An Army Officer’s Role: Ethical & Social Prospects

Introduction

Competent leaders of character are necessary for the Army to meet the challenges in the dangerous and complex security environment we face. PETER J. SCHOOMAKER (FM 6-22).

The role of the army in the United States is rather high for young representatives of its society. People of America tend to illustrate and better represent the dominance of army forces all over the world, so that to have graver control for peace regulations and for reciprocal interaction with different international organizations and alliances such as NATO and UN. The multiple armies of the US with great equipment and arsenal of weapon at its disposal is made of those highly motivated patriotic persons who tend to demonstrate their significance in person.

The role of leadership skills in every ordinary soldier should be developed and estimated excellently, so that to keep the highest quality of reaction and credibility of the US army. Though, the paper is dedicated to working out the role of an officer in the army throughout the viewpoint of ethical, moral and social prospects.

Society’s expectations

First of all, to be an army officer means to have privilege and responsibility. Society expects that one who makes up his mind to be registered in American army forces makes a great contribution into the matter of the country. Thus, this person gives a tasting show quality das a real son of his nation. By this it is clear that society needs justice and protection of itself in domestic and foreign relationships. According to Pamphlet 600-2 the “one of the keenest minds of our time said that responsibility is what devolves upon a person, and privilege is what he ought not to take but does.”¹

Army officer’s responsibilities

The authoritative attitude of an officer is gained usually by command, but it is not in all cases true and deserved. The more a man takes responsibility for others, the more influential becomes his person on them. This logical consequence falls into the fact that the classification of an army officer’s requirements and responsibilities is in phase with what one of the publications referred states, namely: “Three major factors determine a leader’s character: values, empathy, and the Warrior Ethos.”² The reason is that the intellectual and moral competence of an officer impact on the further evaluation of the results.

Moreover, such a person should take into account that peoples’ lives are at stake and there must be no place for any error while providing various operations in domestic and foreign conflict situations. “A leader’s conceptual abilities apply agility, judgment, innovation, interpersonal tact, and domain knowledge. Domain knowledge encompasses tactical and technical knowledge as well as cultural and geopolitical awareness.”³

Furthermore, the ability of an officer to give instructions and lead a group of people is concerned with the future perspectives of rising in rank. Still there must be no cases or even slightest attempt to express selfish motives in leading and controlling people subordinate to an officer. Otherwise, the entire principle of army discipline can be broken down, because “it is a paramount and overriding responsibility of every officer to take care of the people of the command (of whatever size) before caring for himself or herself.”⁴

Conclusion

Thus, the responsibility of an officer in the US army is quite grave and influential from ethical, moral and social points of view. Deepest motivation and self-dignity are the main tools for better leadership skills implementation.

Bibliography

FM 6-22 (FM 22-100) Army Leadership Competent, Confident, and Agile, Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington, DC, 2006.

Army Pamphlet 600–2 DOD GEN–36A NAVEDTRA 46905–A AFP 190–13 NAVMC 2563, AMERICAN FORCES INFORMATION SERVICE, Washington, DC, 1988.

Footnotes

1. Army Pamphlet 600–2 DOD GEN–36A NAVEDTRA 46905–A AFP 190–13 NAVMC 2563, AMERICAN FORCES INFORMATION SERVICE, Washington, DC,1 1988, p. 15.
2. FM 6-22 (FM 22-100) Army Leadership Competent, Confident, and Agile, Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington, DC, 2006, p. 18.
3. FM 6-22 (FM 22-100), p. 18.
4. Army Pamphlet 600–2, p. 16.