Ethical leadership and decision-making for modern military NCOs

Military Components

There is much to be learned through well-constructed readings regarding ethical values, loyalty, and leadership in the military. When it comes to today's conflict dynamics, in a world that is increasingly dangerous, a soldier must be prepared -- intellectually as well as physically and emotionally -- for what might be in the immediate future. Thesis: what emerges from these narratives is the fact that the Army is changing, and is attempting to train soldiers to become more ethically alert notwithstanding difficult assignments. The duties of an NCO go beyond education and chain of command. The modern NCO needs to embrace creativity, must be flexible and must understand that his men are hungry for leadership.

The Ethical NCO

David Crozier explains in detail the kinds of ethical dilemmas that face today's soldier. Crozier discusses the importance of "critical decision making" in a world where "competing value systems" can very quickly disappear and humanity and morality fade into the background. By that he means before a soldier pulls the trigger and takes another life, there needs to be an ethical dimension to what he or she is asked to do. Certainly there is killing to be done in the line of duty for a soldier in a war zone, but as Chaplain Major Mark Johnson explains -- and is quoted by Crozier -- "with war come dilemmas of ethical and moral consequences." In Afghanistan, for example, a soldier must be more than just vigilant and psychologically prepared; a soldier must have a moral background and have respect for people and property. A soldier in the Army must live up to core values (Loyalty, duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage), but the core values that a soldier was raised with also comes into play (Crozier).

"It gets a little bit different when you get into combat," Crozier quotes from remarks by Sgt. Major Russell Faulkner. It boils down to what kind of family you were raised in, how you look up to your role models, and what you have learned in the Army, because reacting to violence or the threat of violence isn't a matter of just knee-jerk firing off rounds. The four "don'ts" that Sgt. Maj. David Bass puts forward offer cover a lot of territory when it comes to thinking ethically. Don't: a) embarrass yourself; b) embarrass your unit; c) embarrass the Army; and d) "don't be 'that guy'" (Crozier). And if a soldier has not had an upbringing in a family that has good ethical values, that soldier must be molded with even more intensity in the Army, because he can't fall back on family values so he must learn new values as an NCO.

What I learned from this reading was that a soldier must be very well prepared in order to determine if that target has something in his hands, and if so, there should be no moral compunction at all because you don't have time to think. You must pull the trigger, and that is the ethical thing to do because if you are killed you are putting your unit in jeopardy; there is now one less soldier to complete the mission. Ethics covers a broad area, and you must not forget that "…we are professionals, Noncommissioned officers, leaders…." (Crozier).

Conclusion

Today's NCO must learn from history and from contemporary society, and his duties in this rapidly changing world must go beyond education and chain of command. The modern NCO needs to be ready to employ creativity, must be flexible and must realize that his troops, while they are hungry for leadership, are also in constant need of upgrading their sense of values. It is all too easy to simply pull the trigger and snuff out a life. The background that is needed for today's soldier must include -- beyond commitment, training in weaponry and loyalty -- ethical standards, and a strong role model (leader) is far more relevant to a combat situation than a Master's Degree in military strategy.