The 2015 Fort Leavenworth Ethics Symposium was conducted April 20-23, 2015.
In summer 2015, the CGSC Press published a selection of the papers submitted for the 2015 Fort Leavenworth Ethics Symposium. – Click the cover below to download the report.
The 2015 theme:
The Professional Ethic and the State
The 2015 ethics symposium explored the responsibilities and obligations between the United States and its military. We are on the brink of a new era following more than a decade of war. Many factors indicate this era will be characterized by difficult choices for the services and our civilian leadership. At the heart of these challenges lie the Army’s emerging doctrine and ethic of the military profession and the contract between the soldier to the state. What does the soldier owe the state; and, what are the state’s responsibilities to the soldier in return for his or her service and sacrifice to the nation?
The Program: CGSC issued a call for unpublished papers for the symposium in fall 2014 and selection of papers to be presented at the symposium was conducted in December 2014. (Download the detailed Call for Papers.) Authors of the selected papers facilitated lively discussions about their work in breakout sessions during the symposium.
Downloads and other resources
• 2015 Ethics Symposium Schedule
• 2015 Ethics Symposium Program – Includes the agenda, panel and breakout session summaries, guest speaker and panel member biographies and other details.
2015 Ethics Papers and Presentations
Opening Remarks –
The Profession of Arms and the Moral State We are In: The Shared Mission of Ordered Liberty
Daniel M. Bell, Jr., Ph.D.
Intelligence Ethics: A Key to Much Bigger Issues
Michael M. Andregg, Ph.D.
Breach of trust: A Contributing Factor to Traumatic Stress Injuries in Soldiers
Lieutenant Commander David L. Bachelor, Chaplain, U.S. Navy, and Captain Jong Ho Chin, Chaplain, U.S. Army
Wounded Warriors as Army Professionals and The Tension Between Selfless Service and Self-Interest
Molly S. Boehm, J.D.
Maintaining the Public Trust Through Personal Interaction
Major Alexander Corby, U.S. Army
The Injustice of the Current Incantation of Jus Post Bellum
Dan G. Cox, Ph.D.
Veteran’s Administration: Can it Provide What the Nation Needs it to Provide?
O. Shawn Cupp, Ph.D. and Don. A. Myer
Ethical Paradox, Cultural Incongruence, and the Need to Develop Moral Warriors
William J. Davis, Jr., Ph.D.
Moral Injury and the Problem of Facing Religious Authority
Chaplain (Major) Seth George, U.S. Army
A Uniform Code of Military Ethics
Tom Gibbons, Ph.D.
Jus ad Bellum, Conscience, and the Oath of Office: The Problem of Selective Conscientious Objection in the United States Military
Prisco Hernández, Ph.D.
The Erosion of Trust between America and Its Army
Ted Ihrke and Ted Thomas, Ph.D.
Towards Just Intelligence: Wielding Power More Legitimately in an Era of Persistent Conflict
Major John A. Jeffcoat, British Army
Kevlar for the Soul: The Morality of Force Protection
Marc Livecche, Ph.D. Candidate
Grounding British Army Values Upon an Ethical Good
Reverend PJ McCormack, Ph.D.
Multiple Ethical Loyalties in Guantanamo
Captain J. Scott McPherson, U.S. Navy, and Captain Albert J. Shimkus, U.S. Navy, Retired
Competing for Relevance – The Army Ethic in an Age of Moral Diversity
Colonel Brian M. Michelson
Ethical Considerations in Humanitarian Efforts
Bobbie Murray, Ph.D. Candidate
The Army Ethic (draft); The Army Ethic–Presentation Paper
Major Mitchell Payne, U.S. Army
Veterans are Uniquely Suited to Fill Political Office
Rhonda Quillin
Preparing Soldiers of Character
Colonel Michael C. Sevcik, U.S. Army, Retired
Stewardship in the Army and Stewarding the State
Col. Jim Thomas, U.S. Army, Retired, and Ted Thomas, Ph.D.
Officers Should Not Vote
Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Toner, U.S. Army
Striking the Balance Between Discipline and Justice: The Commander’s Role in the Military Justice System and its Impact on the Military Profession (draft); Striking the Balance–Presentation Paper
Major Jennifer L. Venghaus, U.S. Army
The Two-Mirror Model: A Concept for Interpreting the Effects of Moral Injury
Chaplain (Colonel) Jeff Zust, U.S. Army
