The military is tasked with protecting a nation at all costs. However, what soldiers go through is the opposite of the expected. In a security department, no one would expect sexual harassment and hazing. Recent reports have shown that sexual assault and harassment are real. As outlined in the Case-Ex Video Vignette Video, the army officers usually face many challenges while joining the platoon. Sexual harassment and hazing have been an order of the day. Therefore, the paper will identify some of the issues soldiers go through as they join the platoon using the SPC Wright case study. The case study will identify the strategies for curbing the spread of this vice to the latter. The role of ethical leadership in curbing the vice will also be explored. The military has several cases of sexual harassment and hazing. The study on sexual assault and hazing is widely covered in various studies. As revealed in the Case-Ex Video Vignette video, issues of sexual harassment and hazing are realities in the military. Recent reports have indicated that despite the current efforts made by the army commanders to update various policies, these cases have not been reduced. One aspect that has been deteriorating the situation among various sources is the lack of courage to report. In most cases, victims of sexual harassment find it embarrassing to report their incidences to their leaders for fear that they will be harassed more.
The perpetrators keep intimidating victims of rape over losing their lives if they dare to report the incident. Therefore, estimating the severity of these issues has been challenging. However, in the video, SPC Wright uses a different approach to try and offer a solution to the issue affecting the military (Case-Ex Video Vignette). Even though SPC wright was a victim, he chose to stand firm, report the incident, and create a conducive environment for the oncoming soldiers. New soldiers need to build some resilience, build strong relationships, and develop a good character over competence. This culture of harassing young officers will cease to exist.
The integrity of soldiers is questioned by how the platoon welcomed SPC Wright. The harassment and the assault they went through with his roommate are inhumane. However, this appears to be a typical way of welcoming soldiers into the platoon. Initially, one would think of this as mere stories occurring in other areas (Case-Ex Video Vignette). But watching the video, the integrity and the respect accorded to soldiers are highly questioned. As SPC wright puts it, hazing and sexual harassment need to be fixed in the platoon as they endanger the lives of many young and innocent soldiers. SPC chose to build a strong bond with his roommate and vowed to end the situation, especially for the incoming generation. One of the means that they use to enhance this is building their characters so that commanders would listen to them and be part of the urgently needed solution to fix the situations in the platoon.
A lot of resilience is needed for such behaviors to be eliminated among soldiers. SC Wright took a lot of time to build his resilience to remain an officer. The first treatment was good enough to guarantee him an evacuation. However, if resilience is undeveloped among soldiers, no one will stand firm and end these vices affecting the trust accorded to the officers (Case-Ex Video Vignette). The situation was getting worse as even SC Wright and his colleagues were suicidal following the treatment they were going through in the platoon. Unless soldiers, especially the victims, stand firm and battle together, the situation could efficiently run out of hand. SC Wright needed a person who was a bit stronger in spirituality to keep going as he was getting suicidal too. He had to develop strong relationships with friends to share his worries. This was key in avoiding the extreme effects of being suicidal.
Building strong relationships among soldiers can curb the effects of hazing and sexual harassment among soldiers. Such relationships will be vital in instilling some ethical form of leadership among soldiers. Experts claim that ethical leadership is a two-way process where the leaders and the subordinates work together to ensure that some ethical concepts are instilled mango the parties. Such leadership can be enhanced through effective communication, re-enforcement, and involving all the parties in making decisions (Barnes & Doty, 2010). Such aspects of leadership are scarce in the platoon, and the vices seem to have been going on for a long time. However, suppose soldiers can build a strong relationship with each other and adopt ethical leadership. In that case, the issues affecting the integrity of the soldiers in the platoon will be fixed once and for all. Cases of military personnel committing suicide and engaging in other immoral activities will significantly reduce as the officers will deliberate their efforts to their duties by adopting all aspects of ethical leadership.
Reporting cases of hazing and harassment must go hand in hand with the art of developing good character over competence. SC Wright and his roommate had to develop some good characters to gather the courage to report events behind the scenes. If the soldiers had compromising behaviors, it would be difficult even for them to get the sense of curbing the effects of these vices on the future (Barnes & Doty, 2010). The art of being good soldiers was the first step toward changing the culture that was negatively affecting the integrity of soldiers in the platoon. This was key as it was easier for others to enumerate them. After developing such characters, SC Wrights could instill such characters in the incoming generation.
It was easier to identify the character of SC Wright as he was good among other soldiers. Therefore, reporting such cases was easier as his leaders believed in everything he said. He was turning out to be a good mentor. This move provided him with an excellent platform for reporting the incident to the relevant authorities and initiating corrective action to change the situation. The aspect means that if the soldiers are proactive enough to develop good characters over their competence, it will be easier to dissociate with some of these vices and prevent the art from carrying over to the next generation. It starts with changing one’s character, and the soldiers will soon embrace a good culture that is not linked to hazing and sexual assault.
Leadership is vital in curbing these vices among soldiers and other personnel. For instance, if SC Wright could have reported the cases to unethical leaders, the situation could have escalated as there would be no actions taken to curb the situation. Ethical leadership is vital as it allows soldiers to lead by example, create a positive environment, and develop others (Barnes & Doty, 2010). SC wright had to develop some good characters from his leaders and, in the long run, work on creating a conducive environment for the incoming generation. SC wright built a strong relationship with his fellow soldiers and was a mentor in the long run. This was a good way of developing others to have a culture that would curb the vice.
Experts claim that good leaders always leave a legitimate legacy for their behaviors. Unless leaders develop good manners, curbing vices in society can be overwhelming. Similarly, if SC Wright has compromised deeds, getting the sense of reporting some of the vices happening behind the scenes would remain a nightmare. Another aspect worth noting is that ethical leadership ought to trickle down from the top of any organization to the front lines (Barnes & Doty, 2010). This was the reason behind some of the changes made in the platoon. Working with ethically upright leaders is critical as it guarantees the subordinate staff’s protection at all costs. SC Wright had to be assured of his security after reporting the matter. The soldiers were guarded as leaking such information would harm more than good.
In a nutshell, curbing vices such as hazing and sexual harassment in the platoon and society requires soldiers who would build some resilience and relationships with each other. Such moves will be critical in developing a good character over competence, and in the long run, immoral activities within the society will be a thing of the past. Another aspect worth noting is that embracing a positive culture in society calls for ethically upright leaders. Consequently, ethical leadership is a two-way process that requires both the subordinates and the leaders to be upright and help each other in curbing vices that negatively affect their integrity band character. A lot of effort is required to create such an environment in a society where people gather. However, if leaders are strong and ethical, their characters will trickle down to the entire society, and the future generations will be ethically upright. If SC wright can mentor more soldiers and help them develop some good characters, curbing hazing and sexual harassment issues in the platoon will be easier.
References
Barnes, C. M., & Doty, J. (2010). What does contemporary science say about ethical leadership? Military Review, 90(5), 90-93. Web.
Case-Ex Video Vignette: The Effects of Hazing and Sexual Assault on the Army Profession. Web.