Chaplin Maloney Summary

The 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, a unit known as the Rakkasans, were conducting Operation Iron Triangle in 2006 in Iraq when soldiers killed eight unarmed Iraqi men. The US military severely reprimanded the Commander of the Rakkasans, COL Michael Steele, for the unethical command climate his leadership allowed to exist within the unit at that time. This unit will need a new commander that can set and maintain an effective, ethical command climate through his leadership. That new commander should resolve the issues that led to the reported war crime in order to establish a culture that perpetuates an ethical command climate.

The book Black Hearts opened my eyes to how leadership from a single Officer can have a grappling effect on such a wide range of soldiers from the lowest of ranks. One of the best takeaways from Black Hearts is to never do anything: illegal, unethical, or immoral. Although this is a easy statement to repeat, Black Hearts demonstrates the difficulties that lie behind these words. It has also painted a picture of how leadership can topple extremely quickly from a top down view. The Army is portrayed in a bad light throughout the book relentlessly. This is due to the concentration of poor leadership of the 1-502nd Regiment (Referred to as “First Strike”), a battalion of the 101st Airborne Division.

A leader unwilling to sacrifice individual goals for the good of the unit cannot convince other unit members to do so. The mission suffers with potentially devastating effects. While personal goals often coincide with Army goals, there is no room for personal agendas at the expense of the institution or the American people. It is a standard in the hierarchy of military customs and courtesies that the leader must display to his subordinates that he is willing to put in extra effort, sacrifice personal time, and show initiative and motivation in order to achieve the same from his Soldiers.

Following orders is one of the most important things you do being in the Army, or any branch in the armed services, enlisted or reserve. Obedience is what enables the military to operate in an organized and effective manner which is clearly very important during challenging military situations. While many individuals can question the notion of obedience in daily their life, this luxury is often not available to us in the military, where the grand goals and aims require smooth internal functioning and coordination throughout the chain of command. Indeed, many of the standards that put up with and endure would be frowned upon outside the military, yet they are essential to our work's success within. For example, punishment is never really deemed to be a positive occurrence in an average person’s life, whereas in the military, it is meant to strengthen one's determination and instill discipline. It also enables a person to learn and fully take on the importance of following orders in. Not following orders is not an optional choice that we in the armed forces can make upon signing that contract. In fact, the act of the act of disobedience is considered to be an infraction and a person who placed himself in such a situation can find himself facing negative counseling statements, or smoking’s. Thus, respect and obedience is of the utmost significance in the military as it helps

Throughout military history, there have been many leaders that can be considered either visionary or ethical. This paper will discuss how BG Robin Olds was a visionary leader, but not a very ethical leader. From the beginning of his career, he was a visionary in aerial combat tactics and a true believer of leading from the front. His vision of aerial combat was beyond his years, but often fell upon deaf ears due to his flamboyant nature. He never hesitated to say exactly what was on his mind, which is why his actions could be considered unethical. But, his men loved him, and would follow him to hell and back. First, this paper will discuss BG Olds’ visionary leadership abilities he displayed the Viet Nam

Leadership can be viewed in many different ways and possess many different qualities. There are courageous leaders, respectful leaders, terrible leaders, and seemingly insignificant leaders but leaders nonetheless. But what is it that differentiates between a strong leader and a weak leader, or a powerful leader and an insignificant one? Is it the qualities in the leader or the decisions they make in key situations that define good leadership qualities? Some would define a good leader by their ability to do the right thing even if it is not the easiest choice. Others might define a good leader as one that possesses great integrity and leads by example. The military possesses many great leaders through a process of development and molding individuals to meet expected leadership qualities like honor, courage, commitment and integrity to accomplish any mission or goal. However, this process doesn’t always create the desired effect. So, let’s examine some good and bad examples of leadership qualities and break down what and how we can emulate them.

