[War on the Rocks] Leaders lie "in the routine performance of their duties," and "ethical and moral transgressions [occur] across all levels" of the organization. Leaders have also become "ethically numb," using "justifications and rationalizations" to overcome any ethical doubts. This "tacit acceptance of dishonesty... [facilitates] hypocrisy" among leaders.
These quotations sound like they are ripped from the headlines about some major corporate scandal. But they're not describing Enron before its collapse in 2001, or firms like Lehman Brothers and Countrywide before the 2008 financial crisis. Instead, they describe one of the country's most respected institutions: the U.S. Army.
Leonard Wong and Stephen Gerras, who are both professors at the U.S. Army War College, just published a devastating study called Lying to Ourselves: Dishonesty in the Army Profession. They state up front that indications of ethical and moral problems can be found throughout the entire U.S. military, not just in the Army. These include (but certainly are not limited to) U.S. Air Force personnel cheating on tests about nuclear launch systems, and U.S. Navy admirals and others sharing classified information in exchange for gifts and bribes. Last year, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel appointed a two-star admiral as the first Senior Advisor for Military Professionalism to address mounting concerns about ethical issues throughout the force.
Both lengthy and thought provoking. |