The US military has revealed that 34 nuclear missile officers are being investigated for their roles in a cheating scandal at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. Worse, the scandal came to light as the result of an illegal drug investigation of Air Force officers:

Air Force Office of Special Investigations officials were examining allegations of illegal drug possession when evidence surfaced that a missile launch officer at the 341st Missile Wing electronically shared the answers to monthly missile launch officer proficiency tests with 16 other officers. Air Force officials subsequently approached the entire missile crew force at Malmstrom, and 17 other officers admitted to at least being aware of material that had been shared.

USAF Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh indicated it wasn’t just the act of “cheating,” but the failure to act by those who knew the cheating was occurring: 

“Cheating or tolerating others who cheat runs counter to everything we believe in as a service,” the general added…

“Every missile crew member in our other two missile wings will be questioned about involvement in or knowledge of sharing test material,” Welsh said.

Gen Welsh’s comments recall the words of the US Air Force Academy honor oath — his alma mater and where he was once Commandant of Cadets:

We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does.

This isn’t the first time the Air Force has dealt with a cheating scandal, and such failures of integrity are not limited to missileers or even the Air Force (Navy, Army, Marines).

This issue has been discussed many times before. It is very tempting to “short cut” a periodic proficiency test, particularly when the test seems unimportant and it seems to be the culturally accepted thing to do. Sometimes, the people cheating may not even think of themselves that way, because the line between “cooperate and graduate” and cheating may not be clear to them.

In the end, General Welsh accurately indicates it boils down to integrity. Do the right thing because its the right thing to do.

But how should the US military go about teaching its troops the difference between right and wrong, particularly when society no longer seems to agree with such morality? It’s not just young troops, after all. Commanders have been routinely removed for breaches of integrity over the past few years. For example, even as one US state decriminalized adultery, the US Navy removed one of its highest ranking civilians for having an affair — which is an interesting example.

If the military declines to consistently enforce a standard of integrity, how can it demand a consistent value of integrity from its troops?  For example, adultery would seem to be a clear breach of integrity, yet the military can’t (or won’t) prosecute it except under extremely restricted circumstances. So adultery is a violation of integrity — sometimes.  That can hardly be considered a consistent standard.

Col Robert Stanley, the commander at Malmstrom, acknowledged there is a “cultural” issue at play, not merely an issue of the military society.  If the definitions of “right” and “wrong” continue to culturally change — and the military follows those cultural swings — it becomes exceedingly difficult to enforce, or even claim, a consistent moral standard.

“Integrity First.” Catch phrase, or Air Force moral standard?

Also at FoxNews, CNN, Stars and Stripes, the Air Force Times, the Christian Science Monitor, and the John Q. Public blog.

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