Ethical Leadership in the Military

Ethical Leadership in the Military

The field of ethics is extremely complex and it has applications in all domains of life, including social interactions, as well business and military ones. The military filed is renowned for its high levels of discipline, which consequently implies high moral values. More recently however, a question has been raised relative to the ethics of the soldiers in their non-combat situations. Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Doty and Major Shawn Tenace (2009) recognize that the soldiers are still respectful and disciplined in their interactions with the superiors, but are unsure as to the morality of their interactions with the prisoners and the civilian populations. The question has been raised relative to the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, who may at times reveal unethical behavior towards civilians and prisoners. The emergence of the issue is based on the principle of "What goes on in the theater stays in the theater" - a saying implying that, in given instances, it is acceptable to behave in an immoral manner, as long as this is behavior only occurs in a restricted climate. A first means of addressing the issues raised by Doty and Tenance is that of limiting the applicability of the principle and increasing the transparency of the military interactions.

In achieving higher levels of ethics in the military, the leaders should focus more on the implementation of numerous moral values. Also, they must present an example of morality and high ethics among their peers and subalterns. The most relevant of the ethics principles are succinctly presented below:

Honesty - telling the truth at all times, being straightforward and candid

Integrity - basing all actions and decisions on moral principles, such as independent and unbiased judgement or honour

Loyalty - the soldiers and leaders should be faithful to their cause and not act in its detriment

Accountability - the military men have to assume responsibility for their actions, decisions and resulting consequences

Fairness - the military men must treat all individuals in a fair and equal manner and their actions and decisions must not be arbitrary, capricious or biased

Caring - soldiers and their leaders must be kind to those with whom they interact

Respect - soldiers and their leaders must be respectful towards those with whom they interact

Promise Keeping - the military men must keep their word, otherwise, it will negatively impact the entire military institution

Responsible Citizenship - the soldiers and their leaders must make use of the democratic principles in all their endeavours and must strive to protect justice and eliminate injustice

Pursuit of Excellence - in all their operations and decisions, the representatives of the military must strive to perfect their abilities

Bribery and other Compensations - all military men are prohibited from accepting gifts, money or other forms of compensation for their actions; in cases of the gifts accepted, they must report them to their supervisors

Commercial Dealings - regardless of the status of on or off duty, the soldiers and their leaders are prohibited from trading commercial goods

Gifts to Superiors - they are limited and only accepted in the form of food, refreshments or other gifts of a value of $10 or less