Military Professionalism - A Company Commander Perspective - Term Paper Example

 Military Professionalism - A Company Commander Perspective Introduction A Company Commander faces immense responsibility, both in the form of duty towards his country and in the form of responsibility towards his subordinates. He is responsible for everything that does or does not happen in his unit. Company Commanders make plans and train their squads. They are accountable for equipment maintenance, unit readiness and the platoon's physical fitness. The job of the Company Commander entails great discipline. They lead their men from the front, thereby setting an example for them. As the military often does not separate professional and personal lives, the Company Commander is a role model for his subordinates in both their personal and professional lives. Therefore both the professional and personal ethics of the Company Commander are relevant to his job and should fall within designated parameters. (Holmes). Commanding a company is not merely an occupation, it is a profession which encompasses great expertise, responsibility, commitment and discipline. A military officer possesses skills which take years to acquire. Beyond this, they have the responsibility to use their expertise for the society's benefit. In order to command a company of around 100 men, a Company Commander will have to be competitive in two dimensions. First is the technical level of work which contains lessons that can be learnt in the camp. This includes discipline, decision making and skill. The second level of work makes it superior to other professions. This includes integrity, commitment, ethics and moral responsibility towards the country, its citizens and fellow men. (define military professionalism|ehow.com) Discipline Discipline is the basic value on which martial values are built. Every member of the armed force has to be highly disciplined so that they follow orders and maintain weapons the way, they should be maintained. For a Company Commander who is leading his battalion, his discipline is crucial. This is because he is the role model for his subordinates and they learn their lessons from him. It is also very important because his decisions are critically important and can cause both, great success or inflict huge damage. Discipline ensures that the soldiers are well trained and can take charge in difficult circumstances. Insistence on accomplishment of tasks properly improves discipline. For instance, it is important to ensure that soldiers wear uniform properly, are following orders, marching well and not making mistakes. (Discipline In The Military Is Important) Skill Discipline is useless if the Company Commander does not have the right kind and skill and expertise. He would be having specialists of different kinds working under him but he should be well versed and informed of the basic knowledge. Specialized Company Commanders should have a high degree of expertise so that their decisions do not backfire owing to lack of technical know-how. Lacking knowledge, and lacking skill can be detrimental especially in circumstances when one has to react at the spur of the moment to stop fire or the bleeding of a wound comrade. (The Uninformed Debate on Military Culture) Another important aspect of military professionalism for a Military Commander is system organization. This is because proficient soldiers do not make an efficient, well groomed army until and unless they are organized proficiently to ensure competence. This is the only way to outperform opponents who are more talented than them and have better resources. (Yong) Finally there are the things that raise the bar of every military professional and particularly a Company Commander over others. The difference that sets military apart from other professionals is that they preserve and protect the honor and independence of the country with their lives. Integrity Integrity and ethics are very closely related. In fact according to some people, integrity is the fundamental value in military ethics. One of the founding fathers of the US Air Force, General 'Hap' Arnold in his book Army Flyer addressed the importance of integrity. In the book, he said: "It is an unwritten law, but as binding as the unwritten common law in English system of jurisprudence, that an officer's word .... Can be depended on to be the absolute truth". (Siang) For a Company Commander, there are times when his word is the word of law. His every instruction is obeyed and therefore his word has to be completely dependable. Hus word has to be the absolute truth. Only in this way will he be able to get the trust and confidence of his followers. Trust and confidence are the key to effective leadership. Thus a Commander must maintain integrity and dignity both on and off duty. Commitment A Company Commander must be completely committed to the country and his subordinates. This entails a lot of sacrifices as this commitment might mean keeping others’ priorities before his own. (Collins)This commitment will be the driving force in critical circumstances. His commitment to work will be a beacon of light for all his subordinates and they will follow on his footsteps. A Commander with a faltering sense of commitment is very likely to influence all those under him in a negative way. The final and the most important issue is military ethics for a Company Commander. This is the issue that causes a lot of conundrum because there are no guidelines for an Officer’s