Military Virtues

"Military Virtues is an excellent addition to Howgate’s series on military ethics.  As the title suggests, the focus of the volume is on virtues, and thus on excellence of character, as distinct from other texts which focus on deliberation and decision making.  Each section provides an overview of a particular virtue—wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance, and others—followed by discussion of the way it relates to the challenges of military life.  Thus, Pauline Shanks Kaurin’s general discussion of courage is followed by Peter Lee’s analysis of “Courage in an Age of Technology” and Scott Cooper’s “Moral Courage.”  The topics are timely, the analyses are helpful and thought provoking; in all, this is a fine volume.   Professor John Kelsay, Florida State University ...anyone interested in ethics is interested in examples of the application of ethical thinking, and here we have exactly that.  The Wavell Room ...a treasure trove of real-world international cases of military moral dilemmas - and at times, outright moral failures - of enviable breadth and depth.  Strategy Bridge Military Virtues is an outstanding contribution to the growing field of military ethics. It makes a compelling case for the revival of the classical emphasis on character - the seat of moral goodness. In that context, it explores such generic leadership qualities that have the flavour of moral excellencies, such as integrity, justice or fairness, compassion and humility. They are the building blocks of 'good leadership and leadership for good'. Anyone who cares about the ethos of our unique Armed Services will read this pioneering book with interest and profit.    Professor John Adair, Chair of Leadership, United Nations. The concept of “virtue” in the Aristotelian sense of “functional excellence” is widespread in the military.   Indeed, much of military training follows precisely Aristotle's understanding of how virtues are developed through repetitive practice under supervision and coaching.  This volume provides the most thorough and insightful analysis of a wide range of military virtues yet compiled.  It skillfully balances examination of the conceptual understanding of these virtues with extremely helpful case studies which make the conceptual analysis concrete and clear.  This book should be widely read and used for classroom discussions at all levels of professional military education. Dr Martin L. Cook, Admiral Stockdale Professor of Professional Military Ethics (Emeritus), United States Naval War College Winston Churchill once said, ""Without courage, all other virtues lose their meaning"". After reading this volume, I realize how far I missed the mark focusing on Churchill’s most important virtue of courage while expecting to then easily learn the others. Henley writes in Invictus, ""I am the Master of my Fate, I am the Captain of my soul"". If a military leader and warrior wants to be ""the Master of their Fate, the Captain of their soul"" they need to also read about the other 13 virtues identified in this volume, review carefully the corresponding case studies of each and then strive to master not just one, not just two, but all 14. Captain Mike Michel, Deputy Commandant for Leadership and Character Development, United States Naval Academy. At a time of increasing domestic and international complexity and seemingly constant change, the role of ethical leadership has never been more important.  This extremely timely and thought-provoking book allows us to re-examine our core virtues as leaders, to study and validate them and critically to ensure that they are not just empty words on a vision paper.  The chapter on ‘Humility’ serves as a reminder of our ‘Serve to Lead’ heritage: leadership is about maximising the talents of all our people and putting them first in all things.  By really understanding these virtues, inculcating them in all that we do and, by constant practice, making them dispositional we give ourselves the ‘ethical leadership armour’ to tackle the many difficult challenges that face us.  Finally, clearly articulated in the ‘Courage’ chapter, unless we have the hard moral courage to do what is right all of our study of these virtues is meaningless. Hugely readable, fascinating and adept at drawing on both the successes and mistakes of our predecessors, it is a ‘must read’ for anyone involved in leadership in the military or commercial sector, from those at the ‘coal face’ to the board room. Brigadier WSC Wright OBE, Commander Sandhurst Group (RMAS Gp). Character development requires deliberate lifelong practice, for which Military Virtues provides insight and an action strategy.  Military Virtues provides a quick reference that belongs in every leader's unit development program.  Parameters, US Army War College ..valuable guidance or reflection for military commanders at any level, a valuable resource for academic study.  Journal of Military Ethics An excellent compilation from which military commanders would benefit in the execution of their tasks in environments where the 'Rules of Engagement' in place is the first aspect examined when there are serious repercussions. Neville Taylor, RUSI - Victoria"