Why are there so many character flaws in today's military?

2014-10-26T10:52:15-04:00

Cmdr. Luis Alva, Capt. James B. Robertson, Capt. Wayne R. Brown, and James E. Williams are just a few recent examples. http://www.military.com/topics/relieved-of-command.

Relieved of Command

Response by Col Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 26 at 2014 11:12 AM

2014-10-26T11:12:42-04:00

I think there are a couple of reasons. I think some active duty folks lose the vision and purpose of the mission. As a leader, enlisted or officer, you are expected to lead by example and conduct your self accordingly. Unfortunately some leaders think the rules don't apply to them, they lead by "do as I say not as I do, or they just don't care to maintain a sense of good character. Little do they realize that they lose a great amount of leadership credibility when they don't have character.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Oct 27 at 2014 12:05 PM

2014-10-27T12:05:12-04:00

CPT John Hermida is probably right. We need statistical data projected across time to assess trends in character flaws. Also, what is today a character flaw may not have been considered one in the past.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 27 at 2014 12:16 PM

2014-10-27T12:16:29-04:00

CPT Private RallyPoint Member, I think the character flaws in today's military are a reflection of society as a whole. Sometimes the military is singled out for the sorts of lapses of judgment (or character flaws) described on the military.com page you cited. Add to that the topic of senior officers (Generals) who go down in flames for various things (often sexual in nature, it seems). (See this thread on RP: https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/senior-brass-and-senior-enlisted-misconduct)

But if we looked at society as a whole, I bet we'd find many more examples of the same sorts of lapses and character flaws. Our military is a reflection of society. Another point is that we should be held to a higher standard, which may account for more examples of military "crash and burn" incidents of this sort.

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Response by SMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 27 at 2014 12:17 PM

2014-10-27T12:17:14-04:00

I don't believe that there are more character flaws now, I think that there is less ability to cover them up. The fact that Senior leader PME, both enlisted and officer, still cover what integrity is and why it's important is very telling. Everyone makes mistakes, some just continue to make them and happen to have a position that exposes those mistakes to the masses. Lastly, now that there are more mistakes those that make them are being made an example of to curb similar incidents in the future.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 27 at 2014 12:19 PM

2014-10-27T12:19:25-04:00

I think with technology, the fact that you have a device that has access to the entity of human knowledge and communication with everyone with social media, its more of a matter of we know how to identify bad apples and spread that information.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 27 at 2014 5:03 PM

2014-10-27T17:03:39-04:00

Sir, I respectfully submit that:

1) The military population, while different, reflects the values of the general population it draws from. Our society now celebrates me-first individualism over community, leading people to do what they deem as beneficial to themselves regardless of harm to others.

2) Point 1 aside, there have always been flawed characters in general society and in the military. We hear about it more now due to the prevalence of social media in conjunction with the 24/7 news cycle where almost anything that could be called a story is used to fill up any possible white space.

3) Having glanced at previous responses, I see that these points have already been made by others. Nothing to see here, Charlie Mike.