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Effectiveness of battlefield-ethics training during combat deployment: a programme assessment
Christopher H Warner1, George N Appenzeller, Angela Mobbs
1Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS, USA. christopher.h.warner@us.army.mil
Lancet (London, England)
|September 6, 2011
Summary
Battlefield ethics training significantly reduced soldiers' unethical conduct and increased reporting of misconduct. High-intensity combat, not PTSD, predicted unethical behavior.
Area of Science:
- Military Ethics
- Behavioral Science
- Psychology
Background:
- Ethical conduct of soldiers towards non-combatants is a critical concern in warfare.
- Evidence-based training to prevent unethical conduct is limited.
- This study assessed battlefield ethics training effectiveness and associated factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of a leader-led, movie vignette-based ethics training on soldiers' conduct.
- To identify factors associated with unethical battlefield behavior.
- To determine the relationship between combat experiences, PTSD, and unethical conduct.
Main Methods:
- A leader-led ethics training package was delivered to soldiers during a combat deployment in Iraq.
- Anonymous surveys were administered pre- and post-training to assess ethical behavior and attitudes.
- Logistic regression models analyzed factors associated with self-reported unethical behaviors, including combat experiences and PTSD.
Main Results:
- Training significantly decreased reports of unethical conduct, such as property destruction, by 63.2%.
- Willingness to report misconduct increased by 63.6% post-training.
- High-intensity combat was the strongest predictor of unethical behavior; PTSD was not a significant predictor.
Conclusions:
- Leader-led battlefield ethics training improved soldiers' understanding and treatment of non-combatants.
- The training effectively reduced instances of ethical misconduct.
- High-intensity combat exposure, rather than PTSD, was linked to unethical battlefield conduct.
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