Analysis Of The Commanding Officer's Moral Dilemma

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The Commanding Officer’s Moral Dilemma
United States Military Officers from all services are trained in military tactics, standards, and values. One of the most important lesson they are taught is the health and welfare of their troops. Commanding Officers (COs) hold the lives of thousands of service men and women in their hands, and their decisions directly affect the safety and well-being of subordinates. The moral dilemma to risk the lives of many to save a few, or its opposite, to save the lives of many by sacrificing the lives of a few, is one of the toughest situations for a CO to be in, and one of the toughest decisions to make. The CO has to look at the big picture and the long-term effects of his decisions, and in this scenario the …show more content…

Reports confirm seven Americans work on the rig, which borders the Chinese-Vietnamese maritime boundary. An American engineer has told the CO of the LCS that the resupply ship was attacked by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and has sunk. The engineer believes there are survivors in the water, the rig is also under PLA attack, and he is pleading for rescue. The PLA Navy ship has contacted the CO of the LCS and has made it clear that this is a police action dealing with illegal activities, and the American ship should stay outside a 10 mile radius from the oil rig. The moral dilemma for the CO is saving the seven Americans but risking the lives of his sailors and/or losing the ship, or sacrificing the seven Americans to comply with Chinese demands. Not only does the CO have a moral dilemma, but he also has maritime rules and regulations to follow and the foundations of Navy …show more content…

By doing what he feels is morally right and his duty, the CO is trying to save lives on the oil rig. There are many repercussions in taking this action including putting the crew and ship in danger, and starting an international incident with China. The Chinese could take this as aggressive actions and call in air support or declare an act of war against the US. The CO didn’t get authorization to conduct the rescue from his command. The ship could be damaged, the crew killed, and the CO could be relieved from duty and court martialed. This choice of action has very serious negative fallout; from losing the ship, death of sailors, and an international incident that could negatively impact the relationship between the US and

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