The last temptation is the greatest treason: to do the right deed for the wrong reason.
--- T. S. Eliot

Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless,
and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.
--- Samuel Johnson

The good people sleep much better at night than the bad people.
Of course, the bad people enjoy the waking hours much more.
--- Woody Allen

I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us.
Pigs treat us as equals.
--- Winston Churchill

It follows that it was not a very wonderful action, or contrary to the common practice of mankind, if we did accept an empire that was offered to us, and refused to give it up under the pressure of three of the strongest motives, fear, honour, and interest. And it was not we who set the example, for it has always been law that the weaker should be subject to the stronger. Besides, we believed ourselves to be worthy of our position, and so you thought us till now, when calculations of interest have made you take up the cry of justice- a consideration which no one ever yet brought forward to hinder his ambition when he had a chance of gaining anything by might. And praise is due to all who, if not so superior to human nature as to refuse dominion, yet respect justice more than their position compels them to do.
--- Thucydides, in The History of the Peloponnesian War, translated by Richard Crawley

Overall/General Resources

• Ethics resources, by sub-topic area, University of San Diego

• Ethics Centers by Category and Rating (local copy), by Wheeler, 2002 AFIT-sponsored study at Georgia State University

• Code of Professional Standards for the Practice of Public Relations, Public Relations Society of America

• The Seven Social Sins, as quoted by Mahatma Gandhi in "Young India," 1925
  • Politics without principles
  • Wealth without work
  • Pleasure without conscience
  • Knowledge without character
  • Commerce without morality
  • Science without humanity
  • Worship without sacrifice

• George Washington and the 110 rules of conduct

Ethics of War & Uses of the Military

• See also Law page, especially
  • Laws of War
  • Just War Theory
  • Use of Force

• Military OR Ethics, by Toner, in Air and Space Power Journal, Summer 2003 - includes the three Os, the three Rs, and the three Ds

• "We aren't here to do the decent thing": Saving Private Ryan and the Morality of War, by Prior, in Parameters, Autumn 2000 - examining four perspectives within the film
• Morality and Private Ryan - discussion of Prior's article, and a reply by Prior

• Legal and Ethical Lessons of NATO’s Kosovo Campaign (local copy), Naval War College International Law Studies Series, Volume 78, 2002 -- a whole passel of articles by military and civilian contributors, discussing almost every major aspect of the war

• Joint Services Conference on Professional Ethics (JSCOPE)
  • A Consequentialist Argument against Torture Interrogation of Terrorists, by Arrigo, for JSCOPE
    
  • Moral Issues in Military Intervention, a Joint Services Conference on Professional Ethics
  • The Domestic Role of the Military, a Joint Services Conference on Professional Ethics
  • Moral Considerations in Military Decision Making, a Joint Services Conference on Professional Ethics
  • 1997 JSCOPE papers, including topics addressing war crimes, ethics of nonlethal combat, applying laws of war to peacekeeping, and participation in coalition operations

• Ethical Issues in Counterterrorism Warfare, by Cook

• Moral Foundations of Military Service, by Cook, in Parameters, Spring 2000

• Morality in Modern Aerial Warfare, by Gingras and Ruby, for ACSC
• The Teaching of Morality in Warfighting in Today's Officer Corps, by Swift, for ACSC

Torture?

• See also Treatment of Prisoners & Torture on Law page

• RL32276 - The U.N. Convention Against Torture: Overview of U.S. Implementation Policy Concerning the Removal of Aliens, CRS report

• Torture Interrogation of Terrorists: A Theory of Exceptions (With Notes, Cautions, and Warnings), by Casebeer, for JSCOPE

• Can Interrogatory Torture Be Morally Legitimate? , by Kennedy, for JSCOPE

• A Consequentialist Argument against Torture Interrogation of Terrorists, by Arrigo, for JSCOPE
  

• Torture and the Future, by Hajjar, in "Middle East Report Online"

Ethical Decision Making

• Making Ethical Decisions - A Practical Model (Local Copy), by Schafer, in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, May 2002

• Ethical Decision-Making: The Link Between Ambiguity and Accountability, by Scott, in Air & Space Power Chronicles

• Apply the Ethical Decision-Making Method as a Commander, Leader, or Staff Member (local copy), from the Army Training Support Center (ATSC)

• Ethical Decision Making, from the Army Action Officer online presentation
  - includes Ethical guidelines displayed as a decision model (local copy), from FM 20-100, 1990 edition

