REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS
The Decision
I am in the military and the decisions that I make effects someone or something either directly or indirectly. My status in the military allows me to make all sorts of decisions, from what pens and furniture to purchase to who to send to war, where and when. This particular decision I want to talk about is a decision that involved peoples lives. This decision changed my aspect of life and the military as I knew it.
I was in charged of this element that was getting ready to deploy, and we had just had a urinalysis in which a couple of soldiers came up positive on for marijuana, cocaine and other barbiturates When a soldier comes up positive for an illegal substance, it use to be a time where we were suppose to detain the individual, send him to the necessary facility to get help and then Chapter him out the military because we can no longer use that individual. When these soldiers came up positive we attempted to chapter them out the military but, because we are at war the military goal now is to retain everybody. The military is not letting anyone go due to mental, drugs, medical, or family. The military does not have enough soldiers in to sustain our awesome army, so they are retaining as many soldiers as they can. Anyway because of this new MILPER message that came out across the military, I could not chapter these drug abusers out nor get them help prior to us deploying, so they had to deploy with us. Once we reached our undisclosed location we set up our communications and started to engage the enemy. To make a long story short, the individuals that came up positive on the urinalysis 2 lost their lives in one of the battles that took place, the other threw a grenade in the sleep tent and killed several of his fellow comrades. Even though they seemed like nothing was wrong apparently something was wrong and I not only overlooked it, but shouldn't have deployed them with us, despite what the military dictated.
Expected Utility Theory
This is the normative Theory ( Plous, S ). The decision that I made in the first place was the normal decision anyone would have made. The military tells you that you will do something and you do it, not questioning it, or rebuttal.
This bureaucratic trap is accepted by most of the naive soldiers. This is why the military is able to make the soldiers do whatever they want them to do.
...it balances constitutional guarantees and fairness with the needs for proper order and discipline. She then said that those subject to military law did not have the same constitutional guarantees given under civilian law where justice is the objective. Critics observed that the military system of justice is broken down and that it is ironic and tragic that those who are sworn to protect the Constitution were often deprived of basic Constitutional rights. She also felt that court-martials are out of control. There are approximately 10,000 or more of these each year. This situation, the 98% conviction rate, the reality of untrained and understaffed defense attorneys and blatant command influence altogether were serious problems confronted by military personnel who confront the military rule of law (O’Meara).#
Millions of men were called to serve in the Vietnam War. Sometimes, the men were drafted and did not have a choice. Unlike the gift-wrapped ideals of the war that were displayed to the United States, many soldiers would find that the military life would involve far more than “real man-sized action.” To the general public, soldiers were being drafted to be heroes, but once they were forced into war, less than heroic things occurred, and no one would be able to object. The law...
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
In order for a military to execute its function, every platform of the chain of command must expect and demand obedience to commands (Montrose, 2013), because if this does not happen many lives can be at stake. A simply failure to comply with the orders given can not only jeopardize the lives of the soldiers, it can compromise the safety of all military personnel involved, even in the matter of national security. Utilitarianism has a core theory that some actions may be considered right or wrong relying on the effects of the outcomes. This theory is mostly what could be applied this situation of the detainees in the military prisons. During this time, national security was weak, the country was being attacked and threatened, and thousands of innocent civilians lost their lives. The military could was only looking out for the interest of the country and many interrogation techniques were used to get information that could lead the capture of Al-Qaeda leaders. Soldiers are sent to warzones without the ability to deny their own obligation to war, just because they believe it to be morally wrong. They are sent and receive orders under the assumption the government has all the information needed to make the best decision for the country. According to the periodical, Unjust War and a Soldier’s Moral Dilemma, individual soldiers who have
The U.S. military is a strong force and body that protects and serves the American people. Many people support the military and some even disagree with it. What people forget is that without a military the U.S. would be totally over run by foreign countries claiming ground. The military also helps with the nation’s economy boosting the balance of money in the works. Families have trouble with members who serve since there is always chance that they never return but it is because of their service that we are still a free country. Even though the military causes pain to families when a loved one is lost, the U.S. needs a military because with a military the economy increases and that without a military we would be invaded by a dictator or foreign
Conscription, also known as drafting, is a practice that requires mandatory enlisting into any of the branches of the armed forces. This practice has been adopted by the United States at the very least two times before and from what I can remember during World War II and the Civil War conscription was being practiced. Nowadays conscription is not practiced in the United States because there isn’t a need for it. Now, if you want to join the army you can do so by volunteering. However, there are people who believe conscription should be brought back. Some people believe that the drafting of younger people might help these young people develop useful skills and cultivate a sense of unity and national pride. Although all of these are valid reasons,
