Military Professionalism - United States Air Force Academy

Snider, Don M. Dissent and Strategic Leadership of the Military Professions. Carlisle
Barracks: U.S. Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, Feb. 2008.
http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA477064
“The professional ethic of the Army in the modern era has held that, in civil-military
relations, the military is the servant of its Constitutionally-mandated civilian leaders, both
those in the Executive branch and in the Congress. As Samuel Huntington noted,
“loyalty and obedience” are the cardinal military virtues. This precept has remained
embedded in the Army’s professional ethos to this day, especially for the strategic leaders
of the Army Profession. An act of public dissent is to be exceptionally rare, undertaken
only after the most careful analysis and determination of its absolute necessity.”
Sondheimer, Rachel Milstein, Isaiah Wilson III, Thomas Greco, Kevin Toner, and
Cameron West. “Ideological Perceptions and Civil-Military Relations.” In
Attitudes Aren’t Free: Thinking Deeply about Diversity in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Ed. James E. Parco and David A. Levy. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air
University Press, Feb. 2010, 423-436.
http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA518901
Civilian control of the military is rooted in America’s traditional distrust of standing
armies. The U.S. military identifies itself as an apolitical entity. DOD policy makers
must be aware of the potential moral hazard in the gap of perceived ideological leanings
within civilian and military spheres and how it may affect the perception of military
advice in the policy arena. It is also vital that the DOD be proactive in this debate and
continue to put forth scholarship and sponsor data collection in both military and civilian
spheres to understand and counter the consequences of this potential moral hazard, which
threatens to undermine the role of the military as key provider of defense expertise on
policy matters.
Starry, Donn A. “In Pursuit of an Ethic.” Army (Sept. 1981): 11-13.
The military needs a clear ethic that reflects the fundamental values of the nation and
satisfies the unique needs of the professional soldier. This set of values must include
loyalty to the institution, loyalty to the unit, personal responsibility, selfless service,
competence, commitment, candor, and courage.
Starry, Donn A. “The Profession of Arms in America.” from Encyclopedia of the
American Military Vol. I. Ed. John E. Jessup and Louise B. Ketz. New York, NY:
Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1994: 467-470.
The basic function of the military is to be prepared to fight the nation’s wars and, if
necessary, to conduct military operations in order to achieve political goals set forth by
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