Armoring Against Atrocity
3.6 hour module
About this module
This module is designed to take you past the theory and into the gritty world of applied military ethics. In the first two sections we will build a model of why soldiers commit atrocities supported with case studies, then in the following three sections we will explore what you as a military leader can do to try and prevent soldiers from committing atrocity in war. We want to give you, as a small-unit leader, a framework with which to understand, explain and anticipate ethical risk.
Module teachers
Major Major Tom McDermott DSO MA DSO MA
Major Tom McDermott DSO MA joined the British Army in 2001 and has operated from the tactical to the strategic. Before transferring to the Australian Army in 2015, he was an Instructor at the Defence Academy of the UK.
Lt Col Lt Col Stephen Hart RM RM
Lt Col Stephen Hart RM is currently head of Command Leadership and Management training at the Army Division of the UK Defence Academy. He has commanded on operations in Northern Ireland, East Timor, Sierra Leonne and Afghanistan. He was appointed as a First Sea Lord Fellow in 2014.
Introduction to Armoring Against Atrocity
Lieutenant Colonel Steve Hart from the British Royal Marines provides a short introduction to the Armoring Against Atrocity module by laying out the aims of the module, its structure and central themes.
Building The Model Part One - Why Do Soldiers Commit Atrocities?
Lt. Col. Steve Hart RM introduces a model that links the corrupting influence of the situation of war with both group dynamics and individual agency to explain ethical drift in behavior and the pressures that might lead to atrocities being committed.
Building The Model Part Two - Anatomy Of An Atrocity - Case Studies in Evil
In this second section Lt. Col. Steve Hart RM will look at a series of case studies of atrocities and tie them into the model proposed in the first section. The three case studies are the My Lai Massacre from the Vietnam War, The Somalia Affair and the death of Baha Mousa.
Armoring Against Atrocity Part One - The Individual
Major Tom McDermott DSO, Research Fellow for the King’s College London Centre for Military Ethics will examine what you as a military leader can do to try and prevent soldiers from committing atrocity in war. In this section Tom will review and then build upon the model constructed by Lt. Col. Hart in the first two sections and then talk about knowing the individuals under your command and how to identify those who might be predisposed to ethical failure or those who might be more vulnerable to the stresses of the situation in which they find themselves.
Armoring Against Atrocity Part Two - The Group As The Prize
In this section Maj. Tom McDermott DSO will discuss the 'Group As The Prize' and discuss the challenges of the military group dynamic in war. He will introduce and expand upon the idea of the Virtue Ethic as a powerful tool to armor your soldiers against ethical failure and how to 'Build The Group' and develop and articulate your Virtue Ethic.
Armoring Against Atrocity Part Three - Understanding The Situation
In this section Maj. Tom McDermott DSO discuses how you might understand the situation of war you find yourself in, ways of monitoring for potential ethical problems and suggestions for how to establish protective tactics to help you and your soldiers from ethical drift.
Armoring Against Atrocity - Notes and Further Reading
This section provides the full notes for the whole Armoring Against Atrocity module and a further reading list.
Armoring Against Atrocity : Conclusion
Lt. Col. Steve Hart RM provides a short conclusion to the Armoring Against Atrocity module by drawing together all the elements that have been discussed during the module and, in the process, emphasizing the conclusions drawn.