United States marine corporal Melvin Jones kept a blog during the time he and his unit were stationed in Afghanistan. His blog typically included personal thoughts about the war and details of general military life. On November 20, 2013 his unit illegally crossed the Pakistan border in pursuit of Taliban insurgents without the permission from the Pakistani government. Before Jones’ unit could reach the stronghold the marines were ambushed. As a result four men died in an unexpected firefight. Upon investigation, the military concluded that the unit’s commanding officer had failed to send out a patrol to search for possible ambushes, as required by military protocol. The report was classified and not released to the public because it acknowledged the American detachment had been operating on Pakistani territory illegally.
Corporal Jones posted his description of the events on his blog which included that the operation took place on Pakistani territory, a detailed description of the entry route his unit used to travel into Pakistan, and he mentioned his commanding officer’s violation of military protocol, which may have led to the ambush and deaths of his fellow marines.
Due to Jones’ entry, the military brought charges against him under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for, “releasing classified information and conduct detrimental to military security.” At the hearing Corporal Jones’ attorney argued that the content of his client’s blog was, “protected by the First Amendment because it dealt with his own impressions and ideas on a matter of public interest.” He also claimed that, “it was not Jones’ intent to undermine military security but that his account of the firefight and its consequences was an act of by his comm...
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...ber of the military it was a breach of his conduct to release the classified information to his blog despite it being his personal thoughts and experiences. As a member of the United States Marines he has a duty to his country first.
There is an obvious need to ensure that all soldiers act according to military orders rather than their own personal political motivations. At times, the military’s need to protect military order supersedes a soldier’s right to political speech. There is a delicate balance between protecting military interests and a soldier’s right to freedom of speech. Interests of the military, including protecting national security, promoting order and discipline within the military, and safeguarding military secrets must be balanced with a soldier’s right to tell his or her story and the public’s right to know the truth about the war on terror.
Professional Military Education schools teach the Army Ethic and evaluation reports for leaders affirm this ethic. The Army punishes individuals, especially leaders, who violate this code. The Army administratively punishes Soldiers who do not adhere to this code, and the severity of punishment increases with rank. One recent and highly visible example of this is former General Petraeus’s adultery and the subsequent professional sanctions he experienced. The Army grows its own ethical code and maintains it through the American people.
This billet is normally filed by a GySgt, requires supervision of Marines and Civilians and requires extensive coordination with Joint Forces Headquarters personnel, senior members of the Intelligence Community, and training oversight. During this time, he was directly responsible for signals intelligence development for multiple targets, resulting in multiple serialized reports and over a dozen internal analytical products used by the CMT, Marine Forces Cyber Command, United States Cyber Command, and the National Security Agency. His leadership responsibilities in these cases required supervision and accountability of three Marines and two civilians, including taking proactive action to ensure the completion and maintenance of all oversight & compliance paperwork. His duties involved daily interaction and liaison with senior personnel within the national security community, including GS-15 branch managers, Senior Executive Service (SES) personnel, and General/Flag Officers. He handled these relationships with the utmost professionalism, initiative, persistence, and maturity. His efforts regularly brought forth accolades and praise from the leaders SSgt Jones interacted with. This interaction required a delicate balance of restraint and assertiveness, balancing the need to work with interagency partners while still prioritizing the CMT's primary mission responsibilities to its assigned supported
Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart were both providing sniper support from another Black Hawk when they witnessed the second Black Hawk crash. Knowing that the crew of the second Black Hawk wouldn’t get any support for a long time, they requested to be deployed near the crash site to form a perimeter. There was a crowd of around a thousand angry Somalians and militia approaching the crash site. They knew the risk, but still requested to be deployed. They were deployed from the Black Hawk and made their way to the second crash site. Once they got there, they moved the only surviving crew member, Mike Durant, out of the crashed Black Hawk and into a small, half destroyed stone hut to protect them from behind. Both MS Gordon and SFC Shughart valiantly defended the crash site, but were eventually killed by the surrounding mob of a thousand armed people. Since Mike Durant couldn’t move on his own, he watched from his stone hut the Somalians pass the bodies of SFC Shughart and MS Gordon around the top of the cheering crowd. After a few minutes, some of the Somalians noticed Mike Durant and charged at him. The Somalians then started punching and kicking Durant
The narrator opens the conversation with the white haired man by stating, “We had a mission today. Target was ten kliks south of here? (...) It was my first mission like that…” (284). It is important to note the way in which our narrator trails off at the end of his statement. The narrator purposely avoids specifying the contents of the day’s mission because he is haunted by guilt. The uncertainty of the narrator’s mindset is later reiterated when he expresses, “I just never killed anybody before. Neither have I, he says. But I did. I think. I mean, we just shot the rounds off” (284). The key words in this excerpt are “we just shot the rounds off”, so he feels as though he did not play a major role in the deaths of the enemies. This mindset can be connected to a conversation had earlier in the story between the narrator and his crew. In this situation, the crew is discussing who should receive recognition for killing the enemy. Our narrator is clearly uncomfortable with this debate and makes the claim that since the ammo for ICM came from the Marines, they should also be held responsible for the deaths of the enemy troops. We see our narrator try to divvy up the blame for the death of the enemy troops to lessen his guilt. This debate along with the dialogue between our narrator and the old gunnery sergeant further
In 2004, a soldier by the name of Michael Monsoor graduated from BUD/S school (A Navy Seal training facility) effortlessly. Almost two years later, he was fighting on a roof in Ramadi, Iraq. While producing cover fire for his SEAL team mates, an enemy insurgent managed to toss a grenade through a window where the SEALs were positioned. The grenade struck Monsoor and rolled in front of him. Without even the slightest hesitation, he threw himself over the explosive and absorbed the blast. Thirty minutes later, Monsoor died because of the explosion. Doing what he did allowed the other SEALs in the room to live (Klaidman 3). Michael Monsoor is a prime example of what it means to be courageous and to have valor in its highest form. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the United States of America’s highest military honor. When hearing this story, it is safe to say that Americans have an extreme animosity towards the enemy insurgents. This illustration of patriotism is one of the reasons why Americans believe that they are endowed the right to discriminate or assimilate people who may be affiliated with these enemies. One way these emotions can be amplified is through the use of one of America’s favorite pastimes.
