Military Review English Edition September-October 2013 | Page 48
Perhaps the most surprising indication of the decline in morality that has occurred throughout our Army reflects in the extremely disturbing trend of moral and ethical failures of senior leaders. Those individuals promoted to the highest ranks have an obligation to hold themselves to the highest standards. Actions contrary to the values of our organization have the effect of undermining the professional norms. Misconduct from the top sends a signal to the entire force that our personal wants and desires can come before our loyalty to our professional military ethic. They demonstrate that the moral code we so frequently tout is more of a facade than a foundation, form over substance. Recent offenses committed by senior Army officers such as sexual misconduct, inappropriate use of government resources, fraud, and bigamy have contributed to an increasing cynicism among soldiers. Although the vast majority of senior officers hold themselves to high standards, the recent rash of inappropriate conduct has fostered a perception that our senior officer corps suffers from a sense of entitlement. Even David Petraeus, the man who so many pointed to as one of the greatest military leaders of this generation, succumbed to temptations by engaging in an extramarital affair. All across the Army, soldiers, NCOs and officers were left wondering why someone who has commanded at the highest levels of the Army would allow himself to be put into such a situation and violate the moral code he advocated throughout his career in the Army. Col. Mike Meese, who served as a top staff member for Petraeus, best described the sentiment felt among the military community upon learning of Petraeus’s affair saying, “It was a punch in the gut for those of us who know him.”35 Much has been written in recent years criticizing America’s general officers as careerists, incompetents, and mediocrities who are unwilling to provide our civilian leaders with an accurate assessment of the wars.36 The proponents of these views claim there is a systematic problem in the way our military promotes and educates senior level officers, which has resulted in junior and mid-grade officers losing confidence in their general officers. Don Snider refers to this as a “trust gap” that has developed where junior leaders feel they have been let-down by their superiors.37 If this gap already
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