• Moral Reasoning as a Strategic Leader Competency (Local Copy), by Martin Cook, Professor of Ethics, US Army War College
  • includes discussion (starting on page two) of Kohlberg Scale of moral development
    • Level One: Preconventional
      • Stage One: Reward and Punishment
      • Stage Two: Instrumental
    • Level Two: Conventional
      • Stage Three: Peer group
      • Stage Four: Societal Expectation
    • Level Three: Post-Conventional
      • Stage Five: Social Contract
      • Stage Six: Universal Moral Principle

Organizations & Conferences

• See also Media Ethics

• Fourth Anton Myrer Strategic Leadership Conference: A “Leadership During Crisis” Workshop (local copy), Center for Strategic Leadership (CSL), July 2002 - with summaries of conclusions by various breakout panels

• Joint Services Conference on Professional Ethics (JSCOPE)
  • is an organization of military professionals, academics and others formed to discuss ethical issues relevant to the military. The Conference meets each year to present and discuss academic papers. This site is hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy

• Josephson Institute of Ethics
  • The Seven-Step Path to Better Decisions - expanded description of steps below
    1. Stop and Think
    2. Clarify Goals
    3. Determine Facts
    4. Develop Options
    5. Consider Consequences
    6. Choose
    7. Monitor and Modify

• Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs

• Institute for Global Ethics

• Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University
  • Ethical Perspectives on the Terrorism Attacks

• The Institute for Business and Professional Ethics, DePaul U.

U.S. Government

• U.S. Office of Government Ethics, executive orders, statutes, regulations, advisory letters, etc.

• The President's Council on Bioethics

Joint/DoD

• DoD Standards of Conduct Office (SOCO)
  • "We invite you to use this resource to understand the ethical standards that apply to every DoD employee, both civilian and military."
  • "The General Counsel is also the DoD Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) who oversees the ethics and standards of conduct programs throughout DoD, including providing guidance to the Army, Navy, Air Force, and DoD Agencies."

• Joint Ethics Regulations
• DoD Directive 5500.7, Standards of Conduct (local copy)

• Joint Services Conference on Professional Ethics (JSCOPE) is an organization of military professionals, academics and others formed to discuss ethical issues relevant to the military. The Conference meets each year in late January in Washington, D.C., to present and discuss academic papers. This site is hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy

• Ethics and the Armed Forces, bibliography by Naval War College library (local copy)

Air Force

• Airman's Creed

• USAF Core Values, [local copy of Blue Book]

• The Early Retirement of Gen Ronald R. Fogleman, Chief of Staff, United States Air Force, interview in Airpower Journal, Spring 2001

• Air Force Standards and Accountability (local copy), speech by Gen Fogleman, produced after Blackhawk shootdown

• Everyone Needs Core Values, Mentors (local copy), speech by Gen Hornburg

• AFP 35-49, Air Force Leadership, 1 Sep 1985, signed by General Charles A. Gabriel
  • (local copy) 408K PDF file, with cover as page 1
  • (local copy) 156K PDF file, minus the cover

  • This pamphlet provides a guide for new and aspiring Air Force leaders. It also presents a useful review for those already in leadership positions. A practical knowledge of leadership fundamentals is absolutely essential for effective leadership. The pamphlet discusses the Air Force leadership concept, basic traits, and principles. Second, it presents a situational approach to leadership challenges, with comments on key elements of any leadership problem: mission, people, leaders, and environment. The final portion of the pamphlet addresses leadership preparation actions.

Army

• Soldier's Creed

• Army Core Values from FM 22-100
  • "Here are the Army values that guide you, the leader, and the rest of the Army. They form the acronym LDRSHIP:"
    • Loyalty
    • Duty
    • Respect
    • Selfless Service
    • Honor
    • Integrity
    • Personal Courage

• Values, Attitudes and Behaviors (local copy), Army EO briefing - includes Louis Rath's Value Criteria, BETARI Box Model of interactivity between my attitude/behavior and your attitude/behavior, and discussion of cognitive dissonance

• Moral Reasoning as a Strategic Leader Competency (local copy), by Martin Cook, Professor of Ethics, US Army War College

• Apply the Ethical Decision-Making Method as a Commander, Leader, or Staff Member (local copy), from the Army Training Support Center (ATSC)

Navy

• Sailor's Creed

• The Ethics Compass, Department of the Navy

• Core Values of the United States Navy

• Center for the Study of Professional Military Ethics, United States Naval Academy

Marine

• MCO 1500.56, Marine Corps Values Program (local copy), 16 Dec 1996

• Marine Corps Values Guide, with sections on leadership, leading discussion, ethical leadership, mentoring, counseling, leadership styles, etc

• MCMAP and the Marine Warrior Ethos (local copy), by Yi, in Military Review, Nov-Dec 2004

• "The Warrior Creed" by Robert L. Humphrey, 1923-1997 (Iwo Jima Marine)
  • Wherever I go, everyone is a little bit safer because I am there.
  • Wherever I am, anyone in need has a friend.
  • Whenever I return home, everyone is happy I am there.

