME, 2011).
This blog will look at the current ethics codes, programs
and training for each military branch and seek to identify the common core
values and training practices in each branch of service.
References
ISME. (2011). The International Society for Military
Ethics (ISME) (Formerly the Joint Services Conference on Professional
Ethics--JSCOPE) history, structure and purpose. Retrieved from: http://isme.tamu.edu/General/hist.html
U.S. Department
of Defense. (2012). Organization of the Department
of Defense (DoD). Retrieved from: http://odam.defense.gov/omp/Functions/Organizational_Portfolios/Organization_and_Functions_Guidebook.html
U.S. Department
of Defense, Standards of Conduct Office. (2011). DoD 55007-R, The joint ethics regulation, including changes 1-7. http://www.dod.mil/dodgc/defense_ethics/ethics_regulation/
U.S. Department
of Defense, Standards of Conduct Office. (2013). SOCO online. Retrieved from:
http://www.dod.mil/dodgc/defense_ethics/
U.S. Department
of Defense, Today’s Military. (2013). Military
service branches. Retrieved from:
http://www.todaysmilitary.com/service-branches
U.S. Department
of Defense, U.S. Air Force. (2013). History
- missions part one: From the Signal Corps to the Air Corps. Retrieved
from: http://www.airforce.com/learn-about/history/part1/
U.S. Department
of Defense, U.S. Army. (2004). Army
birthdays. Retrieved from: http://www.history.army.mil/faq/branches.htm
U.S. Department
of Defense, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps. (2013) History & heritage timeline. Retrieved from: http://www.marines.com/history-heritage/timeline
U.S. Department
of Defense, U.S. Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command. (n.d.) Navy birthday information -13 October 1775.
Retrieved from: http://www.history.navy.mil/birthday.htm
U.S. Department
of Homeland Security, U. S. Coast Guard. (2002). Standards of conduct manual, COMDTINST M5370.8. Retrieved from: http://www.uscg.mil/directives/cim/5000-5999/CIM_5370_8B.pdf
U.S. Department
of Homeland Security, U. S. Coast Guard. (2012). U. S. Coast Guard: A historical overview. Retrieved from: http://www.uscg.mil/history/articles/h_uscghistory.asp
U.S. Office of
Government Ethics. ( 2011). Standards of ethical
conduct for employees of the Executive Branch. Retrieved from: http://www.oge.gov/Laws-and-Regulations/Employee-Standards-of-Conduct/Employee-Standards-of-Conduct/
Great Job on the blog. I'll never forget the ARMY Values that I was taught in basic Training. The acronym LDRSHIP for (Leadership) is a great way for me to remember it. It was also nice to see the other branches codes also. We also had our Infantryman's Creed that we had to yell every morning! The drill Instructors ask you questions as you are in line for "chow" and if you don't know certain things such as COC (Chain of Command) they send you to the back of the line, which is a big deal when you are HUNGRY!! Every Division has a motto also as I was in 1ID....." No Mission to Difficult.....No Sacrifice to great....Duty First". Our Brigade motto was "First to Battle". Great Job on the blog and it brings back memories for me.. Thank You
ReplyDeleteGod bless our soldiers!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great introduction and topic. I find it curious that the 5 branches of the military do not share a common ethical standard, although they do seem similar. Great references.
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