The ethical problem in this scenario is that SFC Sharp certified secret documents were destroyed and two weeks later some of the pages were intact and had not been destroyed, bringing into question SFC Sharp’s integrity. A side note issue is SGT Day suggesting that we simply then destroy the documents and ignore the incident. SFC Sharp reported the documents destroyed and did not report that any documents were lost. Was this intentional or not? I would review all relevant SOP’s and regulations pertinent to the safe guarding and destruction of classified documents such as: AR 380-5, AR 380-40, FM-1, Unit SOP, as well as considering all Army and personal values and how it apply to this situation. The regs state that in a security breach of this type any person, who discovers classified information out of proper control will, take custody of the information, safeguard it, and immediately report to their security manager, S2, or CO. The mishandling or loss of secret information can cause serious damage to our national security.

Looking at the Army values which may apply to this situation I first look at Duty, and what my responsibilities are, but this can come up against my Loyalty to a fellow NCO’s and my unit, and above all my country. SFC Sharp is well liked and about to leave the unit, and if I just turn him in to the CO, what does that say about me and how will that effect my working relationship with others in the unit? If I report this directly, I will be in the right but will this destroy any Respect others have for me in the unit? Do I go along with the response that I received from SGT Day, thus compounding the problem? If this issue comes up again I would now be just as culpable as SFC Sharp. Other Army values which would apply would be my Personal courage since even though this is a tough situation you must not let your fear of what may come of it change your actions and Honor, which would mean living up to the values even if it may become an issue. After the Army values I would consider the Golden Rule and ask how I would want to be treated if this had happened to me, as well as always wanting to try to deal with problems at the lowest possible level, but not knowing SFC Sharp’s intentions, I would need to protect myself from any consequences resulting from the situation.

For my COA I would take this issue directly to SFC Sharp first, to see what his reaction to the situation is, thus giving him a chance to explain what happened, and try to resolve the issue at the lowest possible level. He may not know what exactly happened. Discussing the issue with SFC Sharp will let me know his intentions and how he plans to correct the problem. If he gives me reason to believe that he has an integrity issue, or will try to cover the situation up, then I will have to report it to insist that we see the 1SG to address the situation, and to give him an opportunity to address it himself. Being new to the unit, I cannot determine what his intent was with the Secret documents. If he refuses these overtures, then I will have to report the incident to the S2 OIC and the CO, to take whatever action is necessary. I will also need to address SGT Day, who I can understand his loyalty, but we would need to have a verbal counseling session, where I can lay out my interpretation and let him know that we need to follow procedure and the regs and not just sweep things under the rug. I would do this privately and get his thoughts, since I will have to work with and rely on him in the future.

After speaking with SFC Sharp I would assess whether he is willing to speak to the 1SG or if I need to move this up the chain of command myself. Once I speak to SGT Day, I will need to assess how he is working and ensure that he adheres to the regs and procedures, if he does not then I will need to formally counsel him and perhaps work at some corrective training. We would also need to inventory all of the logged Secret materials to ensure everything is accounted for and properly stored.