Society should follow the example of the army in teaching moral and ethical standards, General Lord Richard Dannatt will argue in the 2011 Theos Annual Lecture on Tuesday 8th November.
He believes that “In past generations, it was often assumed that young men and women coming into the Armed Forces would have absorbed an understanding of the core values and standards of behaviour required by the military from their family or from within their wider community….I would suggest such a presumption cannot be made today.”
This means that the army must focus as much on mental and moral preparation of soldiers as they do on physical training.
He will say that the moral and even the spiritual dimensions are as crucial as the strategic and operational dimensions of warfare, and essential for winning wars. He thinks this moral training can make it possible for soldiers to show loyalty and integrity, and even to “kill and show compassion at the same time.”
These comments will follow a series of cases in which the army was be found to be acting improperly, including the Baha Mousa case. He will call these “unforgivable” and say “ All our soldiers must know that collectively and individually, we can, and should, and will be called to account when things go wrong.”
General Lord Dannatt will argue that leaders both in the army and across society need a better understanding of the moral and spiritual dimension to both war and all of life.
He will say that “given that much of our society is pretty unstructured these days, and given that the military has the unique opportunity to educate its own into the importance of a proper moral understanding, then perhaps the military community may have a wider contribution that it can make to the Nation.”
Elizabeth Hunter, director of Theos, said:
“Following moral scandals across politics, journalism and banking, and the shock of the summer riots, Lord Dannatt is offering a way forward for rebuilding a society based on values and virtues.
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Notes
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To read a transcript of the lecture, click here.
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Lord Dannatt is the fourth person to deliver the Annual Theos lecture on religion and contemporary society following Mark Thompson, Director-General of the BBC, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, and Baron Blair of Boughton, former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. He was Chief of the General Staff between 2006 and 2009.
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Theos is a religion and society think tank which offers research and commentary on issues of faith and belief. It was launched in November 2006 with the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and the former Cardinal Archbishop of
Westminster
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