Lying to Ourselves
Military integrity has been a major issue in the recent past because of the increase in moral and ethical problems that are evident across the whole United States military and not just the Army alone. Wong and Gerras' article focuses on highlighting these moral and ethical problems that are increasingly affecting integrity in the U.S. military. As evident in the article, leaders in the American military lie when performing their duties and constantly use rationalizations and justifications to deal with any emerging ethical or moral doubt. This tendency has in turn contributed to the unspoken embrace of dishonesty by these leaders, which is a clear reflection of hypocrisy. Therefore, one the major conclusions from this article include the fact that lying is has become increasingly acceptable in the U.S. military and facilitated by its leaders. Dishonesty and hypocrisy in the military is widely accepted by its leaders who not only lie while conducting their duties but use justifications for such actions. Leaders in the military carry out such actions because they have become ethically numb through actions like cheating on texts and sharing classified information in exchange or bribes.[footnoteRef:2] [2: Leonard Wong & Stephen J. Gerras, "Lying to Ourselves: Dishonesty in the Army Profession," United States Army War College...
As a result, these officers deal with this challenge through lying regarding their accomplishments, training practices, and standards of training. Military institutions have also played a major role in this problem through encouraging subordinates to prioritize requirements that will met based on existing standards and those that will not be met. Despite increased dishonesty, officers and members of this profession continue to maintain an image of integrity since many decisions in this field are no longer regarded as moral choices. In addition to other proposed measures, the most important way of dealing with this problem is leading truthfully through making necessary changes to the culture of dishonesty.
An example of a situation that highlights the widespread dishonesty in the U.S. military is in the Air Force where approximately 50% of the nuclear missile launch officers at a certain base were aware or engaged in cheating on an exam testing on competence in missile launch systems.[footnoteRef:3] I will handle this situation through various strategies that…