Like most people that did or see something that know one understands they have “ the thing that they can't say”.In the story Ambush by Tim O’Brien, The author tells us of the time he was on a lookout and his training made him throw a grenade. With the intent of trying and killing his enemy.The war could leave soldiers coming home from deployment traumatizing and could also leave them helpless from getting help.
Using physical force towards an attacker of sexually abusing a boy in afghan, the U.S. soldiers used. They claimed that they wanted him to understand he needed to leave the boy and his mother alone, otherwise it would be worse. The two men, Quinn and Marland was relieved of their duties. Quinn left military and Marland was forced to separate.
These soldiers were left in a situation where they really had no choice. It is this exact situation that fuels seemingly poor decisions made by officers in the military. The code that every soldier must follow dictates that when given an order, he or she must comply. At the time of another soldier’s Code Red, in which he was food deprived, Dawson disobeyed and snuck the man a meal. Setting up as a precursor to Dawson’s future actions, Jessep tarnishes his record without reasoning due to his disobedience. Having realized what happens when he fails to follow an order, Dawson ensures Kendrick’s Code Red ordered on Private Santiago is carried out. Similarly to the case of Dawson and Downey is the trouble that Lieutenant William Calley fell into during the My Lai Massacre. His decision to remain non-rebellious against his superior’s orders resulted in him alone being charged with what the court ruled to be murderous acts and not simply two men following orders. Hamilton and Kelman rebuttal Calley’s statement with, “You could be court-martialed for refusing an order and refusing an order in the face of the enemy, you could be sent to death, sir.” (136). According to the account by Calley, an officer who disregards his superior’s commands takes the chance of punishment for his actions; therefore, the dichotomy that Calley receives in his position promotes him following orders given to him if he could be so far as killed for disobeying. Though it seems unethical to murder hundreds of innocent Vietnamese townspeople, the position that Calley was placed in made it as though he had no choice at all. Similarly, Dawson and Downey, with the codes by which they must follow in the military and the laws they must abide by as U.S. citizens, are given a choice between two actions which condemn each other;
Acquitted for their actions at My Lai all Soldiers except Lieutenant Calley escapes prosecution and punishment. We as senior leaders and professionals must take a step back and look at the behavior of the leadership throughout Charlie Company. The core leadership of platoon leaders, noncommissioned officers, and company commander either allowed, participated, or precipitated mass murder, rape, and breakdown of moral values. Our core values and principles as leaders guide us to be discipline, be humane, and of good moral character and help us instill these values and discipline in our
Snider, D. M. (2008). Dissent and strategic leadership of the military professions. Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College.
No one came back alive; they were either slowly given over to death or were forced to join the Leumi. Knowing all of this was what made our mission difficult; we had to go into Monty and kill Muhadi, which was the place where no man ever thought of going. Since tracking Muhadi was almost impossible, our entire operation was based on a tip, a rumor. The realization of what was about be be required of me in the coming days was worrisome, and I became aware of the feasibility of my death. After being briefed by our commander, the six members of my platoon, including myself, left our base and were relieved of any previous feelings of safety we might have felt. Sergeant Smith, the leader of our platoon, fabricated a plan in which we would arrive at Muhadi's doorstep at night, raid the compound, and find and kill Muhadi. First, we determined our position of attack. We traveled west atop some hills to get a better vantage point to spot the exact location of the compound. With this vantage point, we plotted our next move. Tensions were beginning to rise among every member of our platoon, as we had no reassurance that Muhadi was where we believed him to
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
Hughes ran along the hot sandy beach of Oahu, Hawaii. Oahu was a secret military that the enemies had found. It held missiles and experimental weaponry. The enemies had found it and captured it, he was there to take it back. He was just let out of a reinforcement helicopter onto the beach and it was already dangerous. He was trying to reach the front line to push the opposition back, but it was all for nothing he was stuck in the back. Hughes was thinking about how he could move up get to the front. As he figured out how to get to the base, he saw a large tank come up a dune with two smaller tanks trailing behind it. He knew this would be a hard battle considering they were now out gunned by the three massive tanks and two-thousand soldiers.
People in the military are taught that they must follow orders. This is pounded into their heads throughout basic training. Following orders is supposed to keep things running smoothly and keep people safe, even when the soldiers do not agree with the orders being given. The men that took part in what happened at Abu Ghraib prison may have felt that they did not have the freedom to make a choice. They were following orders, exactly as they were trained to do. Most soldiers do not even think about the orders they are being given they simply follow them. In some ways it is almost robotic and it is clear that critical thinking is not a part of following orders.
Based on a true story, the movie ‘Lone Survivor’ features four Navy SEALs that set out on a mission to Afghanistan with orders to capture and kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. The Navy SEALS are detected by villagers and the mission was compromised. Ultimately, the mission had been discovered and the men found themselves surrounded by dozens of Taliban soldiers. One of the Navy SEAL soldiers managed to dispatch to base and retrieve assistance but the Taliban shoot down the helicopter. During battle, three of the Navy SEAL soldiers were killed leaving one still alive.