I have wanted to be a pilot all my life. As I grew up, my room was covered with toy planes and posters of all types of fighter aircraft. My family would take trips to watch the Blue Angels at local air shows uncle flew F-14s and F-18s in the Navy. This childhood dream was something that I didn’t outgrow and ended up becoming the one thing that I’m working towards right now. It’s the reason that I want to study engineering and the reason I do Navy ROTC. By being a pilot in the military, I am able to go really fast and see the world doing. By being a Naval pilot specifically, I can go really fast off a big boat which is even better. It seems like the perfect gig doesn’t it? I get to do what I love, have a lot of fun, get plenty of engineering experience, all while making a lot of money doing it. But the one thing that military recruiters won’t talk to you about is the tough moral questions that pilots will face once they’re in the fleet. How do I reconcile my conscience when dropping bombs on other countries? What do I do if I’m told to do something that I don’t want to do? At what point do I draw the line when I find myself at odds with being a military professional and a morally conscious person at the same time?
My future moral obligations (that will be put to the test in my career) as both a private citizen and a military officer should be to support human rights and to act selflessly whenever possible. These concepts are pretty vague, so I’ll try to break them down a bit.
All humans have rights, not just Americans and because of this I should be obligated to go beyond patriotism and support human rights for all. At the end of the day, we’re all human, and I should always to be working towards the overall wellbeing of mankind. While a moral obligation to support human rights may seem contradictory to what the military does, a utilitarian argument can be made.
1. Utilitarians argue that that the amount of pleasure in the world should outweigh the pain.
2. Though certain military positions lead to pain in the world, this pain is outweighed by the increase of pleasure that comes from the potential saving of lives.
3. Additionally, military funds and ships can be used in disaster relief efforts and humanitarian aid in order to decrease the amount of pain caused by these natural disasters.
4. (Conclusion) The military’s mission of outweighing pain by increasing current or potential pleasure is moral.
It’s possible to fight a war solely on the power of our military, without concern for our ideals but winning a war like this, without the foundation upon to build the following peace would not be right and should not be our obligations.
Acting selflessly is an important moral obligation for everyone even Kantians, Utilitarians and virtue ethicists would agree. The moral obligation to act selflessly is even more important in the military. It is often said that there are no individuals in the military, that the overall “mission.” The team mindset and selflessness are very utilitarian concepts. The individual puts the pleasure and wellbeing of the entire team over his or her personal pleasure. Another reason to be selfless is because of the relationships that are formed within the team. Once the bonds of the team are strong, an individual should be obligated to make sacrifices for themselves out of the love and regard that they have for that person.
I know what moral obligations I should strive for in my life but there are many instances where it might be difficult to follow them. I am worried about situations where I would be required to do something that directly goes against my moral obligations, but I am even more worried about facing a moral disconnect. If I am in an airplane cockpit thousands of feet above the target, will pulling the trigger be easier than it would be if I were on the ground? Will it carry the same weight to me? How much responsibility would I feel? I am also worried that by doing this multiple times, I will be desensitized to the moral gravity of pulling the trigger. It may become just another part of the job. Is a job like this reconcilable? The most important question I find myself asking is, “is it possible to be a good person and a faithful Christian through a career as a fighter pilot in the military?”
I’m not the first person to ask these questions, in fact, there are entire programs within the ROTC program and the Navy that are aimed at answering these questions. These classes try to ensure that when put in a position of leadership, I can be relied on to make the best ethical and strategic decisions possible. Because, at the end of the day, a job in the Navy is in the profession of war. The options that I will have to face might be between two unsavory outcomes and I’ll have to pick the best-case scenario. The military acts on behalf of others who may not be able to act for themselves. Even though I will experience a type of detachment by being in airplane above the battle, I will need to come to understand that my actions in the cockpit will impact outcomes in the lives of many other people; friends, enemies and innocent bystanders.
The hardest decisions (like the decision to drop a bomb) is a moral math problem. But there are so many variables that it is nearly impossible to know for sure if the decision is truly utilitarian or not. I am unable to answer the big questions that I asked myself earlier in this argument and, to be honest, I may never be able to find answers to justify morally ambiguous actions. But, at least I know what my moral obligations are and how I need to exam my life to see if I am living life in accordance with them.