Ethical Decision Making
Abstract
I was amazed when I found out that the Battalion S4 NCOIC was a convicted felon. I was new to the reserve component and had the knowledge the reserve component did things different but having a convicted felon in the ranks was just ethically wrong. How could the chain of command trust this guy, especially with minimal supervision? Before I discuss this topic, I must lay some background. The unit is 6th Battalion, 52d Aviation Regiment (Theater Aviation) located at Los Alamitos, California; the Brigade Headquarters is located at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. This is one of three fixed wing units in the Army, two are in the reserves and one is active duty. I arrived at the unit in August of 2003. Upon arrival, I served as the Battalion Operations Noncommissioned Officer in Charge and later as the First Sergeant. The convicted felon is SFC Belong. Of Course, I had no prior knowledge of his past and had no reason to think anything was wrong. He appeared to know his job well and would do almost anything for the troops. He recently won a Department of the Army (DA) Supply Excellence Award and maintained a wealth of knowledge about the unit, the supply system, and was working toward another DA level supply award. During October 2003, the unit was ordered to mobilize and this is when SFC Belong's true side began to show again. The Battalion was to replace its sister unit in Iraq sometime in February or March of the following year. Planning was slow initially because there was not a lot of information to go on. However, once the unit obtained good information through requests for information, the mobilization process started moving quickly.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 03, 2007
- Accession Number
- AD1117666
Entities
People
- Timothy R. Wagley
Organizations
- United States Army Sergeants Major Academy