ethics. (BUCKINGHAM) Ethics and moral responsibility Military ethics is the most important decision making factor for a Company Commander. This is because there are no training sessions for a Commander on ethics. This is coupled with the fact that stakes are very high on following professional ethics and a single breach can be devastating to the society. (Lucas, Morality of military anthropology) Military ethics is a very vast domain which has frequently been questioned. . Commanders have to give up ethics and adopt necessary virtues such as self sacrifice. (Don M. Snider) This might mean having to sacrifice their own personal ethics. The ethical component of a Company Commanders job answers questions like “what should soldiers do?” and “what kind of leaders should I be?” The answers to these questions explain the kind of collective and individual behavior that military officers are expected to have. This includes the kind of actions they must take, the outcome they must expect and the ethics that they have to abide by. (Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English) The nature of work ethics is changing in the military. Previously the officers were commanded to do or die in a mission but the new approach claims that protection of force is at times more important than the mission itself. (Don M. Snider). The main mission these days is to minimize casualties. The most important aspect of most army teachings to put one’s life in front of the country's honor had caused great confusion in the minds of young officers. There is a new approach that states that officers should not give their life away in vain. This means that self sacrifice is not the core of today's military ethics. Thus the Commander must draw the line between where and what level of sacrifice is necessary at what time. His decisions , decide on life and death for his comrades and civilians during war. The bar set for morals is changing round the globe. Personal convictions formed the most effective basis for moral and ethical behavior. Ideally, we would expect one to instinctively do what is right whether or not regulations give guidance. (Siang). Post modern theories are rejecting the possibility of objective moral truth. The new morally right teaching is "what is good for the person" and therefore subordinates have unreflected self interest and only work related ethics. It is the Company Commanders job to infuse a greater sense of ethics and of right and wrong in his subordinates. This is only possible if he holds a very high level of moral responsibility for him and his subordinates. The world is getting more and more materialistic and people are more concerned about sensual self gratification. Soldiers also do their jobs partly for patriotism and partly for self-fulfillment. (Siang). For a Company Commander it will be a huge challenge to ensure that his subordinates witness a less leisurely lifestyle than their other citizens. They witness booming economies but their share in that is not commensurable. This causes their morale to go down. (Don M. Snider). Thus it is a Commander’s job to boost the morale of his followers by making it apparent that the cause they are working for is more sacred than other civilians. For this he will have to verbally enlighten them with his talks and present himself as a model to be looked up to. Another ethical dilemma facing the military is the loyalty syndrome. This is the practice wherein questions of right or wrong are subordinated to the overriding value of loyalty to the boss or subordinates. Loyalty, an admirable and necessary quality within limits, can become all-consuming. (ARMY WAR COLL CARLISLE BARRACKS PA) It also becomes dangerous when a genuine, wholesome loyalty to his unit degenerates a Commander to the extent of covering up for his subordinates, by hiding their wrong doings. A Commander is highly susceptible to falling for the loyalty syndrome of his subordinates. In order to be in their good books they might flatter him or subside to his commands even if they are wrong. A good Company Commander therefore should be a very good analyst of both his and his follower's character. A Company Commander also faces what is called the drive for success. This masochistic whip which causes him to push his unit to succeed can sometimes cause his ambition to over ride his professional ethics. Therefore a continuous check must be kept on keeping his ambitions aligned with ethics and moral responsibility. It is emphasized again and again in modern military training that the old notions of war do not conform to objective reality. The military Commander must arouse patriotism and make sure that his officers do not lie in the romanticized, old version of war. War perception should evolve to its changing nature rather than serving the Commanders self defining needs. (Bacewich) There is an overriding sense of providing productivity on paper. The mad race for efficiency causes the effectiveness of a Company Commander decrease. Results are not always an objective measure of performance. This is because the army cannot win a war by showing profits. A Commander must put great emphasis on proper training of his followers even if that causes him to lower down his performance indicators. Teaching the tactics of war and other minor details has to be given preference over time and money. Officers are trained to be hard. They are taught that though taking life is wrong they are justified in doing so for the benefit of their country. This might