True Faith and Allegiance

Toner, professor of international relations and military ethics at the Air War College in Alabama, addresses this volume ``to those who hate the things and thoughts of war but accept its necessity when the alternatives are greater evils.'' He argues that military ethics, the study of honorable and shameful conduct in armed forces, is not an oxymoron. He distinguishes between the ethics of military institutions, which are collectives, and the ethics of individuals in the military. The latter begins with training and education that develop character as well as competence. General codes of conduct, he maintains, while important, cannot replace personal ethical choices. Ultimately, concludes Toner, private morality-the ability to distinguish right from wrong and abide the consequences-is fundamental in maintaining the integrity of the profession of arms. In the era of Tailhook and the Iran-Contra scandal, his is a down-to-earth approach to a vexed subject. (Dec.)