Time for a "Bottom-Up" Approach to Ethics

Abstract

In the nine years since the U.S. military defeated the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Army has examined and questioned almost every aspect of its operations in order to adapt and improve its ability to fight a counterinsurgency. In this period, the Army has published numerous revisions to doctrine and tactics, and has adjusted Professional Military Education in order to improve battlefield success. Although the Army has continuously adjusted how it fights, one area that has not seen significant change is its ethical training program. The Army has issued no top-down guidance for improving ethical training and education programs. This leaves leaders at the small-unit level to act on their own to address the ethical challenges of the COIN environment. A bottom-up leader emphasis on ethical development is not only necessary, it will be far more responsive to units as leaders are able to share tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) for addressing ethical challenges, and it can help shape Army-wide ethical programs.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 05, 2010
Accession Number
ADA530249

Entities

People

  • Eric D. Magnell

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Asymmetric Warfare
  • Civilian Population
  • Combat Operations
  • Doctrine
  • Education
  • Governments
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Education
  • Military Operations
  • Military Science
  • New York
  • Personality
  • Psychology
  • Training
  • United States Military Academy
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.
  • Strategic Security Studies