The main purpose of this paper identifies an ethical dilemma when leaders in aviation prepare for predeployment and deployment operations. The United States (US) Army Aviation branch remains a small

The American military prides itself on its devotion to loyalty, honor, brotherhood, and patriotism. Those in the military place the lives of their fellow men and country above all else. It is the most intense example of selflessness and self-sacrifice. This extended commitment to God and country is made possible through codes, vows, and unquestioned obedience. If a lieutenant is given an order, he will follow through with it because the lives of countless depend on his obedience. A soldier’s actions always contribute to the overall action of the military and work towards the greater good. If an order is questioned and not obeyed, the lives of those in his squadron will be endangered

The Army is a way of life; a culture designed to understand, embrace, and demonstrate its understanding. Throughout the entire existence of the Army its culture has been based on elements such as oaths, creeds, the Warrior Ethos and the Army Values. The elements of the Army’s culture are the basis for ethical conduct. Soldiers have been taught to uphold and live by the Army Values but they have not necessarily been taught to remain a professional while upholding these standards. By instilling ethical and moral value into the professional soldier the military is ensuring that all soldiers, even lower level soldiers, are able to make complex and tactical decisions for a strategic effect. If the Army has unethical soldiers they risk failure. Failure due to unethical soldiers can have strategically far reaching implications for the Army, our client nation, and international allies.

While these three points are extensively discussed and dissected, it is apparent that the key factor that makes us professionals is the ethical standard that we must hold every individual soldier, from the lowest private to the highest general, to. One of the major points that are missing is what happens when the ethical standard is breeched and how it is dealt with.

Maloney identifies people as a challenge for the ethics of leaders. Leaders who understand “Respect” recognize the troops they command lead to career success. Due to the last 15 years of sustained combat operations and the SOF imperative “work by with and through others,” Special Forces Warrant Officers understand “Respect.” Finding the right motivation for the Detachment and

The U.S. Army Leadership Field Manual clearly states that Army leaders and soldiers alike must uphold ethical standards of behavior in war. It also states that "unethical behavior quickly destroys organizational morale and cohesion it undermines the trust and confidence essential to teamwork and mission accomplishment. Consequently doing the right thing forges strong character in individuals and expands to create a culture of trust

Military personnel operating in combat missions must maintain mental and situational awareness of their area of operations. This includes a complete understanding of their physical and doctrinal training. Besides accomplishing their mission, soldiers must also consider the rules of engagement and the personal and professional ethics, values and morals that factor into their decisions in high stress environments (Allen, 2013). Well planned missions will never be executed perfectly. Due to human nature, soldiers may be faced with an ethical dilemma.

The rules and laws that ethical military leaders are required to follow are clearly defined in the reading. In order to assure a democratic system and to prevent one entity from completely controlling the armed forces, the responsibilities are divided between the President, Congress, Judiciary System, and the Supreme Law of the Land.1 Each of these groups issue orders and treaties that can determine how the military can act in a given situation. A Constitutional Paradigm exists so that a service member can make sound decisions and issue lawful orders with clarity by prioritizing the validity of the Constitution at the top and self at the bottom. In the rare cases of questionable orders from a commander, a step-by-step resolution guide that

The meaning of ethical and moral for me is an ideology standard to analyze the consequence. Also, it could be a regulation to limit a person’s outside behavior and inside thought so that he/she has a guidance to find out the correct direction, and to solve the perplexity. In my opinion and personal experience during the military, I prone to believe the consequentialism. Because I ponder that the assignment of the leadership and stewardship is to provide a valuable advice and organize the orders from higher level. They have to focus on every detail, and concentrate on the variable situation. For what? For achievement and decreasing casualty in the battlefield. The most valuable work in the battlefield is not only winning the war, but also securing the soldiers’ life. Therefore, organizational- level leaders should perform the right thing and modify the errors with ethic in response to the critical and emergence environment. In short, they are enabler and shaper. They follow their personal virtue to do their duty, and obtain the expected