Why is ethics education important for the Profession-of-Arms?
https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Publications/Books/Armed-Forces-Officer/Article/1153508/chapter-2the-profession-of-arms/
An ethics education creates a foundation for personnel in the profession of arms which they can rely
upon to act in a manner which enables them to act virtuously and, in a manner,, which is befitting of
the nation they are representing. At it’s core, the task of the profession of arms is the “armed defense
of the society, its territory, population, and vital interests”1 with this power also comes the
accountability piece, where a soldiers actions will reflect upon the nation as a whole. The implication
of this is that the actions of a solider at a tactical level will have strategic implications. It is for this
reason militaries such as Australia have shifted to the model of the “strategic corporal”2. The intent of
this shift is to impart the ethical knowledge to all personnel in the profession of arms , not just the
commanders. There have been countless instances where a soldier’s unethical actions on the ground
have had strategic consequences. An example of this is the recent Australian Special Forces footage
which involves the defence member shooting what appears to be an unarmed afghani civillian3. This
act of violence has been condemned by the Australian community, damaged the legitimacy of the
ADF and has garnered international attention due to the unethical conduct of the Australian solider.
An ethical education also allows members of the profession of arms to make ethical decisions on the
ground and in the heat of the moment. As has been discovered in recent wars, acts which are legally
permissible are not always ethically reasonable. This has become prevalent during the Afghanistan
counter insurgency where it has become a war for the hearts and minds of the population, not the
eradication of the extremist groups. US forces previously relied on overwhelming fire power to take
out foreign fighters, which resulted in destruction of cities and villages and the loss of trust from the
civilians. Although these acts were legally permissible, it alienated the populace, and this is a clear
demonstration of how an ethical education is applicable to members in the profession of arms. From
a consequentialist point of view, the killing of a few extremist fighters at the cost of levelling an entire
village can hardly be deemed justifiable as it is destroying the homes of countless civilians and
impacting their lives to achieve that aim. Therefore the US has shifted away from close air support
and begun to rely more heavily on foot soldiers to achieve a mission: soldiers are a more discriminate
means of achieving a mission than bombs. An ethical education also allows members of the
profession of arms at all levels to work through scenarios using different ethical frameworks to
determine what the best approach is. As outlined in Key concepts in Military Ethics the process of
“Ethical triangulation” can be used to work through a complex scenario using three different ethical
approaches to determine what the most ethical cause of action is. This method can allow personnel
to grapple with seemingly ethically ambiguous acts and act decisively in an ethical manner which they
can fall back upon.
1
https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Publications/Books/Armed-Forces-Officer/Article/1153508/chapter-2-theprofession-of-arms/
2
https://smallwarsjournal.com/documents/liddy.pdf
3
https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/killing-field/12060538