Coast Guard

• Office of Leadership and Diversity, US Coast Guard - includes core values section

International

• See also culture awareness page

• Institute for Global Ethics

• World Ethics on the World News Network

• Journal of Buddhist Ethics

• Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI)

• International Business Ethics Institute

• Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs

• United Nations Public Administration and Finance - including public sector ethics and policies worldwide

• Center for Business Ethics and Corporate Governance, Russia

• Ethics Institute of South Africa

• The Seven Social Sins, as quoted by Mahatma Gandhi in "Young India," 1925
  • Politics without principles
  • Wealth without work
  • Pleasure without conscience
  • Knowledge without character
  • Commerce without morality
  • Science without humanity
  • Worship without sacrifice

Values and Ethics Case Studies

• See also Lessons Learned

• Military Ethics Case Studies, from JSCOPE

• The Early Retirement of Gen Ronald R. Fogleman, Chief of Staff, United States Air Force, interview in Airpower Journal, Spring 2001

• Air Force Standards and Accountability (local copy), speech by Gen Fogleman, produced after Blackhawk shootdown

• George C. Marshall: A Study in Character (local copy), by Brower, for JSCOPE '99 conference

• Profile of a Leader: The Wallenberg Effect (local copy), by Kunich and Lester, "a study of the leadership principles employed by Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who went to Budapest in 1944 to intervene on behalf of Hungary's 700,000 Jews who were being deported by the Nazis to extermination camps."

• Ethical Dilemmas in Earthquake Risk Reduction, Case Studies from the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI)
  • Approach to Complex Ethical Problems, a general approach from the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI)

Military Journal Articles

• Military OR Ethics, by Toner, Air and Space Power Journal, Summer 2003

• Military Ethics, by Szafranski, Toner, and Casebeer, Airpower Journal, Winter 1994

• Airpower Journal, Summer 1996
  • Professional Military Ethics: What Do We Want?, by Spencer, Airpower Journal, Summer 1996
  • A Question of Ethics, by Colson, Airpower Journal, Summer 1996
  • Gallant Atavism: The Military Ethic in an Age of Nihilism, by Toner, Airpower Journal, Summer 1996
  • Professional Integrity, by Wakin, Airpower Journal, Summer 1996
  • Personal Ethics versus Professional Ethics , by White, Airpower Journal, Summer 1996
  • The US Air Force Academy’s Cutting-Edge Character Development Program, by Hall and Wagie, Airpower Journal, Summer 1996

• Mistakes in Teaching Ethics, by Toner, Airpower Journal, Summer 1998

• A Philosophical Conflict: A Fighter Pilot's Views on the Ethics of Warfare, by Sonnenberg, Air University Review, Jul-Aug 1985

• Ethics Theory for the Military Professional, by Chaplain Maloney, Air University Review, Mar-Apr 1981
  Few officers have tried so vigorously to inculcate an appreciation of integrity among those for whom they had responsibility as Admiral James B. Stockdale. While president of the Naval War College, he inaugurated a course on the "Foundations of Moral Obligation." His course was built on principles that became profoundly meaningful for him during 2714 days of imprisonment and torture in Hanoi’s Hoa Lo prison. He claims that he was sustained as a prisoner of war (POW) more from what he had learned in philosophy than from what he had read in survival manuals. He knew that man needs more than buzzwords and acronyms; he needs the enduring principles articulated by mankind’s most thoughtful spirits. His students read from Job, Epictetus, Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Mill, Emerson, Dostoevski, and the existentialists. He said:

  "I think this is the only way to teach a sophisticated audience "duty, honor, country." I’m not trying to make fundamentalists out of them. I’m not trying to make warmongers out of them. I’m trying to make more self-confident leaders who will realize half of what comes into their baskets is crap and that they should worry about things that are important."

  Admiral Stockdale would have us regain our moral bearings and rediscover the power and the courage available when we have committed ourselves to fundamental integrity.

