Enforcing The Army’s Definition Of Professional Ethic Requires More Than A Written Document
Enforcing The Army’s Definition Of Professional Ethic Requires More Than A Written Document by Conrad Brown, Task and Purpose
… the evolving nature of the Army, as well as the society from which we recruit, required the formalization of the Army Professional Ethic in Army Doctrine Reference Publication 1, in June 2013, and was most recently revised in June 2015. Despite the great strides and efforts in codifying and publishing these ideas, they still require more work to reach the desired end state, which is the acceptance and application of these principles by all soldiers.
Culture is difficult to control in an organization as large in terms of personnel — both soldiers and civilians — and geographically separated as the Army. Individual leaders can also influence culture based on selective enforcement or interpretation of unwritten social norms, prompting the formalization of our best understanding of the Army professional ethic. Another significant evolution in society, the amplification of individual voices through social media, is a large driver in the need to ensure every last soldier understands what it means to be a part of a profession and has enough pride in that fact to model their personal conduct appropriately. The regulations that guide the conduct of soldiers, to include those punitive regulations under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice, have always clearly applied both on and off duty, in and out of uniform. However, the increasing amount of online interaction has blurred the lines, at least in the eyes of some, between personal and professional lives, between freedom of speech and standards of professional conduct…
