Troops Sentenced

In the news today, there was an article talking about the sentencing of two individuals involved in the shooting of Iraqi prisoners who were bound and blindfolded. There was a total of four Iraqi's killed in the process. The soldier was sentenced for thirty-five years at Fort Leavenworth for engaging in conspiracy to commit premeditated murder. He is among others serving time for the incident in 2007. As a platoon leader, you will encounter many breaches in ethical conduct. Granted, not all of the incidents will be this blatant or serious. It is extremely important to uphold proper ethical conduct and practice it yourself. As a leader it will be your job to set the standard for others to follow. This is crucial because you will be the one that must hold others to the proper standard. Without living by the standard, you will be unable to punish those who fail to do the right thing. It can be challenging as an officer to enforce standards because we all have to walk a thin line between taking care of people, without getting influenced by trying to be liked. The role of an officer may be a lonely one, but you are not alone in your mission. The key is to remember that holding soldiers to a high ethical standard is taking care of them. Upholding standards shows your subordinates that you are caring and gives them a sense of procedural justice. Being liked is not important; being respected will pay dividends when it comes time to ask subordinates to do something for you. Small ethical decisions may not seem important, but you must remember that everyone is watching. Even the smallest lapse will cause a loss in respect.