Military Review English Edition March-April 2014 | Page 16

Developing Trustworthy
Commissioned Officers
Transcending the Honor Codes and Concepts
Lt. Col. David B. Cushen, U.S. Army; Lt. Col. Joseph P. Doty, Ph.D., U.S. Army, Retired;
and Col. Patrick A. Toffler, U.S. Army, Retired
The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free country reliable in battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment. On the contrary, such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to make an army. It is possible
to impart instructions and to give commands in such a manner and such a tone of voice so as to inspire in the
soldier no feeling but an intense desire to obey, while the opposite manner and tone of voice cannot fail to excite
strong resentment and a desire to disobey. The one mode or the other of dealing with subordinates springs from a
corresponding spirit in the breast of the commander. He who feels the respect which is due to others cannot fail to
inspire in them regard for himself; while he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect toward others, especially
his subordinates, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself.
—Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield, in an address to the West Point Corps of Cadets, 11 August 1879

A Cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate anyone who does.
—The Cadet Honor Code, United States Military Academy

[Character is] those moral qualities that constitute the nature of a leader and shape his or her decisions and actions.
—USMA Circular 1-101, Cadet Leader Development System, 2005

Lt. Col. David B. Cushen, U.S. Army, is a staff officer in the 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson,
Colo. He holds M.S. degrees from Long Island University and the University of Missouri, Rolla.
His previous assignments include SHARP and Equal Opportunity Program manager and deputy
G-1 at Fort Carson and in Iraq, and equal opportunity manager and tactical officer at West Point.
Lt. Col. Joseph P. Doty, Ph.D., U.S. Army, Retired, works in leader development for the School of
Medicine at Duke University. He is a graduate of West Point, commanded at the battalion level, and
previously served as the deputy director of the Center for the Army Profession and Ethic.
Col. Patrick A. Toffler, U.S. Army, Retired, is a senior research analyst and consultant for Technica,
LLC, under contract with the Center for the Army Profession and Ethic at West Point. He previously
served on the superintendent’s staff at the U.S. Military Academy and commanded at the battalion
level. He is a graduate of the Army War College and holds a B.S. degree from the U.S. Military
Academy and an M.S. from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.

(U.S. Army)