Platoon Argument Essay: Ethical Dilemmas

Every person has values that they hold close to their heart. One of the necessary steps for a group to achieve something larger than each individual is closely following a agreed upon values. For the United States Army, there are seven core principles: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage (Army). However, in every team there are almost always members who stray from this moral code. In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien uses literary elements to demonstrate that soldiers at war often do not model certain values of the American Army- personal courage, integrity, and respect.

In the article “Should Child Soldiers be Prosecuted for their Crimes?” it states, “‘... this principle might mitigate the responsibility of a child soldier who was forcibly recruited and forced, under threat of harm, to commit war crimes,’ ICRC adviser Young said”(Johannesburg). This shows that sometimes child soldiers are forced into committing a war crime which is illegal. And it would be very unfair if child soldiers were prosecuted because it is their commanders that are pushing them and forcing them to do such acts. It isn’t the child 's fault because they don’t know or understand what is happening and they don’t know they are doing something wrong because the leader told them to do it.

I will teach you.” further emphasizes this as the draftees in the vision of the US Army should only follow their rules and should not be able to think freely, in order to avoid complications and shifts in the morale of the army later in the war. The consequence of this loss is, that the soldiers then have problems differentiating between what is right and what is not and so their personal morale takes damage from

Discipline…this one word is what defines and separates civilians between United States Army Soldiers. Not only do we have standard operating procedures on discipline, but we also obtain a regulation on discipline itself as read in Army Regulation Six-Hundred and Ninety-Seven Hundred, Chapter 751. Upon reading the following United States Army regulation, AR 690-700, you will clearly see that the United States Army holds their troops up to the highest standard and will accept nothing less than the most immaculate, physically fit, mentally prepared, professional into their elite fighting force for freedom. As stated in Army Regulation 690-700 Chapter 751 Subchapter 1-1 Paragraph 1, “Discipline is a part of the daily responsibility of supervisors

The Uniform Code of Military Justice does not compare to civilian law. Because it deals with the safety of the nation, it has to be even more strict and detailed. Conscious efforts to leave base camp and endangering fellow soldiers should not be taken lightly. Bowe Bergdahl did not hesitate to tell Mark Boal, the interviewer, that he had mindfully planned the best time to walk away from site. According to Bowe, the sole purpose of this decision was to bring attention to the errors happening within his base.

“The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience” is an article written by Herbert C. Kelman and V. Lee Hamilton, that chronicles the story of the My Lai Massacre of 1968 and the resulting investigation. The article also contains the author's opinions on the military’s stance on following orders, specifically following orders that could be considered illegal. This is also discussed in Marianne Szegedy-Madzak’s “The Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal: Sources of Sadism”. In the article she discusses how guards will torture prisoners, because it is excused as a stress-relief tool, and were even congratulated by superiors for their actions.

In the article, "Child Soldiers Should Be Prosecuted", the text says "Children are often forced into fighting and have little choice over whether or not they enlist. After that, they are following orders of adults rather than acting on their own free will. The recruiters of child soldiers also use drugs and alcohol to make children

The Importance of Accountability in the U.S. Army Every living thing on Earth demands discipline and accountability, but when it comes to U.S. Army, soldiers are trained specifically in these subjects. There are extreme costs at risk if these principles are not held high by the Armed Forces. Most organized Armies focus on the importance of accountability and teach it in the very beginning stages of readiness. Accountability includes things such as showing up on time to safeguarding sensitive records, keeping account of resources to watching out for fellow soldiers. Almost everything can be tied back to the importance of accountability.

The Warrior Ethos is to never leave a fallen comrade, to fight all threats of any and all Americans; both foreign and at home. When a soldier sees something wrong, a threat to the way of life, he or she stands up and takes action. Donald Trump states that U.S. soldiers “would blindly ignore their oath, their training and their conscience to follow what were clearly illegal, unethical and immoral orders.” In the article A Soldier 's View on Trump, the author Mark Hertling uses pathos, epiphany, anecdotes, and common themes to get people to agree with his opinions about Donald Trump. Mark Hertling talked about his life in the military.

Furthermore, Skeptics may say they volunteered to eliminate hundreds of lives. To demonstrate, it says “Many children occupy command positions in their armed group/military and are responsible for planning or ordering the commission of war crimes and human rights abuses.” ( Dave, 2016). Although children volunteered or were told to hold these positions they had no choice. If they would’ve had said no they could’ve been killed or tortured to death.

So we should most definitely not judge child soldiers on their violent acts, because to expect them to give their own life is far too

These individuals had to follow their orders and ignore their own moral laws to prevent disobeying the law. This shows how people need to focus more on following their

Per Duhaime’s Law Dictionary, a war crime is “excessive brutality during war, in contravention of an international treaty or convention” (Duhaime). One such convention would be the Geneva Conventions. Per the Geneva

In the movie Crimson Tide, we look to the question ethical decisions, and what someone would do when thrown into a situation that made them question themselves, and who they serve for. In this example, when serving in the United States Military, once a solider is given orders, that solider must follow the orders out and not to question them. The trust between the solider and the higher command giving orders is almost based on blind faith. The solider relies on the higher commands decision of protecting democracy, even if someone, or a lot of people are killed. Is it an ethical decision to follow a commander’s order even if it means killing mass numbers of innocent civilians?

Leaders need to trust their subordinates and empower them, and subordinates need to trust their leaders to give them the freedom to carry out such orders. After all, the leaders and the subordinates share the same common purpose, to defend the security and integrity of the United States as a sovereign nation. Trustworthiness is each and everyone’s responsibility in the Army. How we live and conduct ourselves reflect our personal and professional values. If an individual chooses to behave in a way that corrodes the Army values, it weakens the effectiveness of the profession, and destroys trust among our comrades, allies, and the people that we serve.