Military Ethical dilemma analysis

Introduction

Canadian forces effectiveness, legitimacy, and honor have a basis on military ethos with three fundamental elements. Canadian values, Canadian military values, beliefs and expectations about military service. The military is an institution that requires the exhibition of sound and professional ethics among its service men and leaders. Military leaders live and work in a structured and closely-knit environment, where morality, justness and self-sacrifice direct their cause. The goal of this paper is to describe an ethical dilemma analyzing the Canadian principles of leadership, ethical principles, and obligations entailed in military morale conduct.

Ethical Dilemma

As a section Commander, my responsibility is to escort supplies and humanitarian goods from the army base to the United Nations depot distribution warehouses, prior to shipment to various refugee camps around the world. To deliver the supplies, I use both military supply vehicles and aircrafts to escort and transport supplies to and from the warehouses. UN staff, contractors and Canadian military personnel do the loading and unloading of the supplies. On a regular inspection, I noticed supplies were short of what is in the inventory at the barracks, supplied to and from the UN warehouses. The staff and military personnel I confronted denied the report. Further investigation and confrontation with evidence revealed that this was a common practice, which to the staff and military personnel was part of the relief tradition.

The military personnel I caught suggest my efforts were a waste of energy given that his commander was aware and part of the grander scheme. With the informal investigations and report dismissed, I was to either reproach the section commander or make a formal report. The reproach will only stop part of stealing and spare senior military command. A full formal report will stop the entire scheme and get me command reproach. I went for the full formal report.

Analysis

The ethical dilemma touches on the military leadership principle that “Exemplify and reinforce the military ethos; maintain order and discipline; uphold professional norms”. The ethical dilemma also touches on the ethical principle of “obey and support lawful authority”. The ethical obligations under which the ethical dilemma exists are integrity (where precedence to ethical obligations and principles before actions), courage (face moral challenge), honesty (truthfulness), and responsibility (in performing tasks).

My belief is the step taken in resolving the dilemma was sufficient and effective. The measure taken is sufficient since as a military leader, it is the expectation of the Canadian force that I elicit a mark of discipline, obedience, and law abiding in every action. Leaders in the Canadian Force ensure that personal conduct and that of subordinates reflect the professionalism of the military. Making a full formal report rather than reproaching the officer, and ignoring the widespread rooting of humanitarian supplies is in fulfillment of my ethical principles. This act is a fundamental Canadian Force ethical act, in ensuring that my actions and those of my fellow military colleagues show the civilian society-in this case UN staff- military professionalism.

My decision is ethical and moral under the military ethical principle of “obey and support lawful authority”. This is because obedience and support by military personnel are to lawful activities. Therefore, reproaching the section commander while overlooking the theft of humanitarian supplies by superiors is unethical under this principle. My act of making a formal report is ethically and morally correct under this principle. This decision is moral under the ethical obligation of integrity, since a military person must give ethical obligations and principles precedence over unethical conduct. A military person makes ethical decisions under the ethical obligation of integrity following applicable military regulations and laws. I have an ethical obligation to show courage in the face of moral challenges; hence, my actions marked strength of character.

The decision made is moral since under the ethical obligation of honesty Canadian Forces must make use of resources in an appropriate manner for the best interest of the mission. Therefore, the Section commander and military personnel involved in the crime lacked honesty required of Canadian Force personnel. Lastly, in my position as a Section Commander, I have an ethical obligation to carry out tasks with diligence, competence and dedication. The decision to make a formal report is my responsibility as a leader, while the section commander was unethical. Under this ethical obligation, those involved in the theft of humanitarian supplies are unethical as they denied accountability and the consequences of their actions. They lack ethics and morality as the theft of humanitarian supplies means they place their personal interest over those of the refugees.

Conclusion

I have given a description of an ethical dilemma detailing theft of humanitarian supplies meant for refugees from FC military base and UN warehouses, by UN staff and FC military personnel. A decision to make a report of the crime and deliver to the necessary authority is under the leadership principle of, reinforcing and exemplifying military ethos to maintain discipline, order and uphold the CF professionlism. The decision is under the ethical principle of obedience and support of lawful authority, where the unlawful act does not receive my support. This follows the ethical obligations of integrity, courage, honesty and responsibility, which the Section Commander deviates.
Bibliography

National Defence, Leadership in the Canadian Forces: Leading People, 2007, p. 11, consulted on October 16, 2012, http://www.cda.forces.gc.ca/cfpds-sppfc/english/documents/Leading-People-e.pdf.

National Defence, Statement of Defence Ethics, consulted on October 16, 2012, http://www.ethics.forces.gc.ca/dep-ped/about-ausujet/stmt-enc-eng.aspx.

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