I couldn't help to think of the current situation on immigration and the military. I served eight years in the military at the very beginning of the war with Iraq. As I look back, and I position myself to the present, I find myself wrestling with mixed feeling and sadness. If I were still in the military, how would I feel to have to obey the Commander in Chief and go to fight an unjust battle? Being a soldier means then follow, and normalize the wrong. Being a soldier means to march without considering moral and ethics, unable to feel? Would I choose to disobey and go to
Military is an establishment of a country and nation. There are a few different motivation behind why one may join the Military. Recently, Ive asked a few secondary school understudies for what good reason they anticipate inlisting in the military. Majority of their responses were cash for school , training and traveling. Those are suitable reasons yet many are undecided wheather to join the military after college or before college. With All things considered , it is by all means more valuable and beneficial to join the military before school instead of joining after school. One key defense would be that joining the military before school will help pay for ones
"The soldier is the Army. No army is better than its soldiers. The Soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country” (-General George S. Patton Jr). Here within our borders we are the lucky ones, we have been blessed with the pleasure of so many brave men and women; to volunteer in the world's greatest military; and put their lives on the line for something that they believe is a moral obligation. But, think of some other countries, that have conscription (the practice of ordering people by law to serve in the armed forces) laws. We as a nation have some laws on conscription, and if you are male and above the age of 18 you have already signed the slip of paper stating that in the time of war; if our great nation re-instated the draft then there is a great chance you will be serving on the frontline of the next Great War. This brings me to my first topic of this page, is it ethical to have a draft? My second topic that I will discuss will be on if it is morally acceptable to "draft dodge". What I mean on the second topic is if you have a right; that morally allows you to not go fight in the war.
Military-connected youth is a population that’s poorly understood because mental health services, and substance use treatments are commonly particular among deployed military personnel (Swahn, 2013). Unfortunately, young people from military families struggle with deleterious stressors, related to parent deployment, that have been associated with externalizing behaviors such as substance use (Sullivan et al., 2015). Research indicates that parental deployment influences the likelihood of substance use among youth through the disruption of family routines, increased distress of the remaining parent, and increased familial responsibility for the adolescent (Burrell, Adams, Durand, & Castro, 2006). Substance use predisposes youth to countless health and social problems, thus affecting their socio-emotional development and academic success (Sullivan et al., 2015). That
Numerous examples of the system of authority exist today: the American government is a system of authority and even the staff of a school is a system of authority. There is always a person one rank higher, a person to please. The best example of this would be the Marine Corp, as demonstrated in the film A Few Good Men. A prime example would be Colonel Jessup; as the commanding officer every marine knows to obey his commands. Col. Jessup’s arrogant behavior and need to receive respect demonstrates how authority can distort human behavior; his power not only corrupted him, but it also provoked the order of the Code Red which kills Santiago. According to Rod Powers, a US Military expert, Article 90 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice states that willfully disobeying a superior officer is considered a crime (Powers). This justifies the actions of Dawson and Downey as they were simply obeying authority and risked punishment if they were to disobey or refuse to carry out the Code Red. Stanley Milgram, author of “The Perils of Obedience”, discusses how the subjects in his experiment were in fact against administering the shocks; however, they could not disobey the experimenter who was conducting the experiment (Milgram 86). This supports the decision Dawson and Downey reached to obey Lt. Kendrick’s order to complete the Code Red on William Santiago. Authors Kelman and Hamilton also
The kind of theory I will be using to approach the question, should one obey and unjust or illegal orders given by one’s military superiors? Using Philosophers Kant principles on deontological theory that emphasis on the relationship between duty and the morality of human. I will explain the action a soldier may or may not be responsible for based on morals and ethics. Are military personal actions be based on their own ethical standers or can you deem their action ethical correct because their actions are not their own will but the will of their superiors. I will include other Philosophers thoughts on this matter. A large investigation occurred in 2005. Military man and women were accused of inhumanly missed treated and torturing prisoners of war.
What if we all went into the military after high school? Sure we would all be disciplined and focused and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. But we would all be the same and we wouldn’t have free choice anymore. We would all have the same military mindset. We would eat think and sleep war. I have relatives as close as my father that are in the/or were in the military. They are fun to be around at most times but they have no tolerance for mistakes. The military has great benefits like paying for college tuition or the pay check or even just staying mentally and physically strong
Army life can be very challenging and a life changing experience. It was very challenging and life changing for me. I was raised by my Grandparents they did everything for me so this was a wakeup call for me on life. An independent person was not I, so I had problems with the changes about to come. Army life is constantly demanding and constantly changing without notice. Although the travel was exciting, army life for me was very challenging because I had to learn to adapt to a new system, to share my life with other soldiers, and to give up many of the comforts of home.