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Values, Virtues, and Ways of War

Values, Virtues, and Ways of War. “What we do today is governed at least as much by the habits of mind we formed in the relatively remote past as by what we did and thought yesterday.” Russell Weigley. Evolution of Human Society.

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Values, Virtues, and Ways of War

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  1. Values, Virtues, and Ways of War

  2. “What we do today is governed at least as much by the habits of mind we formed in the relatively remote past as by whatwe did and thought yesterday.”Russell Weigley

  3. Evolution of Human Society

  4. Understanding military history . . . and the use of military force as political tool . . . Requires: Reconciling ancient feelings and motivations with modern requirements.

  5. “Value(s)” • “. . . 6. beliefs or standards . . . “ • Corporate standards of conduct adopted by the organization for organizational reasons. • Enforced by the leadership of the organization.

  6. Virtue(s) • “. . . 2. a specific moral quality regarded as good . . .” • A product of an organization or society as a whole; a cultural construct as opposed to an organizational construct. • Enforced by the members of the organization. • May be the same qualities as “values.”

  7. “Patriotism” is a corporate value. • “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” Samuel Johnson • Don’t confuse “patriotism” with “civic virtue.” • The ability to subordinate one’s personal good to that of the group (republic). • ( “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”)

  8. Civic virtue • self sacrifice • responsibility • Agape • Bonding

  9. “. . . I would prefer the simple statement that personal honor is the one thing valued more than life itself by the majority of men.” S.L.A Marshall, Men Against Fire

  10. The Greeks . . . Our cultural ancestors. Hoplites, the citizen-militia of the Greek city states.

  11. “The Western Way of War” • Victor Davis Hanson “The Greek way of war has developed in us a distaste for what we call the terrorist, guerrilla, or irregular who chooses to wage war differently, and is unwilling to die on the battlefield in order to kill his enemy.”

  12. “The American Way of War” • Russell Weigley “The Civil War tended to fix the American image of war from the 1860s into America's rise to world power at the turn of the century, and it also suggested that the complete overthrow of the enemy, the destruction of his military power, is the object of war.”

  13. Summary • Ancient (archetypical) feelings about organized violence and war affect our modern view of war. • The American experience has taught us that “victory” requires the annihilation of our enemy. • These historical facts complicate the use of military power as a tool of state policy.

  14. “Victory” is necessary to lead men and women into combat. • But “victory” (like “hooah”) is meaningless. • Did you achieve the OBJECTIVE?

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