![]() ![]() This kind of broken moral thinking is - rightly and thankfully - rejected by the overwhelming majority of the SOCOM community. The other troubling narrative that one occasionally hears in these discussions is the notion that “they” - the enemy our military fights against - “do worse things to us,” as if that therefore justifies or somehow gives license for wrongful behavior by our troops. It is, frankly, irresponsible and damaging to the ethical culture of the organization when we prejudge that process and, even worse, try to rally political leaders to weigh in and influence that process. Because note that these cases are devastatingly tragic whichever conclusions the trial ultimately comes to. We should not rally around either ‘side’ in these heartbreaking cases, but rather rally around the rule of law and the legal process itself, and trust in that. ![]() On the other hand, we also cannot stack the deck against those who were willing to speak out about what they believed was wrong either. And we must respect the military legal process and allow the case to play out. Yes, absolutely, on the one hand, every individual is innocent until proven guilty and that’s certainly the case here. However, I worry about the damage done to the ethical culture of our military, and especially Special Operations Command (SOCOM), when we politicize these cases and make them yet one more football in our culture wars. The ethical culture of any complex organization requires dutiful work and strong leadership - and, thankfully, our special operations forces have that and there is a sincere and strong commitment to building and driving an ethical culture within this community from the very senior leadership right through ranks. Author of “First, Fast, Fearless: How to Lead Like a Navy SEAL.” Point Guest Bradley Strawser, On The Dangers Of Politicizing These Cases He earned two Bronze Stars for valor and combat leadership. Ed Hiner, retired lieutenant commander in the Navy SEALs. ![]()
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