What the Military Commander of the Vietnam POW's Can Teach Us About Military Leadership and Trump

       Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale was a true naval hero.  A naval aviator who was shot down over North Vietnam, he spent 7 and 1/2 years in prison during which he was tortured 15 times, spent four years in solitary confinement and spent two years in leg irons.  Despite these challenges, Stockdale became one of the military commanders of the prisoners of war (POW's), successfully establishing a chain of command, a means of communication and clearly defined goals that were instrumental to maintaining the sanity and moral courage of those under his command.

      During his captivity, Stockdale developed and refined his philosophy of living which was founded on the ancient philosophy of stoicism.  In Stockdale's words, the goal of stoicism is not a good society but a good man.  Stockdale spent the remainder of his life after his release teaching military officers "how to be good men".  This was not done out of altruism but out of military necessity.  Speaking of morality in the practice of military officership, Stockdale said:

      What kind of a racket is this military officership? Let's go right to the old master, Clausewitz (a 19th century philosopher of war). He said: "War is an act of violence to compel the enemy to do your will." Your will, not his will. We are in the business of breaking people's wills. That's all there is to war; once you have done that, the war is over. And what is the most important weapon in breaking people's wills? This may surprise you, but I am convinced that holding the moral high ground is more important than firepower. For Clausewitz, war was not an activity governed by scientific laws, but a clash of wills, of moral forces.

      To prevail in war, therefore, one must gain and hold the moral high ground.  To Stockdale, this high ground is founded on several principles derived from the Stoic philosophy of Epictetus, a 1st Century philosopher and, according to Stockdale, include:

My true business is maintaining control over my moral purpose, in fact that my moral purpose is who I am.

I am totally responsible for everything I do and say; and that it is I who decides on and controls my own destruction and own deliverance. . . I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul."

Among the relatively few things that are "up to me, within my power," within my will, are my opinions, my aims, my aversions, my own grief, my own joy, my moral purpose or will, my attitude toward what is going on . . .

God gives you attributes, like magnanimity, courage, and endurance, to enable you to bear whatever happens. These are given free of all restraint, compulsion, or hindrance; He has put the whole matter under your control without reserving even for Himself any power to prevent or hinder.

      Of course there is more and I am not doing justice fully to what Stockdale says.  What I wanted to highlight, however, is the notion that it is we who individually make the decision to do the right thing, it is we who individually determine our opinions, aims, aversions, grief, joy, moral purpose, and attitude.  It is we as leaders who will determine whether we take and keep the moral high ground in our service to our nation - the key to victory.  Our moral high ground is founded in core values such as those of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps: honor, courage, and commitment.  Not only are we expected to occupy the moral high ground defined by our core values but we have a right to expect our leaders to do so as well.  James Stockdale did so, saving the lives of his fellow POW’s.

    Has Donald Trump done so?  He avoided his military service obligation on the questionable pretext of a medical condition.  He equated military service to his sexual promiscuity and his personal battle to avoid sexually transmitted diseases while living his promiscuous lifestyle.  He sexually assaulted at least one, perhaps more, woman.  He referred to military men and women who have died in our nation’s service as “suckers and losers.”  He displayed open contempt for and shunned a “wounded warrior.”  He used the armed forces to deprive citizens of their civil right of protest.  Had he been a commanding officer in any of our six services and done any one of these things, he would have been relieved immediately.  How then can he be the commander-in-chief of the armed forces?

    He cannot be because he not only fails to occupy the moral high ground but doesn’t even know what it is.  James Stockdale demonstrated that occupying the moral high ground is the key to victory.  By that definition, Trump will only bring us defeat and dishonor.