The Warrior King

Society and government require people to be obedient towards authority, but is it always the best thing to do? During the aftermath of World War II many of the major leaders of the Nazi regime were put on trial for crimes against humanity (History.com). These trials were known as the Nuremburg war trials, were most of the convicted proclaimed that they were “just following orders” (McLeod 584). Being an accomplice to a crime is also against the law. In the Nuremburg trials, those accused were not breaking the law that their government had created, they were actually following it. 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

In comparison, Lt. William Calley maintained his actions within My Lai were entirely in response to superior orders and did not endure any remorse by carrying out directed orders (Kelman& Hamilton 136-137). As to why Dawson and Downey instinctively followed an unethical command to inflict pain on Pfc. Santiago, Kelman and Hamilton convey that the structure that authority contributes to the situation effects the reactions to the explicit or implicit orders (Kelman& Hamilton 140).The Uniform Code of Military Justice, UCMJ, might refute Kelman and Hamilton by providing that military personnel must follow the lawful orders of his superior officer; in addition, it includes they have the obligation to disobey unlawful orders when in direct violation of the UCMJ ("A Duty to Disobey..."). If Dawson and Downey had the right to follow code and disobey the unlawful order of authorizing Santiago with a Code Red, then why would they follow through with the command? Ian Parker provides when there is a slight channel for disobedience, individuals tend to be more vulnerable to fascism and react in a destructive manner.

Welcome to the role of Chief. You are starting on a magnificent and rewarding adventure, inheriting one of the best organizations around. There was never a doubt that you remain the best person to lead this agency into the future.

Since becoming an independent country in 1776, the United States has only been at peace for 21 of those years. With many of these wars being fought overseas, citizens back home relied heavily on television broadcasts, newspapers, and other media outlets to keep them updated on the events and status of these wars. However, Carolyn Forché believes, “what comes to us in newspapers and on television is not necessarily factual, nor is it cogent…neither never true to objective truth or subjective reality” (Forché, 36). Following the end of the war, an entirely new perspective on the events of the war emerged through the poetry written by some of these soldiers such as Yusef Komunyakaa. The personal experiences of these soldiers allowed their poetry

Mission Command has some important facets that ensure the proper execution of commands within the military. The first mission of any military endeavor is to stay alive while protecting the interests of its nation (S.Alberts). The human race from primitive times has always sought to procure resources for their own survival. This situation created the need for fighting so as to end conflict through the use of force. Ensuring the survival of a combat group makes it necessary to have structure, organization and leadership (Creveld). The leadership is structured along the command chain and is what provides the first facet or principle of a mission command which is using mission command

A mother in today’s society sole purpose is to be there for her kids. She is supposed to teach them what is wrong from right, and also cater to her children’s needs. However, the actions of mothers worldwide are criticized due to society not fully understanding the decisions the parents have made on behalf of their children. In Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior, the mother-daughter relationship is not an understanding one. This is because the daughter was raised in America while the mother was raised in China. They grew up with two different perspectives of the norm, and it impacted their relationship drastically. Out of their relationship, however, the daughter picked up on her mother’s talent of telling stories. In Dorothy Allison’s

It is important for commander of each level to be able to precisely describe visualization of accomplishments and end state to be achieved during combat actions. It is especially efficient to Joint Force Commanders to define clear purpose of phases, understanding of facts and risks to be taken to consideration and later on to find the ways how to avoid or mitigate the risks. These all is commander’s consideration so called commander’s intent. Commander’s intent is part of operational order and is included in execution section. Commander’s intent can be released verbally or in written format. Mostly in the joint level commander’s intent is disseminated in written format and therefore it should be clear enough to provide easily understandable

