{"id":4356,"date":"2024-07-11T16:34:28","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T20:34:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/?p=4356"},"modified":"2024-07-11T16:34:28","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T20:34:28","slug":"the-ethical-frontlines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/2024\/the-ethical-frontlines\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ethical Frontlines"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo

Tyler O\u2019Neal | Photo by Angelo Meredino<\/p><\/div>\n

As an analyst with an American drone program,<\/span> Tyler O\u2019Neal <\/b>was part of a covert team based in the United States that conducted lethal drone strikes against high-level terrorist leaders in remote parts of the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t regret my work and generally think such strikes are beneficial\u2014but there are always ethical dilemmas involved,\u201d said O\u2019Neal, who served in military and civilian national security positions at the Department of Defense, CIA and elsewhere during the last 20 years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re targeting human beings and taking human life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At times he has wondered whether strikes are sufficiently beneficial to justify and whether they serve the best interests of the United States and humanity generally.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now O\u2019Neal is grappling with such issues in a new way\u2014as a student in the Master of Arts in Military Ethics program at Case Western Reserve University\u2014the only dedicated master\u2019s degree of its kind in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

The in-person program draws not only service members, but undergraduates and graduate students who have no military ties, but may seek careers in international law, public policy, human rights and humanitarian efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

And now in another first, the master\u2019s program includes U.S. Army chaplains, whose duties include giving ethical advice to commanding officers. Several chaplains began classes on campus last fall, and the Army Chaplain Corps plans to send a cohort to the one-year program annually.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Photo

Shannon French | Photo by Calen Aubertin<\/p><\/div>\n

After earning their degrees, the chaplains will teach ethics to newly commissioned Army officers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to teach students\u2014 whether they are civilians or service members\u2014how to contribute to and drive complex ethical conversations,\u201d said <\/span>Shannon E. French<\/b>, PhD, the program\u2019s co-director and Inamori Professor in Ethics in the College of Arts and Sciences.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLeaders and policymakers\u2014and even voters\u2014 can often lack the nuanced understanding and ethical insight required to make key decisions that affect the military and veterans, but these skills can be learned.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

French taught for 11 years at the U.S. Naval Academy before joining Case Western Reserve in 2008 and is among the leading international scholars in the military ethics field. Now her long-standing connections have led to the chaplains coming to campus to further their education. They \u201care the voices in the room who can raise concerns in the military from an ethical perspective,\u201d French said. \u201cThe questions we consider in class are not theoretical for many of the students taking these courses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Moral Minefields<\/h2>\n

While the ethics of conflict have been debated since antiquity, the world faces troubling and complex questions with the increasing use of emerging strategies, weapons and tools.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Headshot

Jessica Wolfendale<\/p><\/div>\n

Launched in 2018, the military ethics program addresses such questions with an interdisciplinary approach. Students can take courses in law, leadership, history, philosophy, artificial intelligence, bioethics\u2014and even electives on ethics in war-based video games or artistic representations of war.<\/span><\/p>\n

They explore topics such as the moral aspects of modern warfare, decisions on when and how to engage in conflict and obligations to care for both active- duty service members and veterans. <\/span>This academic year, class discussions take place amid a backdrop including Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war and the American military response in Yemen\u2019s longtime civil war.<\/span><\/p>\n

Soldiers\u2019 and chaplains\u2019 personal experiences inform in-class discussions of unfolding events, including debates on the conduct of military leadership and \u201cwhat constitutes a proportional response to violence,\u201d said <\/span>Jessica Wolfendale<\/b>, PhD, professor of philosophy and the program\u2019s co-director.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen students in the class hear what it\u2019s like to actually serve, they better understand the nature of the military and the challenges its personnel face,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd for military personnel and veterans, it\u2019s important and useful for them to hear perspectives from outside of the insulation of their profession.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis intermingling of viewpoints really broadens everyone\u2019s understanding of the ethical issues around the use of military force,\u201d she added.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A

