Leonard Wong on Honesty and Ethics in the Military

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4.7 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 27 April 2015

⏱️ 62 minutes

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Summary

Leonard Wong of the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about honesty in the military. Based on a recent co-authored paper, Wong argues that the paperwork and training burden on U.S. military officers requires dishonesty--it is simply impossible to comply with all the requirements. This creates a tension for an institution that prides itself on honesty, trust, and integrity. The conversation closes with suggestions for how the military might reform the compliance and requirement process.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Econ Talk, part of the Library of Economics and Liberty.
0:06.4	I'm your host, Russ Roberts of Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
0:11.0	Our website is econtalk.org where you can subscribe, comment on this podcast, and find links
0:16.3	and other information related to today's conversation.
0:19.0	You'll also find our archives where you can listen to every episode we've ever done going
0:23.2	back to 2006.
0:25.4	Our email address is mailadycontalk.org.
0:27.4	We'd love to hear from you.
0:32.0	Today is April 15th, 2015, and my guest is Leonard Wong, a research professor in the Strategic
0:39.2	Studies Institute at the United States Army War College.
0:43.2	He is the author with Stephen Garris of a recent paper on military culture, lying to ourselves
0:49.2	dishonesty in the Army profession, which is our topic for today.
0:53.5	Lenny, welcome to Econ Talk.
0:55.2	Thanks, Russ.
0:56.2	I'm going to start with a quote from the summary of the paper.
1:00.2	It says the following.
1:02.7	This study found that many Army officers after repeated exposure to the overwhelming demands
1:07.9	and the associated need to put their honor on the line to verify compliance have become
1:13.2	ethically numb.
1:15.2	As a result, an officer's signature and word have become tools to maneuver through the
1:20.0	Army bureaucracy rather than being symbols of integrity and honesty.
1:23.7	Sadly, much of the deception that occurs in the profession of arms is encouraged and sanctioned
	...

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