Military Leadership

About every country has a military with the primary aim of protecting the nation’s borders and independence. To achieve this goal, leadership is required in the execution of orders. Military leadership is divided into tiers, so a chain of command is important. As a subordinate of a military leader at every rank, I owe it to them to follow their orders with bravery, duty, devotion, and selflessness. Protecting the oath to represent the government takes priority over all else in the military. Failure to carry out orders is called insubordination and can result in a court-martial. Orders can be obeyed in order to prevent arraignment and potential prosecution. Frowe (2016) describes formalized formalized formalized formalized formalized formalized formalized formalized Orders are supposed to be within humanitarian law lest people descend into anarchy. Uncouth individuals may use the chain of command inappropriately to destroy lives for purposes other than the good of the country. Using knowledge acquired during military training, a soldier should execute orders not only because they are from a superior but also because they are lawful and ethical (Frowe, 2016).

Orders to be followed should be ethical and lawful. Disobeying unlawful orders is not considered as disloyalty. Soldiers are human first. Thus they have feelings. Executives that violate the ethics and sanctity of human life are to be rejected and changed after consideration. After analyzing the threat level of the noncombatants and civilians and assessing the importance and resources of the area, I would respectfully refuse to execute the order. Relaying my thoughts to the platoon sergeant, I would ask for reconsideration of the order. In conjunction with my immediate superior and members of my squad, I would then strive to find an alternative route for the troop that causes the least paradigm shift. Disturbance of a culture brews war and prevention of a war is better than having to take part in one (Frowe, 2016) (M.N., 2013)

In war, an entity seeks to neutralize the enemy. Thus, the definition of the enemy is paramount in conducting a war. Albeit that they may be in the vicinity of war, innocent bystanders and noncombatants are not participating in the war thus need to be preserved. Soldiers need to exude knowledge and wisdom in identifying the enemy to fire at. Firing indiscriminately means that enemy combatants are marginalized from the rest of the populace then fired at with whatever assortment of artillery. The presence of a foe within a certain population does not necessarily mean the whole population is the enemy. This generalization is a fallacy and should be avoided.

An individual that is hors de combat has stopped participating in war because specified reasons such as the injured and prisoners-of-war and are therefore not considered as combatants. They are subject to be accorded exemption from warfare as long as they stay away from any war activity. Auxiliary medical personnel assuage health emergencies and assist when the load on the medics augments. They come in handy when the causalities of the war surpass the handling ability of medical attention especially in remote and hostile areas. Grave breaches are war attacks that are unwarranted and unjustified. Grave breaches are the violations of the 1949 Geneva Conventions in international law. (M.N., 2013) (Cameron, Demeyere, & Henckaerts, 2017). The Geneva Convention protects the sanctity of life during war, and grave breaches are contrary to international law that upholds harmony and cohesion within the countries that are signatories to the convention.

References

Cameron, L., Demeyere, B., & Henckaerts, J. (2017). The Updated Commentary on the First Geneva Convention. International Law.

Frowe, H. (2016). The Ethics of War and Peace. New York: RoutledgeTaylor and Francis Group.

M.N., S. (2013). Wound, Capture, or Kill. European Journal of International Law.