Joint Ethics Training

Up until 2007, the U.S. military did not require its employees or soldiers to take any coursework in the ethics of war. That has now changed due to the Joint Ethics Directive.

Directive

• According to the Joint Ethics Directive, issued by the Department of Defense, as of November 2007, all Department of Defense employees, including all civilians and soldiers, must undergo ethics training.

Time Frame

• For all new, non-enlisted military employees who have not previously had ethics training, training must be undertaken no later than 90 days after he has commenced service. For enlisted soldiers who have not received training, ethics training must begin no later than 180 days after starting active duty. Further, periodic ethics training is also required.

Topics

• Military ethics training should provide information on historical ethical dilemmas encountered in war. For example, in deciding whether or not to drop atomic bombs on Japan, decision-makers had to consider whether killing a large number of innocent civilians could be legitimized on the ground that it would avoid further war.

  Another important topic that may be discussed is whether medical personnel are morally legitimate targets on the battlefield. For the philosopher, Thomas Nagel, the answer was, "No."