God and Country

A US Army platoon leader has a fascinating article in Army Magazine: former US Army Captain Kevin Bell wrote How Our Training Fails Us When it Counts, recounting a story from 2008 in which he led a platoon in Afghanistan.  He uses his personal experiences to describe how the US Army woefully fails in its efforts to prepare its soldiers for ethical challenges in combat.

No infantryman who sits through the required PowerPoint classes on the Geneva Conventions and treatment of enemy prisoners of war (EPW) leaves the classroom with a new perspective on the ethics of war…As it stands, though, classroom and field training on detainee operations do almost nothing to help soldiers untangle the twisted moral landscape of anger, intelligence gathering and justice in wartime.

Without directly addressing it, he highlights the weakness of the situation-based ethics currently taught in much of the military academia:  Read more…

By now most of the world is probably aware of the accusation that four US Marines urinated on corpses in what is apparently Afghanistan.  One of the group videotaped the event for posterity.

The event brought out a slew of condemnations from all sides:

• Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta: “This conduct is entirely inappropriate for members of the United States military and does not reflect the standards of values our armed forces are sworn to uphold.”
• Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos: “wholly inconsistent with the high standards of conduct and warrior ethos.”
• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “It is absolutely inconsistent Read more…

Society has so much lost its moral compass that one General officer says the military can no longer assume its recruits will enlist with an acceptable level of core moral behavior.

General Lord Dannatt, a former head of the British Army, said this about the British society and its military.  He proposes that the military

can teach society about the importance of ethics and morality.

Dannatt says “mental and moral preparation” is as important as physical Read more…

An official Department of Defense article notes the importance of empathy in war and its relevance to the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.  In virtually every war in history each side stereotypically demonizes or otherwise dehumanizes its enemy.  Unfortunately, militaries must move past that division after the war is complete — especially when one military is supporting the establishment of their ‘former enemy’s’ government.

In Afghanistan, one soldier had an epiphany that led him to think more deeply about the people he fights:  Read more…

In an era in which society encourages each to do his own thing, and “right” is a relative term, a recent study seems to indicate many people do inherently have an understanding of morality at their core — and this may sometimes conflict with the actions required by military combat:

The conflicts that troops feel can range from survivor guilt from living through an attack where other troops died, to witnessing or participating in the unintentional killing of women or children, said researchers involved in the study.

The key quote comes near the end of the article:  Combat experienced US Marines were the subject group, and the study showed

Their condition [PTSD] was more closely linked to an inner conflict Read more…

While Canada’s acceptance of homosexuality was occasionally held up as a contrast to their southern cousins in the United States, it seems Canada hasn’t worked out all the moral issues associated with homosexual recognition, either.

In late November British Columbia’s superior trial court upheld Canada’s law banning polygamy and polyamory.

Interestingly, the court found that such prohibitions did violate the religious liberty of some groups — including some Mormons, Muslims, and Wiccans — but the law Read more…

Though the trend is arguably decades old, recent court cases and public events have demonstrated the apparent moral (and legal) confusion over sexual behavior in the United States (and elsewhere).  Of course, when right and wrong are decided by the tide of opinion and relativism, it’s not unforeseeable.  As noted below, the US Congress is even trying to redefine “rape” in the military context.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a denial of a habeas corpus petition by Paul Lowe, a man charged with adult incest with his 22-year-old step-daughter (Lowe v. Stark County Sherriff, No. 09-3942 (6th Cir. Dec. 8, 2011)).  The decision cites a wide variety of cases, some supporting his position and many not.  The court ultimately decided (as have others) there is no fundamental right to sexual conduct, even private behavior between consenting adults.

The court also said Lowe’s complaints the law was “morality-based” were Read more…

According to the Associated Press, the US Navy removed the executive officer of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower for an inappropriate relationship with a female Soldier while both were married (to other people).  Notably, they were able to produce no evidence of adultery (by military standards):

The former executive officer…had an inappropriate relationship…but Navy investigators did not find evidence of adultery…

Capt. Robert Gamberg was removed in June from his post as the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier’s second in command.