Sarah Wu | Photo by Angelo Merendino<\/p><\/div>\n

That\u2019s been the experience of <\/span>Sarah Wu<\/b>, a senior double- majoring in philosophy and political science. She is also earning a master\u2019s degree in military ethics.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI better understand the ethical dilemmas combatants and veterans face by talking with classmates who have enlisted or been deployed in the military,\u201d said Wu, who plans to enter a JD-PhD program in the fall to study ethics and legal philosophy. \u201cStudying the theory about just wars has helped me better understand core values and principles critical to international laws governing conduct in armed conflicts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ethics on Duty<\/h2>\n

On Sept. 11, 2001, <\/span>Joel Giese<\/b> was working at the White House. The terrorist attacks, subsequent wars and his experiences working for the Executive Office of the President contributed to his decision to enter the seminary and join the Army Chaplain Corps in 2004.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A member of the Lutheran Church \u2013 Missouri Synod, a conservative Christian denomination, Giese\u2014like his fellow chaplains\u2014remains faithful to his religious beliefs and duty- bound by the Army\u2019s chain of command.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, there is tension between our duties,\u201d said Giese, a student in the military ethics program.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A

Joel Giese | Photo by Angelo Merendino<\/p><\/div>\n

In his two decades of military service, Giese has served in more than 40 countries\u2014deploying throughout the Middle East, the Pacific and Africa\u2014including to combat zones. Along the way, he said, he has counseled soldiers from a range of beliefs and backgrounds, embodying ethical principles such as respect, compassion and inclusivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The knowledge and insights he gains from the military ethics program will shape how he teaches junior officers at Army bases in Virginia after graduating.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe program provides a common framework and language for discussing ethical issues that we can draw on as reference points in discussions with commanders and others,\u201d Giese said. \u201cThis creates clarity and consistency, so we\u2019re on the same page.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Giese believes the education chaplains receive in the program will give them more credibility and, thus, a greater voice to affect ethical decision making in the military.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA general officer does not have the time or the capacity to be an expert at everything, yet they still have to make decisions that can impact thousands of lives,\u201d Giese said. \u201cOften a legal decision says we <\/span>can<\/span><\/i> use a tactic or system. The degree provides the ethicist a voice to answer the question of <\/span>should<\/span><\/i> we use it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For O\u2019Neal, the program has provided perspective on what he called \u201cthe many\u201d leadership failings he has encountered in the military, \u201cwhich haven\u2019t always had my best interest at heart.\u201d And, he said, it \u201chas been good at helping me think through how I can correct what I\u2019ve experienced by being a different kind of leader for others moving forward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While the military\u2019s officer corps receives ethics training at the undergraduate level at institutions such as the Naval Academy and the United States Military Academy at West Point, CWRU\u2019s degree program is more advanced and complements and supplements those efforts. It enables students to take classes in many disciplines and involving multiple perspectives; integrates civilian and military students; and influences how chaplains and other military personnel may teach their fellow service members.<\/span><\/p>\n

The master\u2019s program also has brought increased visibility and validation to the military ethics field and contributed to its emergence as a distinct academic discipline\u2014separate from international relations, philosophy and other related fields.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe more good voices we can train to focus on preserving humanity\u2014both literally and in the sense of not annihilating the humanity inside ourselves or other people\u2014the better,\u201d French said. \u201cStrong ethical leadership acts as a deterrent against unethical behavior.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to teach students\u2014 whether they are civilians or service members\u2014how to contribute to and drive complex ethical conversations.\u201d \u2014Shannon French, co-director of CWRU\u2019s military ethics program<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As an analyst with an American drone program, Tyler O\u2019Neal <\/b>was part of a covert team based in the United States that conducted lethal drone strikes against high-level terrorist leaders in remote parts of the world. …Read more.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":481,"featured_media":4368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artscimedia.case.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/147\/2024\/06\/26204818\/P16_240228-Tyler-O_Neal-04-PRINT_Credit_Angelo_Merendino.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4356"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/481"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4356"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4489,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4356\/revisions\/4489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}