Military Leaders and Ethical Decisions
Abstract
After the attack of September 11, 2001, some have argued that the attack was an act of war and that we must retaliate against the enemy with military means. Today, our nation is currently at war, but against the "War on Terrorism." As Leaders, we expect our orders to be obeyed. When orders involve questions of morality, we must have good ethical reasons. Leaders who fail to recognize this risk may give arbitrary and conflicting orders. Thus, few subordinates would want to follow such a leader. As we fight this "War on Terrorism," many leaders can't avoid making ethical decisions. While this is not controversial, selecting the best method to resolve ethical issues can be problematic. This controversy becomes harder to resolve because military ethical values are often in conflict with non-ethical values. Military culture calls on its service members to follow rules and accomplish the mission. Sometimes, leaders can't do both and when a leader can't do both, the likelihood for ethical crises occurs. These crises weaken the strength of the military and divert attention to things that do not directly relate to ensuring combat readiness. For this reason, a leader's ability to determine right and wrong is essential to promote and maintain the long-term health of the military. In this paper, I will discuss ethical decision making, a problem some military leaders are faced with in today's Army.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 16, 2005
- Accession Number
- AD1133687
Entities
People
- Sylvia A. Robinson
Organizations
- United States Army Sergeants Major Academy