Gamberg, a Navy EA-6B Prowler pilot, was reportedly cited for Read more…

Chuck Donovan of the Heritage Foundation has a lengthy but thorough discussion entitled “A Clash of Integrities: Moral and Religious Liberty in the Armed Forces.”  The article discusses the controversy over homosexuality in the military, from the initial creation of the policy most commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to its current state.  His analysis is thorough, and he doesn’t mince words:

The repeal of the 1993 law prohibiting open homosexuality in the military poses significant risk for military service members and chaplains who, as matters of religious or moral conviction, hold to traditional values regarding marriage and sexual behavior. The [Pentagon] report…[does] not allay concerns that the religious liberty and free speech rights of these service members and chaplains will be compromised to the detriment of their military careers.

Donovan notes the controversy that resulted in Rigdon v Perry (noted here) is precedent for the current repeal plan to cause conflict in the military.

Perhaps out of pragmatism, Read more…

A fighter pilot discussing the state of the Air Force recently lamented the rise of SNAPs in the fighter pilot culture.

POS commanders are out there…who care more about Green Bag Bible Study than they do about having a normal roll call in the squadron every once in a while. Douchebags that stand in the corner and wince when I correct a punk who starts singing by interrupting and asking “how does every good fighter pilot song start?” [Ed: The answer to that question is not for polite company...]

And they take care of their own. The SNAPs who refuse to drink out of principle and scoff when others do, Read more…

Recent DADT news:

• Chaplains concerned over future restrictions
• Army begins training, summarizing key points
• “Heroes” call for reinstatement
• CNO describes task ahead as “easy”

More below the fold. Read more…

In a recent address at the National Defense University, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said this in response to a question about whether the “tolerance…has changed regarding ethics” in the military:

We have to have a true compass ethically. We have to have a true compass morally. We have to have a true compass inside our profession.

He’s right, of course.  No one has ever debated the need for a moral standard by which military members must live and serve.  The question, however, has been what defines the truth of that ”true compass.”  “True” implies Read more…

Alan Sears of the Alliance Defense Fund has an interesting article at the Christian Post entitled Morality and the Military, covering much of the recent discussion on the policy most often known as “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”

The repeal of DADT was wrong not, primarily, because the changes it will bring will radically transform both the U.S. military and its relationship with key allies all over the world, and inevitably undermine the security and defenses of our nation. Nor even because it was passed over the vehement objections of the great majority of America’s fighting servicemen whose daily lives and service it will soon and drastically impact.

No, ultimately there’s only one reason to oppose the repeal – and it is, of course, the reason that almost no politician or military officer is willing or able to say, right out loud.  Read more…

With an interesting sense of timing, an Air Force article on “Comprehensive Airman Fitness,” focusing on “Spiritual Fitness,” was recently published at Charleston Air Force Base. 

As military articles on such topics often do, it calmly predicts and answers the questions of the recent uproar over Spiritual Fitness in the military.

There are three concepts associated with spirituality, according to [Chaplain (LtCol) Michael] Brown.

“The first is to discover meaning in your life and a meaning that transcends anything in the physical world,” he said. “Some find that through Read more…

Gallup’s annual survey of the American perceptions of the honesty and ethical standards of professions shows “military officers” at #2, with 73% “very high/high,” behind only nurses.

For contrast, police were at 57% high/very high, lawyers at 17%, and Congress at 9%, just above car salesmen.

It would appear, despite scandals and press to the contrary, the American public continues to view military leadership as morally upright and honorable.  Obviously, it should — if society every views its military otherwise, it should take action to correct that ethical failure.

Those who are the physical guardians of the nation cannot be morally destitute, else they will no longer be trustworthy guardians of anything.