Unethical Practices and Discrepancies within Promotions The purpose of this paper is to discuss an ethical dilemma facing the Army today. Unethical dilemmas exist everywhere; all around us, at any given time. Through personal experience and the history of the Army there has been an ethical dilemma of, how unethical practices and discrepancies within the promotion system will lead to a decline in the development of qualified, effective leaders. I see the cause for this falling into two categories of, either soldier compromises or leader compromises. As with any unethical practice there will always be an impact on our force, and I believe that to be the production of unqualified leaders and the possibility of being unable to retain qualified individuals who have been passed over by these practices. History Most people will agree that you don’t have to look very far to find examples of unethical behaviors. By today’s standards it’s easy to find unethical practices in business such as: stealing time, Quid Pro Quo, or passing over a person for a promotion that they’ve earned. The Army is no different, unethical practices in the promotional system have existed since its inception. Reaching back to the Continental Army; who were the appointed leaders? They were plantation owners or prominent My packet went through Squadron review and then to Brigade for final approval. My packet was rejected at Brigade level by the Brigade Command Sergeants Major (CSM). The CSM’s cited reasons were, for ratings of zero in two categories on my leader’s evaluation. The categories were; Works in a Higher Grade Position and Performance of duties in a Higher Grade Position. (Attachment 1) My 1SG’s ratings were correct and justified, as he and my Platoon Leader were present for all training assemblies that year, thus not affording me the opportunity to work in a higher grade
Military leaders may find themselves in questionable situations: perceived as unethical; lack moral consciousness, or question their character. Dwight Eisenhower demonstrated moral courage by leveraging the ethical principles of duty, loyalty and subordination in endorsing the French Vichy leader Admiral Darlan.
The United States Army has been a leader in military prowess on the world stage since its inception in 1775, and with such a record, it is reasonably assumed that there must be solid foundation within the organization working to maintain the high level of performance. The Noncommissioned Officer Corps is one institution within the Army that serves as a large portion of this foundation that makes it the fighting force that it has always been, and the noncommissioned officers have been an integral piece since the very inception of the Army. The Prussian General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, organizer of the Noncommissioned Officer Corps, encapsulated this idea when he coined the noncommissioned officer (NCO) as the backbone of the Army. (Arms, 1991) In an Army that is continuously adjusting to world around it while maintaining its status as the military leader to all other nations, the Noncommissioned Officer Corps has always provided the platform for continuity through a growing rank system based on its original core, an evolving training program to develop effective leaders, and a creed that moves us forward while remembering the rich history of the corps that came before us.
Part 1, The Basics of Leadership, Chapter 1 covers Fundamentals of Leadership while Roles and Relationships are covered in Chapter 2. This section describes and depicts levels of Leadership. We as a military are set apart from other non-military professions in that Soldiers must be prepared to use deadly force and have the courage required to close with and destroy the enemy. All leaders, from non-commissioned officers and warrant officers, to commissioned officers, inherently possess a great responsibility. The repercussions of decisions and actions impact the lives of Soldiers and their families. Additionally, these decisions affect the battlefield environment including enemy and non-combatants, both military and
The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief analysis of the United States Army’s organizational structure and its culture and how these two elements impact its workers, associates and affiliates. This paper will first examine the Army’s history, development and structure to highlight the origins of the Army’s culture. Secondly, a brief history of the Army’s organizational development will be followed by a close examination of its philosophy and supporting beliefs. Lastly, this paper will discuss the role of the Army’s leadership, their response to critical issues and the organizational structure of the Army. An analysis of the army’s top leaders will help the reader to understand the Army culture more thoroughly in the context of the Army’s organizational structure. More specifically this section of the paper will examine the Army leadership’s response to the current geo-political environment and other related issues. In conclusion, this paper hopes to highlight the Army’s overall functioning from an organizational standpoint and emphasize that idea that the Army is like a functional corporation. This will be accomplished by addressing various key questions throughout this text.
Black Hearts is a great example of the reality on how severe bad leadership skills can ripple throughout a unit and impact its overall mission. This book serves as a guide for future leaders of America and will set the examples of what not to do in leadership positions. The lessons we can take from these soldiers can help us as potential leaders to become more competent and effective. The fact that this book focused on the hardships, poor decisions and sound judgment of the soldiers it helped emphasize on what was not the best choice of action and leaves a moment for you as the audience to think how you would of done it better. So right or wrong there was a lesson to be learned and the book did a good job including the reader. This book puts you in the shoes of a small group of soldiers from the 502nd Infantry Regiment and gives you an up close and personal take on the experience of the soldiers, from the bottom of the the ranks all the way up to the commander. 502nd Bravo Company 1st platoon deployed in the fall of 2005 into one of the most dangerous battle zones in Iraq known as the “Triangle of Death”. Thrown into the heartland of a growing insurgency, with undefined goals and a shortage of manpower, Bravo Company began piling up casualties at an alarming rate. They suffered many losses, as well as mental anguish. Because of the long and tragic deployment, a collapse in leadership began to unfold causing one of the most tragic, brutal, and infamous deployments in U.S Army history. There were many reasons that caused the deconstruction of leadership, and eventually, the actions of the soldiers accompanied by the lack of control, lead to the rape and murder of an innocent Iraqi girl and her family. This is a story about character...
