Military Review English Edition March-April 2014 | Page 20

Perhaps Gen. Maxwell D.Taylor said it best
when he wrote:
The responsibility of West Point to the cadets,
however, does not end with their intellectual
and physical training. It will be recalled that
the mission prescribed by the Department of
the Army places the development of character
ahead of education in the arts and sciences
and in military activities. The conduct of war
is a business which calls for more than intellectual and physical attainments. No great
soldier ever rose to eminence in the command
of American troops who was not primarily a
leader of character. It is for this reason that
West Point takes the development of character as a formal objective to be pursued by all
available means. 11
Clearly, the academy honor codes or concepts
do not represent the fullness of the military ethic
and the values of each service. Nonetheless, the
honor codes and concepts are cardinal elements
of each academies’ ethos, providing a timeless
foundation. Similarly, our society supports the
spirit of the code (i.e., as stated earlier and in the
definition of honor in the sample code of ethics,
figure 1) and regards it as sacrosanct. Living truthfully is a standard and an expectation.
Additionally, the honor systems at each academy are becoming burdened by investigations
and legalisms, and cadets and midshipmen know
they can “lawyer up.” The honor system’s investigative focus is on evidence for lying, cheating,
stealing, or tolerating. In our armed forces and
our society, honor encompasses a broader view.
Honor, in the sense of the proscriptive code,
does not encompass all that is necessary to be
trustworthy—a characteristic that demands much
more.12 For example, a willful disregard for regulations, such as “blowing post,” is not seen as a
breach of honor (unless one lies about the act).13
But is such conduct consistent with duty?14 Or in
a similar fashion, a cadet could also be grossly
disrespectful to another without violating the
honor code. Thus, we propose that each source
of commissioning explicitly and formally affirm
that decisions and actions that violate any of their
services’ values are unethical and intolerable. At
West Point, the pamphlet governing the honor
code and system states:
18

The disciplinary and honor systems are [separate and] distinct. Regulatory indiscipline
may violate one of the seven Army values.
Such infractions will be addressed, but not
under the honor system . . . However, while
a distinction is made between “honor” violations and “regulation” violations, it must be
understood that regulation violations may
be unethical in their very nature. Deliberate
disregard of known and established regulations for personal gain is a clear dereliction
of military discipline and a divergence from
ethical behavior. For example, the underage
consumption of alcohol, while not an honor
violation in itself, reflects negatively on the
character of the cadet(s) involved because it
violates the laws of the United States.15
In other words, cadets at West Point may deliberately disregard known standards of ethical conduct
and, if discovered, will normally be “slugged.”16 It is
this divide between the relative tolerance for certain
ethical lapses (e.g., disciplinary violations, lack of
respect, etc.) in contrast to the stigma of honor violations that gives the appearance of a false hierarchy
among the Army values. A value is a principle or concept that is always important. Therefore, all values
within the Army Ethic must be embraced—otherwise
the ethic itself lacks integrity.
The fundamental, cardinal characteristic in all relationships is trust, not simply honesty.17 A competent,
committed leader of character is trustworthy. And,
in a military context, with its inherent risk of serious
injury and death, professional trust is sacrosanct.18
Developing trust and striving to be trustworthy
require a life-long commitment to live by service
values. Coastguardsmen must trust that their leaders
will do their duty. Soldiers must know that leaders
will respect the intrinsic dignity and worth of all.
Sailors must know that leaders will display courage
in challenging times. Airmen must know that their
leaders are men and women who place integrity first.
Most importantly, the American people expect more
than that our armed forces will not lie, cheat, or steal.
The oaths we take on entry to our profession of arms
are clear on this matter.