Reference no: EM133641099

In the Johnson Case Study below After reading, please help with the prompts below:

Address the following

- Identify the ethical issues presented in the case and cite them.

- Identify the principles or values that most closely align with your view on ethics and explain why.

- Present the opposite side of your ethical position without being critical or judgemental.

Support your answer.

Reference

Johnson, C. E. (2022). Organizational ethics: A practical approach. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.

Case Study 8.2: Navy SEALS: Breaking the Code of Silence
Navy SEALs are modern-day American heroes. Their toughness, bravery, and battlefield success are celebrated in books (Extreme Ownership, Fearless), television shows (Seal Team, Seal Team 6), and movies (Lone Survivor, Zero Dark Thirty). SEALs have taken the lead in the fight against insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was a team of Navy SEALs who slipped into Pakistan and killed Osama bin Laden.
Navy SEALs are a highly selective group. To be admitted to SEAL training, applicants must pass a series of demanding fitness tests and medical screenings. Once admitted, they spend 2.5 years before their first deployment mastering such skills as underwater demolition, parachuting, and special warfare. (Only 20% of those who enter the training program complete it.) The Trident pin, awarded at the end of the training period, identifies them as members of this elite fighting force.
Recently, the heroic image of the Navy SEALs has been tarnished by a series of scandals. Two SEALs stationed in Africa are accused of strangling a Green Beret. A platoon of SEALs was sent back to the United States from Iraq following accusations of sexual assault and drinking. A group of SEALs stationed in Virginia snorted cocaine while on the job and cheated urinalysis tests. A former SEAL was sentenced for manufacturing child pornography and molesting his daughter. In a case that made national headlines, Navy SEAL commander Eddie Gallagher was charged with war crimes. He was accused of shooting at unarmed civilians and murdering a teenage Islamic State prisoner and then posing with his corpse. Gallagher was acquitted of the murder charges but was convicted of posing with the body. President Trump then pardoned Gallagher, releasing him based on his past service to the nation.
Alarmed by the scandals, General Richard Clarke, head of the U.S. Special Operations Command, ordered a review of the ethics and culture of the SEALs. The Navy's outgoing top admiral urged special operations troops to continue to emphasize "the ethical dimension of what we do." He argued that recent issues stemmed from the fact that the commandos were deployed for years, contributing to battlefield stress and putting strain on the character of SEALs. "Your character is like a muscle," according to Richardson. "It sort of gets stronger when you train it, and then it gets fatigued when you strain it and you use it a lot."1 Others believe that the success of the SEALs has encouraged members to think they are above the law. According to a former military judge, "SEALs, it seems to me, have been seeing themselves as God-like on the battlefield, and there is a real danger in taking that view of one's unit or one's self. I think that this [the Gallagher case] will alert the SEAL community that the rules apply to them."2
In the past, SEALs spoke little about personal achievements. They focused on the group instead, following the provision of the SEAL creed where SEALs pledge to "not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions." Now, more SEALs are out to cash in on their fame. Two SEALs have written books claiming that they were the ones who fired the shot that killed Osama bin Laden. Members of Gallagher's command stated that their leader was out to kill as many insurgents as he could (including women and children) while competing for promotions and earning medals. Gallagher plans on starting his own Navy SEAL-themed clothing line after leaving the Navy.
Gallagher's case illustrates the obstacles facing those who hope to reform the SEALs. Trump's pardon could discourage others, who already face tremendous pressure from their peers, from reporting misconduct. SEALs risk retaliation (including violence) and ostracism from the SEAL brotherhood for breaking the group's code of silence. An unwritten rule in SEAL teams is that members should not report others for misconduct. Doing so can cut them off from desirable assignments or end their careers. Going outside the SEAL community could mean being branded as a traitor.
Members of Gallagher's team, who described their chief as "freaking evil" and "toxic," were obviously upset and frightened when they came in to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to testify about his battlefield behavior:

The Navy SEALs showed up one by one, wearing hoodies and T-shirts instead of uniforms, to tell investigators what they had seen. Visibly nervous, they shifted in their chairs, rubbed their palms and pressed their fists against their foreheads. At times they stopped in midsentence and broke into tears.3

Despite their fears, team members decided to go forward, even when the Navy initially ignored their testimony. Said one, "I am also convinced that that we are gonna answer to a higher power someday, and everything happens for a reason. Not compromising our integrity and keeping right on our side is all we can do."