In a crisis leaders be it managers or commanders need to be able to make the best decision. For the sea case, the commanding officer in the ship is expected to make decisions to save the life of the corpsman. as he has the last word, they need to be able to take responsibility and also able to make ethical decision. in this regard the co is responsible for weighing all the options there is and also be fast. this is because according to the case, the night was approaching fast and it would be difficult to fly the injured corpsman to carrier.
The issues with dilemma in the case are related to have the seaman carried away by the helicopter though it was not clear if the flight would be allowed. In this case, the CO was to find out if there were exception in case of emergencies. Another issue was the seaman fear of airlifting. however, being sedated that would not present a big challenge. thus the co would chose to save the man as broken bones would deteriorate and lead to complications. In this light, it is ethical for the co to allow for the transfer of the man using the helicopter.
This can be supported by the following argument. First, it is ethical to save a person in pain. this is despite their notable fears. For example, the injured man being left to suffer because they fear flying would be unethical. This is also supported by the fact that the CO as a leader need to be responsible for the consequences of what would happen to the injured person. In this case the co best decision would be to organize and lead the transfer of the man.
References
Erickson, P. (2009). Emergency Response Planning for Corporate and Municipal Managers (Second ed.). Burlington: MA: Elsevier, Inc.
