Military Review English Edition September-October 2013 | Page 11

IDENTITY CORROSION

find themselves. They know what should be done, exhibit intent to act ethically, yet fail to do so. They rationalize and disengage morally between intention and action to attain short-term gratification.46 Hannah’s and Sweeny’s research demonstrates that professional identity enhancement occurs through moral jolts attained by immersing leaders in developmental “experiences reflective of the real world, even if they are virtual or vicarious.” They go on to point out the importance of shaping such experiences through guided reflection by “capable mentors.”47 The Army should also invest deeply in how it will shape future generations of leaders to continue to promote professional identity. For example, the Army’s capstone document on leadership, ADRP 6-22, Army Leadership, should devote more than four paragraphs to the concept of character development.48 Fortunately, the Army has a solid basis for understanding moral development in The U.S. Army Concept for the Human Dimension in Full Spectrum Operations 2015-2024. It highlights the importance of guiding and preparing “commissioned and noncommissioned leaders in their efforts to develop moral and ethical soldiers.”49 It dedicates an entire chapter to the moral component of the human dimension. Army senior leadership should make it required reading for every senior noncommissioned officer course and for every officer as part of the Captain’s Career Course. Beyond the trust of the client, leaders and leader development continue to be the lynchpin that holds the Army profession together. As Snider states, “the critical point here is that leadership within the Army, specifically the competence and character of its individual leaders at all levels, uniformed and civilian, is the single most influential factor in the Army being, and remaining, a profession.”50 As the Army shapes itself for the future, it would do well to pay particular attention to leader-development systems and ensure those programs include certifications and relevant

education about moral reasoning and character development. This is essential as the Army strives to eliminate identity corrosion and bridge gaps in societal values for the future of the profession.

Conclusion

It is clear that the Army faces significant challenges to its status as a profession in the coming decade. One of these challenges is the threat from erosion of trust with the Army’s client, the American people. The Army should remain acutely aware of the erosion of trust evidenced in increased oversight by both the legislative and executive branches of the government and act decisively and convincingly to overcome them. Additionally, the Army profession is challenged by the lack of character-developmental systems to close values gaps between the Army and American society. The good news is the Army Profession Campaign, begun in 2010 and resulting in the “America’s Army—Our Profession” education program of 2013, has put the Army on the right path to think through the solutions to each of these challenges. Further, these threats are not yet a crisis, and sufficient time to implement solutions to prevent the decline of the profession still exists. However, the Army must act quickly and should not rest on its laurels. It must act now to shape the future, because austere budgets and the pending surge of Millennials within its ranks demand it. If the Army wants to remain a profession, it will find ways in the coming decade to incorporate the recommendations consistent with overcoming the threats from erosion of trust and identity corrosion as this paper suggests. The Army, as the nation’s loyal servant, has no choice but to reinforce the principles that make it a profession. America relies on it, as the nation’s preeminent source of land power now and in the future, to protect its national security and win its wars. MR

NOTES
1. Commanding General, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), An Army White Paper: The Profession of Arms (West Point, NY: Center for the Army Profession and Ethic, 8 December 2010), Preface. 2. Ibid., 1. 3. Army Doctrinal Reference Publication (ADRP) 1, The Army Profession (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office [GPO], 14 June 2013), vi-vii. 4. Ibid., ix-x. 5. Ibid., ix. 6. Don M. Snider, “Once Again, the Challenge to the U.S. Army During a Defense Reduction: To Remain a Military Profession” Strategic Studies Institute Professional Military Ethics Monograph Series 4 (February 2012): 8. 7. ADRP 1, ix. 8. The seven Army Values are comprised of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. For further explanation of how the Army defines each of its values, refer to ADRP 6-22, Army Leadership (Washington, DC: GPO, August 2012), 3-1 through 3-3. 9. ADRP 1, ix. 10. Don M. Snider, “The U.S. Army as Profession” in The Future of the Army Profession Revised and Expanded, 2nd ed., Don M Snider, project director, and Lloyd J. Matthews, editor (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2005), 13. 11. An Army White Paper: The Profession of Arms, 4. 12. ADP 1, 2-2 through 2-8. 13. Raymond T. Odierno, Marching Orders, 38th Chief of Staff, U.S. Army: America’s Force of Decisive Action (Washington, DC: Headquarters, Department of

MILITARY REVIEW ? September-October 2013

9