You are newly assigned as the communications and electronics staff NCO of the 99th Infantry
Battalion. You are replacing SFC Sharp, as a result of his selection for promotion to MSG and departure for a new assignment in two weeks.
SFC Sharp impressed you with the welcome you received and all he is doing to ensure that you get off to a good start. Your soldiers appear well trained and your admin sergeant, SSG Day, seems to know just about everything. You know you have big shoes to fill when SFC Sharp leaves because everyone seems to like and respect him. You’ve heard people say that he knows more about infantry operations than most infantrymen do.
SFC Sharp has cleaned out his desk and tells you to make yourself at home. Later this afternoon he will receive an award for his service to the 99th. His farewell party is this evening at the NCO club.
As you are setting up your things in your new desk, you discover some papers wedged between the wall and the side of the desk. You pull them out and discover that they are pages from a communication security book and marked “SECRET.” You attach a cover sheet to them and go into the security vault to talk to SSG Day.
SSG Day checks the inventory and destruction certificates and discovers that SFC Sharp certified that the book these pages came from was destroyed two weeks ago. Both you and SSG Day search the vault and the outer office for any other pages, but you don’t find any. SSG Day turns to you and says,
“I don’t know about you, but the way I see this is that our section area is locked every evening.
The civilian cleaning team doesn’t even clean our area. Only our people ever come in here. From the look of these pages they’ve been behind that desk for some time. These pages are from an alternate communications security book and have not been used. They were to be destroyed two weeks ago, and as far as I’m concerned SFC Sharp destroyed them two weeks ago.”
In resolving the ethical problem shown in the case study, you are to develop possible courses of action and the solution that best represents Army values. Keep in mind, however, that there may be several correct solutions to the problem. Arriving at a different solution does not necessarily mean that your solution is wrong.
1. Define the problem.
a. What is the problem?
-The basic problem is the pressure you have to be dishonest and not report the breach of security. b. Identify the ethical questions.
-Should I report the incident immediately?
-What is my duty?
-Is my loyalty owed to SFC Sharp or the unit?
-How should I proceed?
2. Know the rules:
-Identify applicable laws, regulations, guidelines, and professional obligations.
-You must thoroughly understand the situation and feel confident about your decision.
3. Develop and evaluate courses of action:
a. Do nothing as SSG Day suggests.
b. Inform the chain of command before SFC Sharp leaves.
c. Inform the chain of command after SFC Sharp leaves.
d. Go to SFC Sharp before he leaves and ask him how he would like to handle this problem.
4. Choose the course that best represents Army values.
a. Doing nothing may violate your integrity.
b. Going to the chain of command without approaching SFC Sharp shows disloyalty toward him.
c. Informing the chain of command after SFC Sharp leaves may indicate your lack of personal courage and demonstrates disloyalty to SFC Sharp since he is not there to provide his side of the story.
d. By approaching SFC Sharp first, you give him the benefit of the doubt and attempt to resolve the problem at the lowest level, and you are also able to adhere to the values and guiding principles you have decided are important to this situation. Even if SFC Sharp refuses to do anything, you have adhered to the values and guiding principles you have determined are relevant to this ethical problem.
You can then inform his chain of command without compromising those values and principles.