Dissent and Strategic Leadership of the Military Professions
Abstract
Over the past 5 years, the War on Terrorism has produced many unforeseen results for the U.S. Army. One event, however, was truly unexpected -- the participation in 2006 by several Army flag officers in the "Revolt of the Generals." It was unexpected because the professional ethic of the Army in the modern era has held that, in civilian-military relations, the military is the servant of its Constitutionally-mandated civilian leaders, both those in the Executive branch and in the Congress. Thus, as Samuel Huntington noted over 5 decades ago, "loyalty and obedience" are the cardinal military virtues. This precept has remained embedded in the Army's professional ethos to this day. An act of public dissent is to be exceptionally rare, undertaken only after the most careful analysis and determination of its absolute necessity. While much of the commentary on the "Revolt" has focused on whether it was right, or even legal, for these officers to dissent from the policies and leadership of the Rumsfeld-led Pentagon, the author of this monograph develops a different framework, a moral framework, with which to analyze the event. Drawing on his extensive background in the study of the U.S. Army as a profession, Dr. Snider isolates the three critical trust relationships which enable the Army to be, and to behave as, a social trustee profession empowered to apply its expert knowledge in defense of America and her interests. He then develops indicators by which those considering dissent should analyze the potential costs to the profession emanating from impacts on these critical trust relationships. Dr. Snider concludes that effective stewardship of the profession by the current strategic leaders of the Army has been made more difficult by the "Revolt." Further, he recommends that they refurbish and uphold the profession's traditional ethic on public dissent as a means of reasserting control over critical jurisdictions of the profession.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA477064
Entities
People
- Don M. Snider
Organizations
- United States Army War College