U.S. military service members routinely lie and may even be encouraged to do so, according to a new study released by the U.S. Army War College.
The 53-page report found that "after repeated exposure to the overwhelming demands and the associated need to put their honor on the line to verify compliance, [service members] have become ethically numb." The study was conducted by retired Army officers and current War College professors Leonard Wong and Stephen J. Gerras.
"An officer's signature and word have become tools to maneuver through the Army bureaucracy rather than being symbols of integrity and honesty," the report reads. "Sadly, much of the deception that occurs in the profession of arms is encouraged and sanctioned by the military institution as subordinates are forced to prioritize which requirements will actually be done to standard and which will only be reported as done to standard."
The authors said the issue affects the whole military, but they focused on the Army because they are most familiar with it.
Wong and Gerras interviewed "scores of officers," including captains, from multiple locations around the country, and heard numerous stories about dishonest training practices, falsified medical reports, incomplete inventories and misleading storyboards.
"Untruthfulness is surprisingly common in the U.S. military even though members of the profession are loath to admit it," they added.
The study was released shortly after former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who officially left his post Tuesday, raised a number of concerns over ethics.
Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon's press secretary, recently said during a news conference that Hagel was "deeply troubled" over a number of military ethics investigations.
"I think he's generally concerned that there could be, at least at some level, a breakdown in ethical behavior and in the demonstration of moral courage," Kirby said.
Kirby added that Hagel is "concerned about the health of the force and the health of the strong culture of accountability and responsibility that Americans have come to expect from their military."
Last week, Hagel wrote a memo to the U.S. military's most senior leaders calling for more accountability and high ethical standards, reported CNN.
"The vast majority of our senior leaders are men and women who have earned the special trust and confidence afforded them by the American people," the memo said. "However, when senior leaders forfeit this trust through unprofessional, unethical or morally questionable behavior, their actions have an enormously negative effect on the profession."
Hagel told military leaders that they need to "strengthen your cultures" and "assess gaps and close them."
