Conclusion

The United States military has an abundance of rules and regulations. However, professional ethics are more than simply following a prescribed set of rules. Ethical dilemmas will occur during the missions and personal activities of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. Time and location may not allow the service member the luxury of discussing a situation with a designated ethics officer. The men and women in the United States Armed Forces need to know what ethical behavior is and how to make decisions that will honor their professional code of ethics. They need a codified standard of ethics similar to the APA Ethics Code.  

The core values of each branch are very similar. The values express principles of honor, respect, duty, and service. The similarity ends there. Robinson (2007) has surveyed the “ethics training programs in various national militaries” (p. 23). He describes the programs as having “no uniformity of approach” and “a lack of coherence within them” (Robinson, p. 23). Robinson compares a soldier’s “role morality” to a civilian’s “ordinary morality” (p. 24). He asks if a soldier can be deficient in “ordinary morality” yet still be considered a good soldier. I believe both forms of morality are necessary.  

Robinson proposes ethics training that will teach “critical thinking about complex problems” so the soldier will be able to do the right thing (2007, p. 29). He describes the ideal ethics training as practical and relevant to the service member. Robinson concludes that current ethics training programs are often enacted in response to a public scandal. His solution is to integrate ethics training into military training before a scandal and make ethics training “a part of regular military life” (Robinson, p. 34). Robinson also encourages the military to “establish a common set of values” for coalition warfare (p. 35).  

Lieutenant Colonel Imiola (2013) contends that the Army does not have a “unified professional ethic” (p.2). He reports that the current ethics program defines what the term ethics means, but the program does not clearly define the Army’s professional ethics.  Imiola believes that defining an Army ethics code will improve the professional status of the vocation, improve the moral development and performance of Army soldiers, and improve the trust relationship between the nation and the Army.  

Major Glonek (2013) describes the lack of trust that is damaging the foundation of the military profession. He cites severe moral failings of service members as the cause of this erosion of trust. Glonek mentioned the fact that “any unethical act committed by American soldiers is likely to be shared with the rest of the world in a matter of hours” (p. 44). These violations reflect on the profession and the nation. Glonek also reports that the level of trust is declining between soldiers and their leaders -- and junior officers and their superiors. He posits that these significant declines in trust relationships greatly affect service morale. 

The Department of Defense (DoD), the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School, the Department of Homeland Security, and the respective branches of military have aided in the development of ethics codes and training programs for each branch. The assembled materials and manuals are extensive. The Judge Advocate General’s 10th Ethics Counselor’s Course Deskbook is an ethical handbook that contains 597 pages. The DoD’s Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure includes 163 pages. Those are only two of many manuals that address ethical behavior in military personnel. The sheer volume of information needs to be distilled and presented to the troops in a way that will impact the ethical behavior of all service personnel.  

The International Society for Military Ethics (ISME) will play a significant role in developing a military ethics code. Their organizational goals include the analysis of military ethical issues, the clarification of ethical norms, and the improvement of ethical training (ISME, 2011). I believe that the life examples of ethical leadership will also be an important influence in this quest for an ethical military. The members of our military can learn standards of ethical behavior and act in ways that honor their professional code of ethics. 

 

References

 

Glonek, J. (2013). The trust lapse. Military Review, 93(5), 40-47. Retrieved from: http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/MilitaryReview/repository/Military-Review-English-September-October-2013-Edition.html 

 

Imiola, B. (2013). The imaginary army ethic: A call for articulating a real foundation for our profession. Military Review, 93(3), 2-5. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1353016331?accountid=38422 

 

Robinson, P. (2007) Ethics training and development in the military. Parameters, 35(1), 23-36. Retrieved from: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/Parameters/ 

 

U.S. Department of Defense, Department of the Army. (n.d.). Army ethic [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjQZIBtzyzo 

 

U.S. Department of Defense, Department of the Army, The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School. (2012) 10th ethics counselor’s course deskbook. Retrieved from: http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/10th-Ethics-Counselor-Course-Deskbook.pdf 

 

U.S. Department of Defense, Office of General Counsel. (22 July 2013). Encyclopedia of ethical failure. Retrieved from: http://fulltextreports.com/2013/07/22/encyclopedia-of-ethical-failure-updated-july-2013/