LM01, Ethical Leadership. (2012). Maxwell Gunter AFB. Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education (AETC)
The Army currently has an ethical code ebodied in the Army Values, which provides guidance to the individual and the organization. These values are universal across the Army regardless of an individual’s personal background or religious morals. Professional Military Education schools teach the Army Ethic and evaluation reports for leaders affirm this ethic. The Army punishes individuals, especially leaders, who violate this code. The Army administratively punishes Soldiers who do not adhere to this code, and the severity of punishment increases with rank. One recent and highly visible example of this is former General Petraeus’s adultery and the subsequent professional sanctions he experienced. The Army gr...
This paper will not bore with the definition of a profession. The United States Army is about more than words, it is about action. The action of over 238 years of tradition and service. The Army is a profession. A profession requires its members to adhere to prolonged training and learn specialized skills. A member of a profession must wholly commit himself and his skills to a calling which is entrusted by the public. A profession provides its members with intrinsic value which motivates beyond financial gain. The Army is a higher calling which demands all of these qualities and more.
As our forefathers before us stated, ‘‘No one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers. As a Noncommissioned Officer, I realize that I am a member of a time honored corps, which is known as “The Backbone of the Army (“The NCO Creed writing by SFC Earle Brigham and Jimmie Jakes Sr”). These words to Noncommissioned Officer should inspire us to the fullest with pride, honor, and integrity. The NCO creed should mean much more than just words whenever we attend a NCO’s school. For most of us this is what our creed has become because we learn to narrate or recite. The military from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard has an overabundance of NCOs who fall under their pay grade of E-5, E-6 and etc. Yet somehow there still not enough leaders. I believe that the largest problem afflicting the military today is our lack of competent leaders, ineffective leader development, and how we influence our subordinates under us who are becoming leaders.
The best Army leaders will effortlessly find some way to get others to do exactly what they need them to do. They do this by giving soldiers a
I finally caught the command basically cheating to get another person promoted and called them out on it t the top of the command. You can imagine the reception I got from my immediate leadership, which wanted to paint me as a bad soldier and a liar without anything in documentation showing me as such. The higher leadership believed me which cause great chaos and I asked to go to a new unit. The immediate leadership had said behind my back that they would never let me get promoted. The commander asked me if I would try to go to another platoon, I did not like the idea but had to give them benefit of the doubt. There were too many people that were friends and I wanted to be judged purely on what I did and not he said she said. At this time just to get away from the command I went to mental health just t make someone notice what had actually been going on. I felt this was the only way to get attention to my plight. I still carried on and studied knowing that at some point they would be forced to let me compete for promotion. I finally was able to go to promotion board and was told I excelled so this made me feel that I had somewhat overcame their
Snider, D. M. (2008). Dissent and strategic leadership of the military professions. Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College.
As an officer in the United States Army, it has been imperative for me to understand every facet of leadership and why it remains important to be an effective leader. During this course, I have learned some valuable lessons about myself as a leader and how I can improve on my leadership ability in the future. The journal entries along with the understanding of available leadership theories have been an integral part of my learning during this course. For all of the journals and assessments that I completed, I feel it has given me a good understanding of my current leadership status and my future potential as a leader. All of the specific assessments looked at several areas in regards to leadership; these assessments covered several separate focus areas and identified my overall strengths and weaknesses as a leader. Over the course of this paper I will briefly discuss each one of these assessments and journal entries as they pertained to me and my leadership.
To begin, ADRP 1 states the individual ethic begins by creating, and sustaining a professional identity as a member of the Army team, which in turn, enhances the moral fiber of the entire enterprise. Next, the Army Ethic White Paper reminds its Soldiers that as Army professionals they perform their duty according to a common ethic , eluding to the deontological precepts of this philosophy. Moreover, the white paper states, that as the Army prepares to operate in complex environments, it must anticipate the unique ethical challenges of the future, and remain committed to developing Army professionals of character, competence, and commitment. Next in importance, the joint nature of future conflict requires a common framework for ethical conduct, just as joint doctrine provides for operations and planning. Due to the exceptional importance of understanding this concept, the Army Ethic illustrates the following:
level of Precedence and standards in the formation. The roles of the non-commissioned officer is