Similar to Dawson in the movie, they follow the orders given by their superior officer, no matter what. In the movie, Dawson is charged with murdering private Santiago due to an issued code red given by Lieutenant Kendrick, Dawson’s superior. Although code reds are not legally allowed in the marines, Dawson still followed the order with no regard to the consequences. Authors Kelman and Hamilton logically explain this by stating, “Authorization processes create a situation in which people become involved in an action without considering its implications and without really making a decision” (Kelman & Hamilton 140). Due to the order being given by a superior officer, Dawson felt the need to accomplish this task in order to please Kendrick. Since Dawson was only acting upon this because he thought he was helping Santiago, he did not see the issue; however, because of this, a person’s commitment is enhanced, leading to more of an issue with unjust authority (K & H 139). To further explain this situation, Milgram’s article can be examined and comprehended. According to him, people are not necessarily forgetting their morals in these situations, but rather putting their feelings aside in order to please their

Leaders at all levels of the Army are faced with difficult decisions every day, decisions

Over the past 23 years, I have worked for several commanders possessing varying degrees of leadership and management qualities. My personal experience has shown that unit health and morale are directly proportional to the positive influence a leader can impart during his/her command. Often, a commander can inherit a healthy organization with strong subordinate leadership and succeed without doing much. However, it takes a leader of extraordinary character to take an organization at the pinnacle of excellence, and endeavor to make it even better. While serving at my last unit I witnessed LTC Doe attempt such an effort, resulting in overwhelming success. LTC Doe’s ability to harness best practices and combine a strategic vision, organizational

The loud explosions, deep in the canyon startled Alpha Company. They knew it wasn’t either of the squads sent in because they carried no explosives. The chattering of the two machine guns didn’t help to calm nerves either. However, the officers and NCOs of Alpha had no idea which side was firing the machine guns because each side was armed with the same weapons. It was true that First and Second squads entered the canyon carrying the weapons so it could be them. It was also true that the unknown entity they assumed was an Army Special Forces A-Team could have them too.

The movie Platoon is a film, written by a Vietnam Veteran, following an American Infantry platoon through their time in Vietnam. The movie specifically focuses in on a new recruit named Taylor. He narrates as the story focuses in on the two most senior Non-Commissioned Officers on his patrol Sergeant Elias and Sergeant Barnes. These two elements of the movie create an ethical dilemma that leads to a degradation in the platoon’s ability to operate effectively and a large number of casualties.

Have you ever thought about what you would say to a group of men and women in the face of insurmountable odds or immanent death? Would you be able to motivate them to a point where they are willing to give their lives for their country? Would you be able to find the words to move them to action, give them courage, or ease their nervous? General George S. Patton was a visionary and ethical leader who used key leadership concepts like open-mindedness, team dynamics, sound ethical behavior, and inspirational motivation to inspire a nation, overcome unsurmountable odds, and ultimately guide the Third Army to victory during WWII. General Patton’s ethical and visionary leadership styles showed when he utilized his open-mindedness and team dynamic role of “creator” to incorporate an aerial assault into his operational strategies and avoided the ethical trap of uncertainty when he combined the two tactics without any pre-established policy. General Patton also displayed visionary leadership by his use of inspirational motivation, constant presence on the battle field,

The purpose of this paper is to briefly and identify an ethical issue facing the Army, identify the root cause and discuss its impact on the force. This research will address the ethical issue using the ethical lenses of rules, values, and outcomes, and will recommend a solution to correct the root cause. The ethical issue identify throughout the research is the abuse of power or position which leads to other underline issues affecting good order and discipline in the organization.

Servant leadership is a leader who displays ethical and caring behaviors. These leaders seek to enhance the growth of others while improving quality of life. The two main constructs of this leadership are ethical behavior and concern for subordinates. The characteristics embodied in this are stewardship, foresight, conceptualization, persuasion, building community, listening, empathy, awareness, commitment to growth of people and healing. When responding to natural disasters, a servant leader must possess all of these qualities to be effective. Natural disasters can happen at any time with or without warning. Hurricane Katrina was a disastrous event in which leaders faced ethical challenges