Professional Ethics In The Military

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As an Army instructor of advanced leadership, continuously exhibiting ethically sound characteristics is a critical task needed in order to achieve a professional and positive learning environment. Understanding the meaning of ethics in the Army and how professional ethics guide an individual’s actions as well as an industry standard, educators in the classroom can see how an ethically sound environment is important to encourage positive learning.
Since the infant stages of the Continental Army, ethics has played a pivotal role in all aspects of military operations from top-level strategic planning down to daily activities. Today, the Center for the Army Profession and Ethic (CAPE) exists to highlight the Army Ethic not only as the heart
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Psychologists have described professional ethics on two different fields: personal morality and a cooperative code. Some psychologists are “emphasizing their own personal beliefs, virtues, and value systems” in order to exhibit the righteous and moral aspects of one’s character (Knapp, Handelsman, Gottlier, & VandeCreek, 2013). This offers instructors good insight into abilities congruent with their personal ethics. Other psychologists define professional ethics in a different way. “Some focus almost exclusively on laws, regulations, and enforceable standards” (Knapp et al., 2013). This line of thinking highlights the discipline needed to adhere to an ethical code. Most professions, like doctors, lawyers, and military, have a certain set of ethical and legal standards guiding the right and left limits of their actions.
Similarly, professional ethics in education also conforms to industry standard ethical codes combined with an individual instructor’s moral compass. The American Education Research Association publishes a Code of Ethics that “articulates a common set of values upon which education researchers build their professional and scientific work” (AERA Code of Ethics, 2016). The five principles of this code include professional competence; integrity; professional, scientific, and scholarly responsibility; respect for people’s rights, dignity, and diversity; and social
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There was once a time as a unit victim advocate when a Commander asked for the shortest class possible in order to “check the block” and cover the required material; he did not feel the time needed to promote the SHARP program was necessary. Nevertheless, I had to balance the commander’s intent with not only my personal morals and beliefs about the SHARP program, but also with the required guidance for training. Ethics played a role in my decision-making process to develop an interesting and useful lesson plan while only consuming the minimum amount of time possible in order to continue the unit’s focus on the warfighting abilities. Ultimately, the duration was considerably longer than the ten minutes my Commander was looking for, but he and my audience received the education well and remained satisfied at the