Ethical Issue Facing the Army The purpose of this paper is to briefly and identify an ethical issue facing the Army, identify the root cause and discuss its impact on the force. This research will address the ethical issue using the ethical lenses of rules, values, and outcomes, and will recommend a solution to correct the root cause. The ethical issue identify throughout the research is the abuse of power or position which leads to other underline issues affecting good order and discipline in the organization. Identifying the Root Causes The hardest part during ethical issue is identifying the causes as they will lead to other personnel not enforcing the standars and identify those who are not stweards of the profession. Two retired …show more content…
The observations of this violations occur from the lowest to the highest levels regardless of rank. With the ever-changing operational environment, lots of positions in the Army are being fill by Soldiers with a rank below the requirement. Most Soldiers will look forward to serve in a position above their pay grade, and most of the time the person selecting them have confidence they are going to accomplish the mission. With the lack of experience, lack of time in service and grade, Soldiers can use tools like The High Ground – Facilitator Guide, the leadership requirements model, and others. The primary cause of abuse of power is inexperience and lack of respect for others as a person, and the lack of enforcing standards at all levels. Too many leaders today have forgotten where they came from, we were all privates at one time in our careers. The military is not a democracy, but has a regimented structure. We all must follow orders, but when those orders are considered morally questionable and unethical, this becomes problematic throughout the entire …show more content…
Trust which is “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something in which confidence is place” (Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary, 1828). Confidence which is “faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way” (Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary, 1828). When abuse of power is present in a organizations, Soldiers loose trust on their leaders as they will not be doing things for the better but just because he or she said so. At the same time Soldiers have to be able to understand the difference and cannot go by their assumptions. Trust is one of the easiest attribute to loose and the hardest to get back. “Army leaders recognize that organizations, built on mutual trust and confidence, successfully accomplish missions” (Department of the Army, 2012, p. v). As stated in Army Doctrine Reference Publication (ADRP) 6-22, having trust and confidence in each other is necessary for mission accomplishment, which can be hard when there is a presence of abuse of power. Leaders must be aware of the atmosphere they are creating and should take care of all issues equally. The Army have different creeds and oaths, and all of them are about ensuring we take care of Soldiers. Abuse of power can lead to many other issues within the organization to include Soldiers leaving the service. Must of the time Soldiers look at news articles where senior leaders are being relieve of
The Effective Military Leader Warrant Officer Romero, Philip T. SPC: Captain Dearth, 1st Platoon The book “Black Hearts One Platoons Descent into Madness in Iraq’s Triangle of Death” by Jim Frederick is a true story about multiple leadership failures and six United States Soldiers from 1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division who were convicted for their involvement in horrible crimes while deployed to Iraq. The horrific acts including rape as well as murder committed by the soldiers of 1st platoon were a direct result of poor military leadership. Bad leadership will corrupt any military unit.
It is up to those striving to be leaders and those who already are leaders to determine how it is seen and treated. One way in which the rank structure is viewed is that of a pyramid. The reasoning behind this is that the person who is in charge sits at the top of the pyramid and commands all those who are below him. The type of leadership the commander or CO deems necessary determines how he or she leads their subordinates. A commander would first, have his sub commanders, i.e. his 1stsgt, company gysgt, and platoon sgt’s.
Importance of Rank Structure “Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships in armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. Military ranks and the military rank system define among others dominance, authority, as well as roles and responsibility in a military hierarchy. The military rank system incorporates the principles of exercising power and authority, and the military chain of command – the succession of commanders superior to subordinates through which command is exercised – constructs an important component for organized collective action.”
The military is a big commitment by both you and the military. In the United States Army, military bearing is the reason why every service member practices this so they can take orders to carry out good discipline and ethics throughout their military service. Army regulations and The Articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice show us how a military service member should conduct themselves on a daily basis. All soldiers have an obligation to conduct themselves like they are adults and to show respect to the ranks above them.
