US Military Ethics Doctrine Gap Affects Combat Effectiveness (warontherocks.com)

• US military lacks binding ethics doctrine; moral preparation is neglected.
• Ethics linked to operational tempo and trust; moral culmination undermines performance.
• Author proposes joint ethics doctrine developed by Chairman of Joint Chiefs.

"A Marine officer argues the US military lacks a formal ethics doctrine, which undermines combat effectiveness. Drawing on Clausewitz, Marine Corps doctrine, and GAO findings, the author contends that ethics education, training, and reinforcement are missing, leading to moral culmination and scandals. He proposes a joint ethics doctrine to be developed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs."