Airmen live by highest standards

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Wes Moore
  • 436th AW Staff Judge Advocate
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  We've all heard it said, at one time or another, that military members are held to a 'higher standard.' It is useful from time to time to reflect on why that is, just what the standard should be and whether we, as individuals and as an organization, are effectively embodying and enforcing the standard. In the final analysis, it is our high standards that set us apart as military professionals and provide the foundation upon which our ability to carry out our pledge to 'support and defend the Constitution' is built.

It doesn't take much looking to find tangible examples that we are indeed held to a higher standard than the public at large. The Uniform Code of Military Justice has numerous examples. Ours is the only profession in which the law provides criminal penalties for such infractions as showing up late for work or failing to carry out a supervisor's orders.

Furthermore, our commitment to integrity is supported by such infractions as making a false official statement and false swearing. Any failure to abide by or enforce these legal standards lessens the standing of not only the offender, but the organization as well.

"Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others," said President Abraham Lincoln.

In this particular address, Lincoln made the point that a lack of reverence for the law not only encouraged further lawlessness but dishonored the accomplishments of the founding fathers in fighting for and establishing a society based on the rule of law.

The law, however, is not the full embodiment of our military standards. In fact, the core values of Integrity, Service Before Self and Excellence, if truly lived out in the life of a warrior will keep one from coming close to running afoul of the minimum standards required by the law. It is the pursuit of excellence beyond what is required by the letter of the law that provides the foundation of trust and mutual respect that allows a fighting force to be truly effective.

Just as under the concept of 'Defense in Depth' we place numerous barriers between the enemy and our most vital assets, we should also practice Defense in Depth with our most cherished asset, our integrity. We should guard our integrity with a personal moral code that embodies the core values, with wingmen who share our commitment to excellence and have the courage to keep us on the right track and we should keep in mind constantly the public who relies on us to be ready to do whatever it takes to defend their freedom at a moment's notice.

In the aftermath of World War I, Gen. John Pershing wrote a detailed after-action report that discussed many things, to include the issue of discipline. In this report he gives us a glimpse of what we should aspire to.

"The earnest belief of every member of the Expeditionary Forces in the justice of our cause was productive of a form of self-imposed discipline among our soldiers which must be regarded as an unusual development of this war, a fact which materially aided us to organize and employ in an incredibly short space of time the extraordinary fighting machine developed in France," he wrote.

Much as in World War I, we are living in historic times where the demands our nation places on us are great. Our strength lies in our beliefs and in the kind of self-imposed discipline General Pershing wrote of.

Of course, there will always be those for whom discipline is not self-imposed. Each particular case must be decided on its own merits.

"By such examples, by instances of the perpetrators of such acts going unpunished, the lawless in spirit, are encouraged to become lawless in practice; and having been used to no restraint, but dread of punishment, they thus become, absolutely unrestrained," said President Lincoln.

In other words, when someone has breached the barriers of personal morality, dedication to mission and the aid of his wingman, it is important to fully fortify the final barrier protecting our integrity as a force and the good order and discipline upon which our mission relies -- the law.

While the law provides a broad range of tools to address misconduct, its wise application will always provide the ultimate enforcement of the high standards we as fellow warriors must be able to expect of one another and the public is entitled to expect of each of us. While some may argue that it's not fair to hold servicemembers to a higher standard, in a business where a momentary lapse of discipline can prove catastrophic not only to fellow Airmen but to our larger mission, the public should be entitled to expect no less.