result in exerting more than required force to demonstrate courage and honor. A demonstration of this kind of courage will result in the military bordering on the lines of brutality. (Moorehouse)Therefore it is the military Commander’s s job to mark the line. He has to guide his subordinates about the sacredness of life. He should make sure that his followers know the difference between the treatment of combatants and noncombatants. (Lucas)Non-combatants include all civilians and also the Prisoners of War. They are supposed to be treated with dignity and their life and honor must be preserved. There are various allegations on the army about torturing captives which go beyond ethical parameters. These kinds of events which embarrass the military stem from ignorance, low morale and low professional ethics. A Company Commander should make sure that his followers know the fact that whatever war they are in, it is not an individual war. Therefore punishing a single person is wrong until and unless it is necessary for the country's honor. Even in that, moral limits should not be transgressed. Dead bodies of opponents should not be mutilated out of anger. (Jeyaretnam) Military operations have come under a lot of scrutiny and criticism because of their treatment of terrorists. Soldiers overlook the Geneva Convention. (Butts) Summary Moral demands of military service play an important role where the question of military ethics is concerned. A military officer who is introspective and has a high level of work ethics is the wal-mart of the military profession. There are very few areas in our society where the concept of service and duty takes over one’s own well being. Military service values are deeply embedded in the principles of human life and in the society at large. (Dillon) The military has a responsibility to withheld. It is to live up to the high moral values set for it in order to maintain the nobility of the military. A commander has to take complete charge of the responsibility bestowed on him by the state and military at large. This means that he must have a good sense of role and duties delegated to him. The military must ensure that it follows the right code of conduct and practice the values expected of it. Respect and trust from people, form the foundation of good morale and retention. The military has to lead by example. If they continue with good practices, young people will be drawn towards it too. (Robert) Thus, it is incumbent on the military Commander to carry out his military operation accroding to the values and principle of the people, and according to international laws. To summarize, the approach to Commandership includes the following basic principles. 1. It’s the Commander’s duty to serve the society. He is the agent of the society and therefore accountable to the entire society. 2. A Commander has to perform and give up on his personal interests. He is responsible for each and every action he takes. 3. Commander’s military expertise plays an important role in determining how his unit is run and how well trained his sub-ordinates are. 4. The Commander's motivation is noble. He has to have a sense of moral obligation to use his expertise for the benefit of the society. If he commits to this they will achieve the highest level of knowledge and skill. 5. The Commander’s job entails continuous learning and studying. 6. The Commander has to emphasize on the importance of a group over an individual. 7. The Company Commander has to be a man of great honor. He should be an embodiment of honesty, integrity and courage. 8. The Commander must be loyal towards his office, his country and his sub-ordinates 9. A Commander leads by example. He has to maintain physical, spiritual and mental fitness. He has to invest time and energy in his subordinates both as an officer and as a person. Only in this way will he be able get the best out of them. (Don M. Snider) BIBLIOGRAPHY ARMY WAR COLL CARLISLE BARRACKS PA. "Ethical issues of Military leadership." (1974). Bacewich, A J. "New Rules: Modem War and Military professionalism." (1990). BUCKINGHAM, CLAY T. "Ethics and the Senior Officer: Institutional Tensions." 1985. Butts, W S. "Joint Military Ethics: A Framework for the Future." 1998. Collins, James Brown and Michael. Military Ethics and Professionalism, NDV 1981. 1981. “Define Military Professionalism”. 4 october 2010. . Dillon, P J. "Ethical Decision Making on the Battlefield: An Analysis of Training for U.S. Army Special Forces." 1992. Discipline In The Military Is Important. 2 april 2009. Accessed 5 october 2010 . Don M. Snider, John A. Nagl, Tony Pfaff. Army professionalism, The Military ethic, and Officership in the 21st century. Army War College (U.S.). Strategic Studies Institute, 1999. Holmes, Charles. Company Commander Job Description - Typical Duties of Company Commanders. 4th october 2010 . Jeyaretnam, Phillip. "Military Professionalism - A Platoon Commander's View." n.d. Lucas, George R. "Morality of military anthropology." Journal of military ethics (2008): 165-185. —. "New Rules for New Wars." 2010. Moorehouse, Dennis. Military Ehics. 2001. Accessed 5 october 2010 . Robert, Sherry. military ethics. 5 october 2010. Siang, MAJ Derrick Tang Keng. "Professional Military Ethics - A Soldier's Contract." n.d. The Uninformed Debate on Military Culture. "Don M. Snider." (1999). Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English. Newyork: Grammercy books, 1996. Yong, BG lee Hsein. "Professionalism in the SAF." n.d. Read More