The necessary force

Over 30, out of 46 European Countries are involved in ISAF (International Security Assistance Force), operating in Afghanistan since 2001, on the mandate of the UN Security Council. According to ISAF (figures relating to April 16 2010), Countries with the highest numbers of soldiers are the United Kingdom (9500), Germany (4665), France (3750), Italy (3300), Poland (2515), The Netherlands (1885), Spain (1270) and Romania (1010). Austria ranks last with 3 militaries. The total number of European soldiers amount to 33 thousand, out of 102 thousand soldiers. Soldiers fell in many contingents: 25 among the Italians; similar numbers for Spain, victims also in the Polish contingent along with Romania, Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, France. Since the beginning of 2010, 200 ISAF soldiers have died, compared to 520 in 2009. Between faith and duty. “The ethical code of the military between faith and duty” was the theme of the lecture delivered in Rome on May 17 by Msgr. Vincenzo Pelvi at the High Defense Study Centre before international military authorities, some of which European (Italy, Lebanon, France and Germany among others), along with representatives from Brazil, China, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Senegal, USA and Afghanistan. It is a theme of high topical relevance especially in areas of conflict such as the Middle East. Moral fulfilment. “A professional in the virtues inspired to ethical principles, embodying the demands of civil society”, namely, “duty, discipline, honour, loyalty, example and courage”, along with “correctness, transparency, prudence, dignity and integrity”; these aspects are “important for the growth of a truly humane society”. It is the identikit of the military conveyed by Msgr. Pelvi who includes “a respectful adhesion to norms and procedures implemented with linearity and coherence, which excludes irregularities and deviations from institutional commitments in the life of the military, contributing to the erection of an ethically sound and unerring society”. “An exhaustive gratification of the coherence and rectitude in life”, which, the bishop said, “cannot derive only from economic remuneration and carreer, but must include moral fulfilment, identified in one’s credibility in an organization to the service of the common good”. In this way, the prelate said, “professional life understood as a planned activity (ethics of profession) is opened to the professional experience (ethics in profession), dictated by honour, faith, esprit de corps; a moral factor which balanced by common sense and fairness can bring remarkable results”.Virtuous model. These values, Msgr. Pelvi pointed out, place the military “before personal responsibilities, especially as relates to the sense of duty, the spirit of sacrifice and those qualities capable of prompting esteem, such as courage and the respect of the flag”. The military is required “to adapt his behaviour to a subjective model with a moral nature; a virtuous model whereby esprit de corps, authoritativeness, the principle of authority, the ethics of obedience, the awareness of one’s own dignity, delineate a cultural identity”. Human virtues “enhance the dignity of each, underlining the natural human disposition to do good and shun evil. There derives that all that is truly human opens our heart to the Almighty. The primacy of conscience. The archbishop underlined, “We can’t be good military unless we first govern ourselves. Our conscience enables us to acknowledge those parts of ourselves that lead us to privilege our own interests, to increase privileges and be aggressive towards the weak, as compared to those parts of ourselves that seek truth, justice, peace and the strength to renounce privileges to become servants”. The crisis of military conscience, he continued, “is caused by the neglect of the concept of ‘common good'”. In this perspective, Msgr. Pelvi said, it is necessary “to link ethical maturity with the civil martyrdom of those who continue sacrificing their lives for the State to the service of its citizens”. “The ethical code of the military is authentic self-giving”, he said. The role of bestowal “is to make others acknowledge gratuitous gifts”, namely, “those stemming from the acknowledgement that we are bound to one another and that the other is a part of myself. The military are people capable of bringing the principle of gratuitousness across the circuits of society. And this benefits everyone: the family, the Country and humanity as a whole”.