Information Paper on "Honor" – The Bedrock of Military Leadership

Written by SWN_Col_SlapNut

  1. Why have honor codes?
  1. In professions such as the military where life is endangered by virtue of the institution's purpose, trust becomes sacred and integrity becomes a requisite quality for each professional. An officer who is not trustworthy cannot be tolerated; in some professions the cost of dishonesty is measured in dollars – in the SWN Squadron, the cost is measured in human lives. The ability and ultimate GOAL of the Superior Weapons & Navigation Squadron is to educate, train and inspire outstanding leaders of character for our Squadron. It is predicated upon the functional necessity of honesty. In short, the SWN expects its Officer graduates and privates to commit to a lifetime of honorable living within our Squadron.
  1. In order to foster a genuine commitment to honorable living, SWN maintains Honor as a fundamental value. This value is internalized through the SWN Honor Code and the Honor Investigative and Hearing System. Although the Honor Code & System "belongs" to SWN Squadron, the special charter of maintaining the Honor Code & System resides with each of the SWN Squadron Pilots.
  1. The SWN Honor Code.
  1. The SWN Honor Code is defined as "A pilot will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do". The Honor Code expresses four succinct prohibitions. On a behavioral level, the Code represents a simple standard for all pilots. On a developmental plane, the SWN Squadron expects that all pilots will strive to live far above the minimum standard of behavior and develop a commitment to ethical principles guiding moral actions.
  1. The SWN Squadron’s core mission is developing leaders of character for our Squadron. A leader of character knows what is right, and possesses the moral courage to act on that knowledge. The principles of truthfulness, fairness, respect for others, and a personal commitment to maintaining values constitute that fundamental ideal known as the Spirit of the Code. A leader of character will apply the Spirit of the Code when making decisions involving ethical dilemmas.
  1. The Investigative and Hearing System
  1. EVERY Squadron pilot bears the responsibility to resolve all possible violations of the Code through detailed, independent investigations and, when required, "Honor Investigative Hearings". If a pilot (or anyone) suspects that a violation occurred, then he is expected to approach the individual to clarify what happened (this step is optional). If that approach resolves the issue; i.e., the pilot making the allegation realizes no Honor violation occurred, then the issue will be dropped. However, if the person making the allegation still believes a violation may have occurred, he or she is obligated to inform the "Commanding Officer" within 24 hours. SWN_Col_Slapnut is the C.O. of the SWN.  Failure to do so is considered "toleration," which is itself a violation of the Honor Code (the 24 hour rule is a guideline, pilots are not automatically in violation of the Code if they take more than 24 hours to report a violation).
  1. Once a suspected violation is reported to the Commanding Officer, it must be investigated. Two members from the suspected violator’s unit will do an initial inquiry and make a recommendation. Then two members from outside the unit will perform an investigation and make a recommendation. Then the "Executive Officer" or "Staff Officer" will review the case file that has the option to drop the case. If the case is forwarded to a hearing, the Commanding Officer of the SWN must approve the decision and order that a hearing be convened.
  1. A panel of four randomly selected members (2 from the pilot’s unit and 2 from the Squadron at large) determines whether or not one of their peers violated the Honor Code. Three of the four voting members must determine that it is more likely than not that the member in question intentionally violated the Code. There is no prosecution or defense; both the hearing members and the respondent do all of the questioning. The hearing is presided over by SWN_Col_SlapNut.
  1. If the members of the Honor Investigative Hearing determine that a pilot violated the Code, then they provide input to SWN_Col_SlapNut for disposition of the case. SWN_Col_SlapNut may exercise "discretion" and retain the pilot, or he may opt for separation. Col SlapNut is the sole separation authority for a pilot found in violation of the Honor Code of the SWN Squadron.
  1. The Command Staff for Investigative and Hearing System
NAME/RANK POSITION CONTACT
SWN_Col_Slapnut Commanding officer (C.O.) + JAG Officer #1 colonel@virtualflight.net 
SWN_LtCol_Hawke Executive Officer (X.O.)  + JAG Officer #2 hawke@virtualflight.net
SWN_Capt_Shag Staff Officer (S.O.) + JAG officer #3 shaggy@virtualflight.net