by Dr. Elizabeth Holmes
No Time for Hesitation Imagine the following situation: You are a young Navy lieutenant on your way to a major inspection that will determine whether your unit deploys on time. Your roommate, another lieutenant — whose father just died and who was out drinking all last night — has revealed that he is a recovering alcoholic. He asks you to cover for him to get through the inspection. You now have a decision to make. Do you remain loyal to a friend and fellow officer, backing him up when he claims to be sick? Do you keep quiet but let him take his chances? Or do you tell the commanding officer? Ethical Decision-Making in the Fleet
Moral gray areas have to be navigated quickly and effectively in fast-moving combat situations. The stakes are often too high to let young officers and enlisted gain expertise through “on-the-job” training. As a leader, how do you enhance the decisionmaking abilities of your people so that they are better prepared to face ethical challeng 12
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es in conditions where leisurely reflection is seldom an option? Ethical decision-making is a structured process in which a person can recognize an ethical or moral issue, decide the best action to take, and act on it. Although there are many different ways to go about making ethical decisions, a set of common concerns include moving beyond a narrow self-interest, identifying the right thing to do, increasing
Teaching Rapid Ethical Decision-Making with Interactive Simulations benefits and decreasing harm, and relying on a reasoned, rational process. Character and leadership development form the cornerstone at the United States Naval Academy, and the Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership at the Academy has embraced the new technology of interactive simulations as a way to teach ethical decision-making. Today’s young officers and Sailors grew up playing video games, and Navy trainers and educators have found that they respond eagerly to this learning medium. Command Master Chief Petty Officer Kurt Smith of Naval Submarine Training Center Pacific (NSTCP) described how the digital age has shaped young sailors in an interview published in the spring 2008 edition of UNDERSEA WARFARE Magazine. He pointed out that “the technical savvy of today’s recruits is quite impressive…. Nearly every Sailor has an iPod or DVD player in their bunk, and most are very computer savvy and can almost program the computers.” The Stockdale Center has produced a DVD library of five simulations with a selection of moral dilemmas. The simulations show midshipmen, enlisted personnel and junior officers in situations that pose ethical dilemmas, and they demonstrate a systematic, logical process to help resolve these dilemmas. The realistic computer environment obliges participants to make hard choices and face the consequences of their decisions, but without
