Military Ethics: Guidelines for Peace and War

This introductory book has been intended to set the stage for the reflections on commitment in military systems that follow. The thread that runs through those reflections is simple: commitment of members is a central problematic in military institutions, especially in a volunteer military of an advanced liberal democracy; military professionals must be concerned about the levels and types of commitment (although not necessarily study them through systematic research); and, we must analyze commitment in the context of unique operational requirements of military systems and the process of institutional change. This last point is crucial; if we use the wrong rhetoric, we deny our own myths and become, as it were, part of the problem.