The US Air Force Academy recently hosted its annual Falcon Heritage Forum, focusing on “moral courage in the midst of difficult decisions in the active-duty Air Force.”

“It is was a great opportunity for cadets to interact with young company grade officers who aren’t much further ahead of them and where cadets could get a perspective on what these officers deal with on a day to day basis,” said Cadet 1st Class Nicholas Espinoza, Cadet Wing character officer.

“Having the courage to make hard decisions is not only evident on the battlefield, but off it as well. There is a moral courage that comes with every decision we make, and we wanted to bring the Cadet Wing into that conversation of what it means to have moral courage…”

The active duty forum director, Capt Samantha Dickens, made an interesting point:

We wanted [to] help [the cadets] realize that the courage they develop throughout their years at the Academy will serve them well in the active duty Air Force.

Moral courage can be developed and “practiced,” in a manner of speaking, and the military academies are excellent locations for that form of training. For example, cadets may face temptations or pressures within the Academy. Regardless of their response — whether they act with moral courage or not — they can learn from the experience and be better officers (and better people) as a result.

In simplistic terms, character can be “trained,” and the US military, of all places, has a stake in the impeccable character of its servicemembers — which means it needs to be in the “character development” business.