  ---

• The Ethics of Computer Network Attack , by Bayles, Parameters, Spring 2001

• Army Values and Ethics: A Search for Consistency and Relevance, by Brinsfield, Parameters, Autumn 1998

• A Revolution in Military Ethics? , by Peters, Parameters, Summer 1996

• Ethics and the Senior Officer: Institutional Tensions , by Buckingham, Parameters, Autumn 1985

  ---

• Morality and Modern Air War, by Gingras and Ruby, Joint Force Quarterly, Summer 2000

• War Criminals: Testing the Limits of Military Force, by Lorenz, Joint Force Quarterly, Summer 1997

• Moral Obligation Versus 'Beeper Ethics': A Review Essay, by O'Neill, Joint Force Quarterly, Spring 1996

• Leadership, Community, and Virtue, by Toner, Joint Force Quarterly, Spring 1996

  ---

• Following are from Naval War College Review Index

• Brennan, Joseph G.
  
  • Ethics Instruction in the Military: Teach Them Plato or Hammer It into Their Heads. Autumn 1989:55-65
  • Ambition and Careerism. Winter 1991:76-82
• Chaloupka, Mel G. Ethical Responses: How to Influence One’s Organization. Winter 1987:80-90
• Pike, James A. Western Morality. October 1953:1-24
• Rosenthal, Joel H. Today’s Officer Corps: A Repository of Virtue in an Anarchic World? Autumn 1997:104-11
• Ross, Bruce A. The Case for Targeting Leadership in War. Winter 1993:73-93
• Stockdale, James B. The Teaching of Ethics in the Military. September-October 1982:97-9

  ---

Standards of Conduct

• DoD Standards of Conduct Office (SOCO)
  • "We invite you to use this resource to understand the ethical standards that apply to every DoD employee, both civilian and military."
  • "The General Counsel is also the DoD Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) who oversees the ethics and standards of conduct programs throughout DoD, including providing guidance to the Army, Navy, Air Force, and DoD Agencies."

• Joint Ethics Regulations
• DoD Directive 5500.7, Standards of Conduct (local copy)

Code of Conduct

• Code of Conduct (local copy) - just the code

• Code of Conduct (local copy) - with notes on authority and amendments

• DoD Gen-11B, Code of the U.S. Fighting Force (local copy) - expanded description of the code

Oath of Office

• The Military Oath of Office, with comments, by Col Orwyn Sampson, in AU-24, Concepts for AF Leadership

• The Oath of Office - A Historical Guide to Moral Leadership, by Keskel, in Air & Space Power Journal - includes changes over the years
  U.S. Federal and Military Officer Oath of Office

• 5 USCode Sec. 3331 (01/24/94) Oath of Office
  (Title 5, Part III, Subpart B, Chapter 33, Subchapter II, Sec. 3331)
  Sec. 3331. - Oath of office - An individual, except the President, elected or appointed to an office of honor or profit in the civil service or uniformed services, shall take the following oath: ''I, AB, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.'' This section does not affect other oaths required by law.

• 5 USCode Sec. 2905 (01/24/94) Oath; renewal
  (Title 5, Part III, Subpart A, Chapter 29, Subchapter I, Sec. 2905)
  Sec. 2905. - Oath; renewal
  (a) - An employee of an Executive agency or an individual employed by the government of the District of Columbia who, on original appointment, subscribed to the oath of office required by section 3331 of this title is not required to renew the oath because of a change in status so long as his service is continuous in the agency in which he is employed, unless, in the opinion of the head of the Executive agency, the Secretary of a military department with respect to an employee of his department, or the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, the public interest so requires.

  (b) - An individual who, on appointment as an employee of a House of Congress, subscribed to the oath of office required by section 3331 of this title is not required to renew the oath so long as his service as an employee of that House of Congress is continuous

  Enlisted Oath

• 10 USCcode Sec. 502 (01/24/94) Enlistment oath, and who may administer
  (Title 10, Subtitle A, Part II, Chapter 31, Sec. 502)
  Sec. 502. - Enlistment oath: who may administer
  Each person enlisting in an armed force shall take the following oath: ''I, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.'' This oath may be taken before any commissioned officer of any armed force

Honor Codes

• U.S. Military Academy Cadet Honor Code
• U.S. Naval Academy Honor Concept
• U.S. Air Force Academy Honor Code

Other Creeds & Codes

• Airman's Creed
• Soldier's Creed
• Sailor's Creed
• NCO Creed

• The Warrior’s Code (local copy), by French, paper at JSCOPE, 2001
• The Code of the Warrior: the Values and Ideals of Warrior Cultures throughout History, book by Shannon E. French

• "The Warrior Creed" by Robert L. Humphrey, 1923-1997 (Iwo Jima Marine)
  • Wherever I go, everyone is a little bit safer because I am there.
  • Wherever I am, anyone in need has a friend.
  • Whenever I return home, everyone is happy I am there.

• Other creeds

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