3.6 hours

Armouring 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 Tom McDermott 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 Stephen Hart 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 Armouring Against Atrocity

13 min

Lieutenant Colonel Steve Hart from the British Royal Marines provides a short introduction to the Armouring Against Atrocity module by laying out the aims of the module, its structure and central themes.

Introductory Video 13 minutes
+ 0 of 1 Completed

Building The Model Part One - Why Do Soldiers Commit Atrocities?

30 min

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 behaviour and the pressures that might lead to atrocities being committed.

Systems and Groups 11 minutes
The Individual 5 minutes
+ 0 of 7 Completed

Building The Model Part Two - Anatomy Of An Atrocity - Case Studies in Evil

31 min

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.

+ 0 of 6 Completed

Armouring Against Atrocity Part One - The Individual

33 min

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.

Reviewing The Model 11 minutes
The Individual 16 minutes
Questions 4 questions
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Armouring Against Atrocity Part Two - The Group As The Prize

36 min

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 armour your soldiers against ethical failure and how to 'Build The Group' and develop and articulate your Virtue Ethic.

The Virtue Ethic 13 minutes
Building the Group 17 minutes
Questions 4 questions
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Armouring Against Atrocity Part Three - Understanding The Situation

54 min

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.

Taking Action 20 minutes
Questions 4 questions
+ 0 of 5 Completed

Armouring Against Atrocity - Notes and Further Reading

2 min

This section provides the full notes for the whole Armouring Against Atrocity module and a further reading list.

+ 0 of 2 Completed

Armouring Against Atrocity : Conclusion

16 min

Lt Col Steve Hart RM provides a short conclusion to the Armouring Against Atrocity module by drawing together all the elements that have been discussed during the module and, in the process, emphasising the conclusions drawn.

Concluding Video 16 minutes
+ 0 of 1 Completed