Ethical lapses in US military must be battled aggressively

Americans have long held the men and women representing the nation in all branches of the U.S. armed forces to the highest standards of ethical character and moral behavior. In return, we bestow our military personnel with unflinching respect and reward them with significant benefits during and after their service to the nation.

That’s why recent reports that document an unprecedented escalation in cases of unethical, immoral and illegal conduct from low-level enlisted personnel to those occupying the highest rungs of the military establishment are deeply troubling.

Last week, the Associated Press reported that the number of officers who left the Army because of misconduct more than tripled in the past three years. The number of enlisted soldiers forced out for drugs, alcohol, crimes and other misconduct shot up from about 5,600 in 2007, as the Iraq war peaked, to more than 11,000 last year.

Consider just a few of the recent incidents:

An Air Force investigation found at least 48 female students were sexually assaulted by instructors at a Texas Air Force base between October 2010 and June 2011. More than 25 officers and trainers have been investigated, and many now face criminal charges.

Well-publicized reports of despicable troop character include Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters and soldiers posing with body parts of Afghan militants,

Just last month, the Air Force announced it is investigating widespread cheating on proficiency tests among nuclear missile-launch officers in Montana, and numerous senior officers in all branches of the armed forces have been caught in embarrassing episodes of personal misbehavior.

Fortunately, the military has recognized the scope and severity of these and many other lapses and their potential widespread harm to the respected image of our armed services. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel this month ordered service leaders to add urgency to their drive to ensure “moral character and moral courage” to all branches of the armed forces.

Some, such as Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, attempt to explain away the rise in unethical behavior by attributing it to 11 years of heightened troop levels to fight two multinational wars and a lessened emphasis on balancing military competence with professional character.

“It is not the war that has caused this,” Dempsey said. “It is the pace, and our failure to understand that at that pace, we were neglecting the tools that manage us as a profession over time.”

Aggressive investigations

We hope in coming weeks and months, however, that the Defense Department will focus less on excuses and more on aggressive investigations and prosecutions to weed out the thousands of unsavory cheaters, assailants and liars from the ranks of our military. The dangers of failing to do so are many.

In the short run, the lapses could endanger troop solidarity and the ability to carry out critical missions cohesively and successfully. In the long term, the military could lose the respect of its citizens, costing it billions of dollars in taxpayer support and priceless amounts in hallowed reverence from the American people.

If the U.S. military expects to continue to command the highest respect from its citizenry, it must work aggressively, expeditiously and seriously to boot out all immoral, unethical and illegal conduct that disgraces and tarnishes its trademark image of high esteem.