{"id":2421,"date":"2012-11-20T05:00:37","date_gmt":"2012-11-19T19:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=2421"},"modified":"2012-11-26T21:44:39","modified_gmt":"2012-11-26T11:44:39","slug":"doing-the-right-thing-is-the-right-thing-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/doing-the-right-thing-is-the-right-thing-to-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Doing the right thing is the right thing to do"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Leon<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s an old maxim in military affairs: \u2018lose moral authority, lose the war\u2019! It\u2019s most often quoted in the context of the conduct of armed forces towards third parties, most notably the civil population living within a theatre of operations. Occasionally, the maxim applies to one\u2019s enemies, who may be spurred to fight on against those they consider to be a morally debased opponent. For example, fighters based in the tribal areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan have been incensed by the use of unmanned drones, which they consider to be the coward\u2019s weapon of choice.<\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s a further context in which the maxim applies\u2014in relation to the quality of leadership displayed within one\u2019s own ranks. One might suppose that it is with this in mind that US Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, has asked the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey, to review the quality and character of ethical instruction made available to senior officers<\/a>\u2014a task given added urgency in the wake of scandal surrounding the recent resignation of David Petraeus as Director of the CIA.<\/p>\n

Panetta\u2019s decision might well resonate with those overseeing the military affairs (no pun intended) of other countries. For example, the relevant Australian Defence Force (ADF) doctrine defining leadership<\/a> (PDF) reads: \u2018…the exercise of influence in order to bring about the willing consent of others in the ethical<\/em> pursuit of missions\u2019 (my emphasis). While many civilian organisations treat ethics as something merely to be \u2018bolted on\u2019 to leadership, the ADF defines leadership as an ethical practice. That is, ethics is seen to be intrinsic to the practice of leadership. This isn\u2019t simply because Australian commanders want members of the ADF to maintain a posture of \u2018moderate decency\u2019 characteristic of the nation as a whole. Rather, the doctrine is fashioned with a hard, strategic edge, reflective of the maxim quoted at the beginning of this article. In short, there\u2019s just too much strategic risk in unethical conduct of a kind that erodes moral authority at home and abroad.<\/p>\n

The risks of ethical failure extend to the tactical level. Effective units depend on their leaders offering a shared a sense of purpose and a framework of values and principles that motivate and guide\u2014especially when the best laid plans have lost their coherence in the face of operational realities. However, it\u2019s almost impossible to build and sustain a functional ethos<\/em> in circumstances in which leaders are thought to be hypocrites. Wherever hypocrisy is perceived, it generates cynicism which, like an acid, eats away at the ties that bind together communities and institutions.<\/p>\n

Given all of the above, we should hope that Secretary Panetta and General Dempsey don\u2019t fall into the very North American trap of equating \u2018ethics\u2019 with compliance. The last thing needed by US senior commanders is a crash course in compliance delivered by lawyers. The greater challenge is to engage the senior ranks of military leadership in reflective practices designed to give consistent, practical effect to the explicit values and principles that should lie at the heart of each individual\u2019s command philosophy. While there\u2019s risk in those who deliberately turn a \u2018blind eye\u2019 to wrong-doing, this is relatively minor when compared to incidents of \u2018conditioned blindness\u2019\u2014where otherwise good people do bad things because they simply do not see their conduct for what it is. The warning signs are always the same\u2014ask people to tell you why they do what they do and the most common response will be something like: \u2018well everyone does it that way\u2019 or \u2018that\u2019s just the way we do things around here\u2019.<\/p>\n

Unthinking custom and practice of this kind is a risk at every level of an organisation, including among those exercising strategic command. The risk is exacerbated with every promotion\u2014which seems to confirm the quality of the individual\u2019s judgement. Next comes power, with its seductive promise that there may be a point beyond which the rules designed for lesser folk no longer apply. It is significant that the Romans ensured that any general granted a triumph would have a slave travel by his side constantly whispering, \u2018remember, you art but a man\u2019.<\/p>\n

Secretary Panetta is right to ask Dempsey to review ethics education (hopefully not \u2018training\u2019) for the most senior ranks. If all goes well, the resulting approach will work to reinforce the moral courage of US military leaders and build their capacity to make wise, virtuous and responsible decisions\u2014as a whole\u2014and not simply to comply with a narrow moral code.<\/p>\n

Dr Simon Longstaff is Executive Director of St James Ethics Centre<\/a>. Image courtesy of Flickr user US Department of Defense Current Photos<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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