Ethics Education in the Military by Paul Robinson ... - Australian Army

Book ReviewPaul Robinson, Nigel de Lee and Don Carrick (eds.), EthicsEducation in the Military, Ashgate, Aldershot, 2008, 224 pp.Jointly reviewed by Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Alan Howes, Lieutenant ColonelIan Hampson, Chaplain David Jackson CSM, Dr Stephen Coleman, ChaplainClyde Appleby RAN, and Flight Lieutenant Alyssa BadgeryThere are many who will agree that Ethics Education in the Military is longoverdue as required reading for those who deliver ethics training andeducation programs in democracies worldwide, and for all those interestedin the ethics and ethos of the Profession of Arms. This is an invaluable volume formilitary academies, staff colleges and all ranks training establishments—includingrecruit training—to enhance understanding of a matter which requires much furtherthought, and which is becoming a vital force in influencing outcomes on the battlefieldsof the twenty-first century, including peacekeeping and peacemaking.Ethics Education in the Military offers updated papers from a conference held atthe University of Hull in England in 2006. There are twelve chapters covering tendemocratic countries—a thorough and enlightening survey of ethics programs andtheir underlying philosophies, with analyses and evaluations from Britain, America,Canada, Australia (by Jamie Cullens, Director of the Centre for Leadership Studies atthe Australian Defence College, Canberra), France, Germany, Japan, Norway, Israeland the Netherlands. Three perceptive responses (Chapters 14–16) to the precedingChapters 2–13, question whether military commanders give sufficient thought tothe purpose of ethics education, whether the methods chosen for instruction areoptimal and evaluated, and how much emphasis should be placed on Servicemenand women thinking for themselves about ethical issues.Until recently, formal ethics education and training programs were a rarity inmost countries’ armed forces. Now there is a growing recognition of the importanceof Servicemen and women from all arms of Defence developing their individualcharacter and corporate ethos through undergoing additional military ethicseducation and training. But how do we ensure all ranks are learning the rightAustralian Army Journal • Volume VI, Number 1 • page 215

Book Review • Howes, Hampson, Jackson, Coleman, Appleby and Badgerylessons? Can we, and should we, endeavour to achieve some uniformity, given thefact of military coalitions? The current lack of uniformity about what constitutesethical behaviour, and how military members should be educated and trained, is acause for concern. To recognise what we need demands an understanding of whatwe have. The reviewers agree with this book’s conclusion (p. 200) ‘that before furtherprogress can be made in the field of ethics education in the military, we may needto some extent to return to basics, and examine in more detail what we considerthe moral purpose of armed forces to be, and what therefore the purpose of ethicstraining should be also’.Why should this book be reviewed by two serving ADF officers, two chaplains, anacademic and a retired soldier, especially when only the academic amongst them hasany formal qualifications in philosophy? The reasoning and justification is simple;because military laypeople are at the ‘coalface’ of responsibility for ethics instructionand leadership, we should encourage all ranks to read more widely and so becomeinvolved in discussions about ethics in general and military ethics in particular.Ethics Education in the Military advances knowledge and understanding of theissues associated with this subject of ethics teaching and instruction, by bringingtogether experts from around the world to analyse the content, mode of instruction,theoretical underpinnings, and the effect of cultural and national differences withincurrent ethics programs. It explores whether such programs are best run by militaryofficers, chaplains or academic philosophers, and it asks whether it is feasible todevelop common principles and approaches for the military in democracies.Ethics Education in the Military mentions ethics training to a lesser extent thanethics education and does not attempt to address the implications on pedagogyarising from these distinctions. As Dr Jessica Wolfendale well points out in herresponse in Chapter 14, those engaged or intending to become engaged in ethicsprograms in the military must first ask themselves ‘why teach military ethics at all?’,since any answer to this question will have implications on the ‘who, what, when, whyand how?’, and whether the resulting program will be primarily an educative process,having developmental goals, or a training process with learning outcomes.The reader will not find in this book the content for a program of ethics educationor training in the military. Neither does the book intend to give answers on theappropriate pedagogy. Nevertheless it does prompt the questions to ask, which inturn give direction on implementing an ethics program. This presents a challengefor those involved in ethics education and training programs in the ADF. We canno longer simply do as we have always done; the nature of military operations ischanging, the outlook of the young people entering the ADF today is different and,as Ethics Education in the Military well indicates, the philosophical and ethical viewsaround the world are changing. For these reasons alone, Ethics Education in theMilitary is essential reading for those involved in ethics education and training inpage 216 • Volume VI, Number 1 • Australian Army Journal

Ethics Education in the Militarythe ADF. The reviewers believe it can be put to good use by military officers and allothers involved in ethics education and training in the military such as chaplainsand academic lecturers; as well as being of use to politicians and other students ofmilitary affairs. This book provides a very valuable survey of a growth subject, andwe six reviewers thoroughly recommend it.Australian Army Journal • Volume VI, Number 1 • page 217