Ethical Command Climate Essay

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the real world consequences of when Army leaders become complacent dealing with foreign national soldiers, and the day to day operations while in a combat theatre. To gather lessons learned from the example discussed in order to lower the probability of a reoccurrence among the force. Through the example demonstrate the need for Army leaders to constantly fight against complacency, and the extreme importance that leaders know their soldiers, and place their soldiers’ needs before their own. The scenario discussed was a real incident that took place in Iraq in 2009, at a Coalition Outpost (COP) approximately 30 kilometers south of Mosul, in a city called Hammam al-Alil.

The following are the key ethical decision points shown in Platoon. In each of them soldiers make decisions with large ethical ramifications. For each example, where the

Military personnel operating in combat missions must maintain mental and situational awareness of their area of operations. This includes a complete understanding of their physical and doctrinal training. Besides accomplishing their mission, soldiers must also consider the rules of engagement and the personal and professional ethics, values and morals that factor into their decisions in high stress environments (Allen, 2013). Well planned missions will never be executed perfectly. Due to human nature, soldiers may be faced with an ethical dilemma.

There are a number of significant difficulties for today’s military - the Global War on Terrorism or what has recently been termed the “Long War;” weapon system acquisitions and personnel draw downs. The focus of this paper is on one strategic component of the military quest—Leadership. More specifically, it will center on servant leadership and its impact on the military’s vision.

Leadership, according to the Army doctrine, represents individuals’ ability to influence people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization (“Leadership” FM 6-22). However, the varying characteristics of individuals that the Army attracts may instill this doctrine in many different ways, leading to different representations of leadership. Some individuals choose to lead their subordinate in a stern matter, only displaying matured emotions and a “tough-loving” attitude to guide them in the right direction. Others

Second, the Army is governed by two related ethos. On the first day of initial training Soldiers are taught the importance of the seven Army values and begin to memorize the Soldier’s Creed. Like doctors and lawyers, “the military is an expert group, charged by its client to conduct work governed by a professional ethic” according to Lieutenant General Robert Caslen. A recent study commissioned by the Army found that 93% of Soldiers share their personal with the one set by the Army. Again, according to Caslen “the Army Values have sustained our institution through some of our most difficult years and will continue to be the foundation of our profession.”

Combat compliance is framed as an analytic puzzle related to the variability of behavior, or responses of combatants, both individuals and as a collective, to the realities and risks of warfare. The underlying assumption here is that there is an intrinsic risk of death in any scenario of combat (Magagna, 2016). The enemy is always rationally assumed to have an interest in your death. What follows is that obeying of commands presents itself as an implicit acceptance of such risks. The puzzle here is figuring out how and why vastly differing reactions occur. At some points soldiers show limited levels of compliance, sometimes even ending up in mutiny, while in other cases units show extremely high levels of compliance, exhibiting tenacity under conditions of overwhelming odds (Magagna, 2016). This essay attempts to explain the factors that give rise to the variability of combat compliance. What is important, as alluded to earlier, is to be able to provide a generalizable argument that is applicable across time and space. The essay will first lay out of varying levels of combat compliance to discuss the characteristics and consequences of variability. Secondly, it will explore and contrast the factors of automaticity as a function of training and institutional design and the factor of the combat contract as a rational cost benefit analysis of material and moral incentives, in an attempt to critically analyze their merits in accounting for the variability of combat compliance.

Following orders is one of the most important things you do being in the Army, or any branch in the armed services, enlisted or reserve. Obedience is what enables the military to operate in an organized and effective manner which is clearly very important during challenging military situations. While many individuals can question the notion of obedience in daily their life, this luxury is often not available to us in the military, where the grand goals and aims require smooth internal functioning and coordination throughout the chain of command. Indeed, many of the standards that put up with and endure would be frowned upon outside the military, yet they are essential to our work's success within. For example, punishment is never really deemed to be a positive occurrence in an average person’s life, whereas in the military, it is meant to strengthen one's determination and instill discipline. It also enables a person to learn and fully take on the importance of following orders in. Not following orders is not an optional choice that we in the armed forces can make upon signing that contract. In fact, the act of the act of disobedience is considered to be an infraction and a person who placed himself in such a situation can find himself facing negative counseling statements, or smoking’s. Thus, respect and obedience is of the utmost significance in the military as it helps

For the military leader, the maintenance of good order and discipline is essential for a military force to be effective. An undisciplined military force is a losing one (Hoversten). General Robert E. Lee was one of the greatest military leaders of all time and was firm when it came to discipline. It was important to him that his soldiers understood that, in addition to efficiency, discipline guaranteed a solder’s safety; that if his forces did not prepare themselves for war when they had a chance, they would pay dearly (McBride). Discipline can be best defined as “a state of training, resulting in orderly conduct.” (McBride). This “state of training” must be achieved as well as maintained during peacetime so

To be successful or victorious in any war, the military have to make sure that men and women in uniforms, are well trained and discipline. Discipline is one of the key factors in any operation. Where there is discipline, there is orderliness, especially in the military. Combat soldiers are trained to kill, and defend themselves. Following ROE will help them target their enemies better. For example, in the Vietnam War, the Army operated under R0E, known as rules of engagement. This ROE were in place to conduct warfare that will comply with international and local laws within the conditions specified by high rank commanders. However, if rules of engagement are not put in place properly, followed or executed, it could be disastrous. An example could be the situation seen in Vietnam, when the U.S rules of engagement shifted towards some soft rules of engagement which caused a lot of American lives. A lot of the U.S soldiers were killed..(The changing combat rules of engagement: what is one American life worth? 2013). In any war, chain of command is very essential. The chain of command is an effective way to maintain order and to assign and make each accountable to a task. The same principle can be applied directly to

Imagine being in an authoritative position in a war. Sounds cool right? Now imagine if your subordinates didn’t follow the orders you put out to them. You just imagined chaos right? In my opinion there is no limit to the chaos that could happen if just one soldier didn’t follow the orders given to him/her. It doesn’t matter what the rank of the soldier is. Following orders in the armed

Ethics is the spirit standard of a person. It controls how we behave towards what is good and bad, great and terrible, and shapes our ethical obligations and commitments. When we get to be pioneers, we expect the advantages of administration yet we likewise grasp the moral weights it conveys (Johnson, 2000). The sample utilized for this separate task would be the US military in the torment Scandal, an article via Mail and Guardian, (2004)

Within the Leadership and Followership module, I was able to learn about the morals, values and military ethics. These key attributes will set the foundation for being an effective leader and a follower. Morals and values are what guide us to make the right decision. Sometimes these decisions aren’t black and white and require a

Leadership, as promulgate by the commanding officer, sets command climate, institutes the training and education program through which an organization prepares itself to accomplish the mission, and individuals in the organization executing the day to day jobs based upon the training and education required of their area of expertise. Any combat unit should encourage maximum physical fitness, but that conditioning must consist of a focus on balancing moral and ethical behavior throughout all phases of training including combat. Therefore, command climate, specifically one embracing moral and ethical behavior, begins with the leadership, the message it delivers, and the convictions by which it abides.

These new principles involve taking lessons from what we have learned in recent conflicts regarding the relevance of civil-military relationships in leadership and the importance of morality throughout a campaign. Furthermore, they stress the importance of flexibility in combat operations, along with the correct approach for stabilization after the conflict ends.