OpEd: The Death of Duty

[unhappycamper]

The Death of Duty
Chris van Avery | November 17, 2007

During the run up to and early stages of the Iraq War, a debate raged in America on the role of uniformed military leaders during the political preparations for conflict. As military officers, both active and retired, offered their opinions on the wisdom and execution of the war, opposing choruses of voices rose alternately condemning these officers' temerity or praising their courage. In the years that followed, the debate cooled to a simmer and receded to predominantly scholarly and military circles, but it recently broke out in full view in the pages of Foreign Affairs between scholars, statesmen and a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In a nutshell, some argue that officers like me have an obligation to "salute and obey" that trumps our personal views, while opponents of this position argue that officers, as subject matter experts on military operations, have an obligation to disobey when we believe a war is ill advised. It will surprise no one who knows me or has read my work that I fall squarely in the "salute and obey" camp, but my purpose here is to expose the rationale behind the "salute and disobey" viewpoint, because it represents a dangerous change in American culture and portends nothing less than the imminent death of duty among Americans.

The signs abound, if you dare to examine them. Take raising our children, for example. Americans will tell any pollster that asks that "family values" are important and parents are best suited to raise their own children. Yet, Americans continue to let teachers, day care workers, malls, video games and the entertainment industry do the raising and educating in their stead.

Or, perhaps, civic involvement is a better indicator. Americans overwhelmingly say they believe their elected representatives are untrustworthy and self-serving. Americans are also quick to speak out about how government agencies and spending are out of control. However, only a presidential election draws over half of registered voters to the polls, and even then, this plurality of Americans doesn't constitute a majority of eligible voters.

Finally, and possibly the most damning indicator that duty is a goner, is demographic data on religion in America. The last time the Pew Foundation did a poll, around 85 percent of Americans claimed they were "Christian". Despite this, just over half of them said they had gone to church in the last year, and about one sixth of them said they worship the being they call "God" every week. If Americans can't bring themselves to consistently perform what is arguably their highest duty, how will they possibly bring themselves to perform - or even understand - lesser duties?

Truth be told, a large segment of Americans just can't grasp the character of those that choose to serve in uniform, and particularly those that rise to the highest levels of the military. It is true that I've seen a few officers with stars on their collars that appear to be careerists merely protecting their retirement and post-service opportunities. The vast majority of officers at the top of the service I've observed, however, are there because they love their service. No, they don't like it all the time, but these officers passionately believe their job is important to the nation and deserves to be done well, even when it's distasteful.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,156480,00.html?wh=news