Book Review
Introduction
This essay is based on critical review of the book titled as “A Tactical Ethic: Moral Conduct in the Insurgent Battle Space” authored by Dick Couch. The writer, in this book, sheds light on the importance of complying with ethical standards in the battlefield with a particular focus on U.S armed forces. He not only identifies critical ethical flaws but also suggests appropriate ways to fix them effectively.
Initial theme of the book relates to the importance of people (non-combatants). For clear justification of his ideas, he draws a wordy sketch of the evolution of the nature of battle over the period of time. He opines that modern concept and style of war is at divergence from its classical model in several dimensions. Today’s battles are slow, and success is incremental rather than a quick takeover as in ancient times. Now soldiers more resemble police officers aiming to protect people rather than traditional bloody warriors having no concept of mercy. He gave an example of Afghanistan where the unnecessary use of airpower brought irrevocable damage to civilians (Couch, 2010).
Another theme worth mentioning in this regard is the use of word ‘pirate’ by the author to refer to individuals whose efforts are directed toward corrupting the morals of arm units. He vituperates them for their cancerous effect on the ethical health of units on the whole. This idea serves as one of the largest pillars of discussion and justification throughout the book (Couch, 2010).
Couch (2010), emphasizes applying the ethical standards on Pantaloon level rather than considering high-ranked officers authorities in this connection. The book is mainly based on his personal close experience as an army man, and it does not (thus) allows for assumptions.
Strengths and Weaknesses
One of the most significant attributes of the book being reviewed is that it does not dive into unnecessary details, but sticks to to-the-point approach in all aspects. For example, it comprises six chapters only with each chapter discussing a specific issue. All the information provided in a few pages seem to have passed through the process of filtration, so it may not require readers to sacrifice a lot of their time and convenience. It is also important to note that it is not only brevity, but also it's a comprehensively conveyed message that adds to the credit of the author. The author has effectively communicated his ideas with his target audience in few words.
Couch has spent handsome time on the battlefield as a soldier that allowed him to build a practical insight into the matters or issues that army men mostly deal with. His position is not based on guesswork or conjectures, but on his own personal experience that significantly raises the level of reliability of this book. His ideas can be deemed as technically solid and practical due to the fact that he knows the complications associated with battlefield on the basis of his personal involvement in past.
The book holds the status of a great scholarly work. However, it lacks justifications from scientific perspectives and merely relies on anecdotes and generalized ideas of morality. Nowhere the author refers to any scientific implications of employing the methods recommended by him. Apart from this, the brevity that is appreciated above seems apparent at some places, because six chapters of the book involve much repetition. The ideas are not flowing logically or sequentially sometimes, and there is considerable overlapping. For example, the theme of pirates, like many others is pervasive; and, almost, all chapters revolve around that in one way or another. Similarly, ethical issues and evolution of the nature of battle are repeatedly discussed. Such repetition makes the things look uninteresting and irritating. Sometimes, the book falls tedious on readers’ minds despite being a brief package of six chapters.
Furthermore, the author has not provided any system to deal with the issue though he emphasized the need for making improvements with training procedures. He limits his methodology of tackling the ethical issues to training and removal of pirates. However, the army is a vast department and any issue encountered by it needs to be tackled in a sophisticated way due to the fact that it is influenced by several internal and external factors.
Personal Reaction
The book being discussed has a deep and multi-dimensional impact on my personality. I have learned from Couch the relationship between morality and honor. He has unfolded the reward of complying with ethical considerations by throwing light on its various aspects. It is not only thought provoking, but also motivating to follow moral ways of doing anything. Having gone through it, I am more determined to stick to morality in all matters of my life than ever before.
Furthermore, it has also changed my view on ethics and morality in two ways. Even though I have been among the advocates of morality, but my perception of morality did not cover ‘battlefield’. I believed in a common saying, “All is fair in love and war”. However, the author has tuned up my way of thinking by justifying the significance of following moral standards by the warriors. Certainly, it was eye-opening.
If I am given a chance to tell the author what I think of his book, I would state that it is the best book I ever found dealing with the importance of morality in the battlefield. I would further add that author should come up with a sequel to that to recommend a sophisticated mechanism to ensure the compliance with ethical considerations in the comprehensive and systematic way. I would also thank him for all the improvements that his book brought to my personality and mindset.
Based on my personal experience, I perceive that this book rings true despite all its limitations discussed earlier. Even though the author has emphasized the adherence to the basic principles of morality, they can be enforced effectively by employing the methods recommended in the book. Then, the reward of following ethical ways of dealing is seen as internal satisfaction and honor, which is also based on natural feelings. I also do feel inexplicable pleasure in dealing ethically in my matters. However, any immoral act intended or done leads to a sense of guilt and humiliation that keeps sticking unless I repent. Based on these simple findings, I see this book as an applicable scholarly work.
I would endorse most of Couch’s recommendations. He has based them on his practical experience and findings of his observation. One of the most important points that provides a rationale for this endorsement is that it deals with the ethical issues from specific as well as from general perspectives. The issues identified by the author seem to be realistic in nature. Therefore, there is a need for coming up with refined strategies and methods to optimize the compliance with ethical considerations. On the basis of all these facts, the methods devised by the author are highly recommendable.
Reference
Couch, D. (2010). A Tactical Ethic: Moral Conduct in the Insurgent Battle Space. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-137-2