Accountability Is something that is very important and leader and superiors in the Military or in any job for that reason, for the simple fact that it is not only a requirement for you but also very important to your supervisors or chain of command depending on your situation. You can resort to accountability for many reason when it comes to daily productivity as a team or group. Maintaining accountability of anything wether it be equipment or people can be very helpful when it comes to dividing tasks and assignments or just keeping track of everybody or everything you are in charge of. Punctuality is also very important and plays a very big part in accountability, for example, a soldier is late to formation and doesn’t inform his supervisor, this can lead to his supervisor not being able to provide accurate numbers to his/her
From the lesson of training, I also realized the weight that officers hold when it comes to building trust, motivating, and pushing their soldiers. They are going to expect the utmost level of skill as well as professionalism that you must provide as an officer. In return, it is your right to expect the same level of excellence from your soldiers, being there to push them above the standard and holding them to being experts and professionals. This is a trait that no matter how skilled you or your soldiers may be, there will always be room for constant improvement and
Sexual Assault: Breaking the Trust Sexual Assault is a problem that has and continues to affect all branches of the military today. The military’s way of addressing sexual assault differs from the civilian authorities’ way of handling sexual assault. But while civilians are tried by a judge in civilian courts, active duty military personnel normally face charges by the court-martial process.
Through the past 11 years that I have been an enlisted Soldier, I have seen the value of leadership and the effect good and poor leadership can have on Soldiers and
As a leader, we are obligated to be the prime example and enforce the Army Values and Warrior Ethos. Leaders should apply the army values and warrior ethos every day while on duty and off duty. Sometime as leader we do not notice that we apply in basic and big task. The army has place meaning for the army values and warrior. As leader we have different meaning what the army values and warrior ethos mean to us.
When a squad leader listens and shows interest in soldiers’ performance, they are likely to appreciate and put effort in their work. Accountability saves time and finances. When soldiers in an organization are answerable and responsible for their actions, utilization of time and funds is adequately spent in among others, identifying solutions towards a challenge as opposed to trying to determine the problem. In this situation, accountability means that every soldier conducts their roles competently, and if a problem occurs, they raise it up instead of keeping quiet and letting it eventually create a bigger consequence. In conclusion, the building of accountability in an organization is crucial.
We all understand how to be a good Soldier. We must not only know those values, we must encompass them. As Dempsey says; (2010) “The Army Ethic begins with the moral values the Army defends” (p. 12). As a Human Resources Sergeant in the Profession of Arms, we have a calling. We have been called upon to take care of so many in so many different ways.
As per the Army Doctrine Publication 6-22, “Toxic leadership is a combination of self-centered attitudes, motivations, and behaviors that have adverse effects on subordinates, the organization, and mission performance. This leader lacks concern for others and the climate of the organization, which leads to short- and long-term negative effects”. One would think that leadership gets better as you move up in rank in the military but I have a different take. I think is something that needs to be address in an educational manner. Regardless of the rank of the individual, soldiers in the military must complete a series of training before gaining their military occupation specialty and their rank.
Among these five characteristics; military expertise, honorable service, trust, esprit de corps, and stewardship of the profession, I believe that military expertise and stewardship of the profession are the two characteristics that make a leader excel in the presence of their peers. ADRP 1 defines military expertise as, “Military expertise is the design, generation, support, and ethical application of land power, primarily in unified land operations, and all supporting capabilities essential to accomplish the mission in defense of the American people”. In order to gain trust from your subordinates for them to follow your guidance, a leader must have military expertise. Without being an expert in your field, subordinates will not trust your guidance provided unto them. ADRP 1 defines Stewardship of the Profession as, “Stewardship is the responsibility of Army professionals to ensure the profession maintains its five essential characteristics now and into the future”.
The Importance of Accountability in the U.S. Army Every living thing on Earth demands discipline and accountability, but when it comes to U.S. Army, soldiers are trained specifically in these subjects. There are extreme costs at risk if these principles are not held high by the Armed Forces. Most organized Armies focus on the importance of accountability and teach it in the very beginning stages of readiness. Accountability includes things such as showing up on time to safeguarding sensitive records, keeping account of resources to watching out for fellow soldiers. Almost everything can be tied back to the importance of accountability.
Leaders must apply the Army Values when leading soldiers because of the fact that it builds trust and a bond. The same goes for the soldiers, in order for them both to work as an effective team and to get the mission done efficiently they both must live by these values. Once these values are integrated in a soldier’s lifestyle, it becomes too easy to work as a unit. An example on how loyalty and respect fits in a day to day to situation would be, a soldier witnessing a misunderstanding with his or her team leader and a higher ranking NCO, the soldier knows that his or her team leader is in the right. The soldier shows loyalty by standing by their team leader and shows respect by approaching both their team leader and the higher ranking NCO with tact to explain the situation from their understanding and what they witnessed.