-Caveat Lector- >From TheNewAustralian http://www.newaus.com.au/us141atkinson.html {{<Begin>}} The essence of 'military ethics' By *Dr. Gerald L. Atkinson, CDR USN (Ret.) No. 141, 8-14 November 1999 The purpose of our military forces is to fight and win America's wars. American fighting men take for granted that there is a moral bond between themselves, their military superiors, and the civilian leadership which sends them into harms way. All take individual oaths to protect and defend the Constitution. The fighting man assumes that there is a shared set of 'ethics' rules governing behavior or standards of conduct based on shared 'first principles' of morality that guide all in the determination of right or wrong conduct. Underneath, there is a set of ethical standards which are peculiar to our nation's 'warriors.' These standards have been honed over two centuries of war- fighting to answer affirmatively the question put to an army or fighting unit, 'Will it fight?' On an individual level, the question is, 'Will he fight as a member of a combat unit that can be counted on to carry out its mission to get the job done even if it means the sacrifice of his most sacred possession, his life?' At the smallest unit levels where survival is often the most vital immediate objective this affirmation is made highly likely when each individual has been trained in the practical 'ethics' which General Charles Krulak has articulated. This requires a bond of TRUST based on 'straight talk, responsibility, accountability, and example.' He lists the 'ethics' on which these practical elements are based; valor the 'warrior ethos' and values; honor, courage, and commitment. This military 'ethic' is based on first principles. It is the 'ethic' on which the Founding Fathers built our constitutional republic. It has changed little since the 1770s. It is important to understand that the 'ethical' connection among America's fighting men, from the lowliest recruit to the highest ranking officer must be built on TRUST. Military men must be able to trust those who hold subordinates' lives in their hands. This trust is the glue that holds everyone together makes it possible that hard-driven and sometimes fatal commands will be carried out. They must believe that their lives will not be placed at risk needlessly, with little purpose, but only or just cause. In the past, we had that TRUST. As a newly commissioned Navy carrier aviator during the mid-1950s, I was assigned to an A4 'Skyhawk' squadron, deployed aboard the USS Randolph in the Mediterranean Sea. At that time, the A4 was the Navy's primary nuclear delivery vehicle. This was during a period before the B-52 and land-based Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, as well as nuclear-armed submarines took over this role. Each A4 pilot was assigned a unique target. We planned our routes to our target from the many possible launch-points in the Med and essentially committed these routes to memory. We knew a great deal about the effects of nuclear weapons. We knew that we were delivering nuclear weapons on targets which would have heavy civilian casualties collateral damage is the term used these days. We knew that people would burn to death, die by blast effects, and suffer terrible pain from the nuclear radiation effects of our weapons. That's right. We knew 'innocent' people would suffer terribly and die. That is, babies, young children, pregnant women, helpless cripples, young people with dreams for the future, old people who wished nothing more than to live out their lives in the sunshine of their grandchildren's eyes all would suffer and most would die. And we, the delivery pilots, would be the agents for carrying out this unbelievable death and destruction. We also knew another striking truth. Virtually all of our targets were beyond the range of our aircraft's ability to return safely to our ship. I remember well my target which required that I fly directly to the mountains of Turkey, bail out, and hope to find a way home with no assistance other than an American flag and a plea for help, written in a foreign language on a flimsy little piece of cloth. We were on a suicide mission from which we would most likely never return. This set of circumstances evoked deep thoughts and considerations of 'ethics' in the hearts and minds of many of us not three years out of a college environment and the relative carefree abundance of civilized American life. We talked at some length among ourselves about what we were doing, why we were doing it, and most importantly whether or not we would actually go when the gong sounded. I remember one and only one among us who said, "I will not go." The rest of us were incredulous at this pronouncement. All of the rest of us were equally as adamant that we, indeed, would launch and carry out our mission to the best of our abilities. We shared our reasoning with each other and with the lone 'holdout.' This reasoning prevailed. It went like this. We are facing a deadly and vicious enemy, the Soviet Union, which has as its primary goal the domination of the free world, and, if successful, would end the freedoms for which countless Americans had suffered and died. The American strategy invoked for survival at the time was assured destruction. That is, the United States would never strike the Soviet Union first, but if struck by the Soviets we would retaliate and assure the complete destruction of the enemy its military, its industrial complex, and a large portion of its population. The Soviet Union would no longer exist it would be reduced to gravel. At our level where the nuclear weapons get delivered on target this meant that we had an abiding and unquestioned TRUST that our civilian and military leadership would never ask us to go unless America was under attack by Soviet nuclear weapons. We took this TRUST as a matter of FAITH. That is, we knew that our families, friends, and loved ones would most likely be subject to nuclear attack before we would be called on to go. Many, if not all, would be dead or suffering serious injury because they lived near the military bases to which we were stationed stateside. So, for us it was easy to convince ourselves that we would carry out our mission because of America's just cause and because we had an abiding faith in the morality and 'ethical behavior' of our leaders all the way up to the Commander-in-Chief, the Congress and the American people. This TRUST and CONFIDENCE was unshakable. It was a product of the times. We shared the first principles of a Christian- based 'ethics' founded on the 'virtue tradition' of our Founding Fathers. It was reinforced by our supporting institutions: our churches, our public schools, our universities, and other civic organizations. It was reinforced by a non-ideological press and news media. It was reinforced by a Hollywood which still promoted patriotic movies with 'ethical' messages that reinforced our confidence in America and its institutions. Now that trust is evaporating. What has happened? Answer: the same thing that has occurred, slowly but surely, over the past thirty years. The public morality has been corrupted by the New Barbarians. Who are these people and how did this come about? It is a fascinating story for another time. {{<End>}} <<Unfortunately, the military is caught in a bind. Each member is expected attain and maintain the highest standards of conduct and ethics when performing their jobs, also know as 'military bearing' or 'professionalism'. This is what brings airplanes and submarines back to the surface, with all personnel accounted for. Yet, when asked to things that do not conform to reason nor are being ordered by those who are found lacking in their personal and professional ethics, there the rending of the fabric begins. Then, we look at results: Do the means conform to the intended ends? Do the ends justify the means? For many years, the military was used sparingly and with great prudence when addressing foreign policy objectives; after all, it is the last resort for influencing friends and enemies. In the last ten years, it's been asked to do more while its resources have shrunk. Yet, have the ends been attained as advertised? Aspirin factories, civilians without ANY military experience given priority for sea burials OVER deceased veterans, abortive missions, half-won wars, and the like aren't the paragonal paradigms for job satisfaction ... 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