Ethics in the Military : A Review of Junior Officer Education and Training Programs

This MBA Project's purpose was to determine what ethics education is currently offered in the U.S. Navy and other services at the junior officer level. Its goal was to provide an informed foundation of current military best practices in ethics education that will help inform leadership about existing ethics programs, or program elements, that have credibility and show effectiveness. This data collection, analysis, and evaluation process will serve as the platform for establishing informed recommendations to create a future Supply Corps ethics education program. Action Research methodology was undertaken for data collection and evaluation. Interviews were conducted with 21 educators at 13 officer accession and training programs, including academies and war colleges. Analysis of each institution's ethics education program was conducted and findings were collaboratively reviewed to produce a list of recommended best practices. The researchers concluded that an effective ethics program should contain, at a minimum, the following elements: precise, measurable learning objectives; relevant case studies; exposure to classical theory; honor codes; a requirement of active student participation; meaningful grading; direct involvement of senior leadership in the classroom; and program effectiveness measurements to evaluate the program's value and adjust its elements as necessary.Naval Postgraduate School Monterey CA is the author of 'Ethics in the Military : A Review of Junior Officer Education and Training Programs', published 2004 under ISBN 9781423520764 and ISBN 1423520769.