Ethics education in the military: fostering reflective practice and moral competence

Military personnel encounter moral dilemmas during deployments and in their work environment at home. Moral dilemmas are situations in which two mutually exclusive actions exist, embodying conflicting values. Dealing with moral dilemmas requires moral competence. There is a growing awareness of the need to address the ethical dimension of working in the armed forces. However, experience with and knowledge about how to train moral competence in educational settings within the armed forces is limited