[COURSE OUTLINE] [SAMPLE LESSON PLAN]
LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION: COURSE "RULES OF ENGAGEMENT." Course instructors and lesson overviews are introduced in this session. Lecture and guided discussion will focus on critical analysis methodology as applied to general situations and information. Discussion will include explanation of course requirements, readings, and final examination. We will view a video highlighting a recent action by a non-U.S. military force. We will then discuss the ethical ramifications of the military operation in the context that the student may be a military staff member responsible for planning a similar joint force operation. (We look at the Belgian military contingent in Rwanda under the auspices of the United Nations in 1994. The US and United Nations did nothing to forestall the massacre of eight hundred thousand people in a hundred days.)
LESSON 2: LEADERSHIP AND LYING. This lesson includes an examination of the consequences of lying and the relationship between lying and leadership. Questions to be raised include, How necessary is it to tell the whole truth? Is it consequential in a career to always tell the truth? Discussion will focus on a case study involving leadership and lying as well as a staff officer's dilemma in truth telling.
LESSON 3: ACCOUNTABILITY: CRIMES OR MISTAKES? Each military service is promoting a set of core values and standards. Are we holding ourselves to these standards? Are they uniformly applied? The military is publicly scrutinized on a range of issues, from shootdowns of friendly aircraft to hearings on force protection to confirmation of senior officers. Have we established the difference between a crime and a mistake? Are the rules changing? How do we know?
LESSON 4: "TAILHOOK:" BEYOND SEXUAL HARRASSMENT¯A LEADERSHIP FAILURE? Using the Harvard School of Law "Tailhook" Case study, we seek to investigate the organizational and individual boundaries of responsibility in a military environment. We will attempt to assess the impact of failure by leadership. We will focus on the Pentagon response and leadership exhibited during and after the Tailhook Incident. The question we will address is, Did the leadership serve the nation and their subordinates well?
LESSON 5: HOW MUCH FORCE IS ENOUGH? Lecture and guided discussion will center on a historical case concerning the use of military force and its ethical dimension. How often do we have all the facts? How does this impact our decision-making processes? How open are we to new information? Apply critical analysis to evaluate this historical case. (Use of the Atom Bomb at Hiroshima, the students do not know that this is the case study until they are in the course.)
LESSON 6: LAND MINES AND THE MILITARY Students will consider the use of land mines and the implications of such use in a joint and coalition environment. Is a U.S. moratorium on mines moral, ethical, and militarily prudent? For whom?
LESSON 7: LAW AND ETHICS This session will address application of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and the Joint Ethics regulation, along with applications of law relevant to joint command. Are there differences between what is ethical, what is legal, and what we actually do? How do we, as a service, as an individual military officer, or as a joint staff officer deal with differences, if any? Are there multiple standards?
LESSON 8: ESCAPE FROM MOGADISHU Combining critical analysis and case study methodology, examine an ethical dilemma stemming from a joint operation. Are there approaches to a problem that are specific to a particular service? How do the laws of war and conduct of Military Operation Other Than War (MOOTW) differ? (Based on a true account of the evacuation of the embassies in Somalia and a neighboring African nation.)
LESSON 9: IS AN ETHICAL CODE NECESSARY? This is the second opportunity of the course to answer the question. The first occasion occurred during the first lesson. The students will articulate their justification for either supporting the necessity for or against having an ethical code.
LESSON 10: FINAL EXAM Students will integrate the presented material and individual discoveries to develop a publishable ethical code prepared for the signature of the person holding the highest position within their unit or organization, in some cases the geographical Commander in Chief, or CINC. It will include an articulation of the basis for the code, general individual responsibilities, and how it will be enforced.
LESSON #2 "LEADERSHIP AND LYING"
CRITICAL ATTRIBUTE: Lying is the
leprosy of military leadership.
OBJECTIVE/PURPOSE: Through the
investigation of the content of advance readings and the
exploration of case studies in a small group setting, students
will develop a working definition of lying and will learn to
identify cause and effects of lying in applied leadership
settings.
READINGS:
"Are You Telling the Truth?" Lieutenant Colonel Mark
Cancian, USMC Res., Proceedings, December 1994, pp. 37-41.
"A Sea Story Not Easily Told," Tom Cutler,Proceedings,
August 1996, pg. 8.
"This Column is Mostly True," John Leo, U.S. News and
World Report, 16 December 1996, pg. 17.
FORMAT: Graduate-level seminar
guided discussion.
FOCUS:
-You, the individual military officer.
-Your chain of command, up and down.
-The service culture.
CONDUCT OF LESSON:
1.First Discussion: Instruct the students to
write the percentage of time they want to know the truth from
their subordinates. After giving time for all to complete the
task, with no comment, have the students write the percentage of
time they believe their boss wants to know the truth from them
and his/her subordinates.
QUESTIONS:
1. How does your boss communicate this to you?
2. How do you communicate this to your subordinates?
3. How do you explain the delta (difference), if any?
4. What are the ramifications on the unit/organization, if any?
5. Is there any good reason to withhold the truth?
2. Second Discussion: Form the class into
groups of four students. Instruct them to develop a definition of
"lying" through consensus.
QUESTIONS:
1. What were the areas of disagreement within the group, if any?
2. What is the relationship between the small group's definition
andmilitary culture?
3. Third Discussion: Return to small groups
and have them compile ten to twelve known accounts of a leader's
having lied
to the members of the unit, staff or organization. Instructor has
each group post the results so all can see.
QUESTIONS:
1. What were the short tem effects on the
unit/staff/organization?
2. How does lying affect:
a. The individual
b. The service
c. The military
ARCHIVE:
Ensure the students maintain a record of discussions and
conclusions and submit them to the instructor for analysis.
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