Responsibility, accountability and discipline are important virtues in the military. They both go hand in hand. For instance, when an officer failed to maintain the weapons' accountability, that means that one is not a responsible soldier and should be disciplined. Every officer has a duty, and they should do by virtue of the position and moral obligations. Responsibility means that officers should be accountable for what they do. They should follow all the terms and conditions, which include the execution of assigned duties. Each officer is accountable for personal conduct and those of other soldiers. Each responsibility assigned to soldiers cannot be delegated and accountable for each action to fellow officers, leaders, the department and the larger US army.
Dismissal is a common phenomenon in the army because of multiple cheating scandals. In the case provided, The Air Force dismissed nine military officers and agreed to the commander's relinquishing his position at Malmstrom military Base in Montana. The case is still in progress due to multiple cases of suspected cheating scandals. The main cause of firing officers is that crew members were cheating on the proficiency examination, and others were aware that cheating was happening in the airbase. The cheating was discovered that officers were receiving answers from text messages on their cellphones. It was discovered when there was an ongoing investigation of illegal drug possession inquiries (Cooper, 2014). From the report, the military officers were not able to provide enough oversight of the operation force. Many officers were also fired in the case, such as Col. Donald Holloway, mainly because the department lost confidence in his ability to lead. Although it has nothing with cheating in the tests, it is feared that he cannot lead.
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From the case below, it is clear that the fired officers were basically on the ground of responsibility, accountability, and discipline. On the same note, actions have consequences. It is clear that the officers in charge were not responsible for the actions. In terms of responsibility, the unit must ensure that military officers understand their responsibilities and team members as the army's representatives. They are usually set of standards and policies, and leaders should provide guidance, responses, assistance, and supervision needed for military officers to perform their duties. Mission accomplishment means that officers work together to advise, help and learn from each other to avoid conflicts and non-performance in the department. From the case provided, Col. Donald Holloway, a crew commandant at Warren military Base in Wyoming, was fired because the leaders saw that he was not responsible enough to lead the base. Although there was nothing against him, his actions and how he does things make him be deemed irresponsible. An irresponsible person cannot lead others because there will be serious compromise within the unit. Regarding cheating scandals, all crew members were undoubtedly irresponsible because they knew that cheating was happening in the department, but they did not report to the authorities.
Regarding accountability, it goes together with responsibility because it states that each person should be responsible for personal actions. In this case, all military officers should be accountable, follow the rules and regulations, customers and courtesies. They are many challenges that tend to arise towards completing a mission. Accepting any responsibility in the army make a military officer accountable to both subordinates and superiors. Additionally, accountability means that a person does the right thing daily and fulfills the organization's mission. Investigators reported that the officers were given a duty to be the watchdog of every officer in the unit. Being military officers means that one should be free of scandals because they should be role models to society. Because they do not want their careers to be ruined, they decided to adopt the culture of cheating. They feared that if they score less than 100% on monthly examination, their career might end. Cheating in the army is a serious offense, and it means that one should be accountable for personal actions, which is a dismissal in the army was the right thing to do. Those who did not involve themselves in cheating but were aware that cheating was going on, failing to report the culprits, is enough evidence that they were the accomplices and should accept fate.
Regarding discipline, it is essential in the Air Force because it assists in building character and contributing to a cohesive team. Without discipline, it implies that units would not function as one team during training, mission and exercises. The army mainly utilized imposed discipline whereby servicemen and women must follow the rules, regulations, and instruction without questions on why they must follow them. Cheating is, no doubt, a form of indiscipline. The authorities reported that cheating has been extensive and pervasive in all airbase, and it was noted, the trend to be taking place for many years. Firing the nine officers will serve as an example to others who could have been thinking about cheating. It is also a form of warning to the remaining members.
Additionally, Maj. Gen. Michael J. Carey was fired as a result of drinking escapades. Removal of a person in the position means that one did not discipline enough to lead others. Authorities reported that 17 officers were dismissed for failure to find safety and potential code violations. The analysis shows that when military officers lack responsibility and accountability, it means that they are indisciplined. Punitive actions should be taken against them to warn those who are maybe planning on following the same route.
Military operations are sensitive tasks that require a high level of discipline, responsibility and accountability. Each military officer should be diligent in any actions and those around them. The removal of individuals in the command-positions were appropriate to my understanding. According to the army's moral code of conduct, any unacceptable, disgraceful and shameful actions among officers automatically lead to dismissal. As seen in most command officers, lack of confidence to lead is a serious thing that should be considered. The main purpose of punishment, such as dismissal, is to stop future misconduct. Authorities should send messages to all military officers in the units that cheating, inability to lead confidently and drunken antics will not be tolerated. The firing of military officers was appropriate because it will also instill confidence in the general public and the authorities. Military operations are a service duty to citizens and require quality character, honest and a high level of discipline.
It is clear from the case that the three concepts: responsibility, accountability and discipline, goes hand in hand. For successful service in the military, an officer should possess all three qualities. Responsibility is being in charge of a certain duty while accountability is being answerable, liable and expected in a certain duty. Being discipline means that one should follow the rules and regulations provided in the present code of conduct. All three concepts are tied to one officer, and whenever there is misconduct, a serious punishment is in place to deter non-performance in the future.
Reference
Cooper, H. (2014, March 28). Air Force fires nine officers in a scandal over cheating on proficiency tests . The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/28/us/air-force-fires-9-officers-accused-in-cheating-scandal.html
