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The following paper is focused on revealing the influence that religious ritual initiations/rites of passages have on males from the religions of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. In the first section of the paper, I explain why it is important that the influence that religious ritual initiations have on males be studied. The second section covers the literature that was used to obtain my research results. The third section explains how the methodologies of content analysis and semiotics were incorporated into my research. In the fourth section, I reveal that practices such as self-control and discipline are common traits in how certain Muslims, Jews, and Christians construct manhood while also showing that religious pilgrimages have a high chance of influencing a person’s identity. Lastly, in the fifth section I discuss the limitations of my research while mentioning potential opportunities for further research to be done on the impacts ritual initiations have on people from other religions and non-religious groups.

Preparing Leaders for the Fight: An Attempt to get Left of the Boom There is a need, in the United States Army, to examine and refine the training of Soldiers in ethical decision making in order to better equip leaders for unforeseen dilemmas which regularly occur in both war and peace. This project includes a cursory look at several noteworthy cases which have provoked public debate and discourse about situational ethics within the military. Other cases are mentioned as emblematic examples because of their instructive value and offer various insights into the current ethical climate and moral health of the Army. By focusing primarily on the case study of Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Allen B. West the project seeks to examine the systems and circumstances that preceded and contributed to a very public moral morass. The project investigates the adequacy, or lack thereof, of ethical training and preparation which may have contributed to the controversial unfolding of events in the West case. The project includes a survey and assessment of both theoretical and tested military ethics and leadership models to evaluate their future potential. An attempt is made to glean lessons learned from both the primary and secondary cases while suggesting revisions and improvements to any existing ethical decision-making models which may be in place. Ultimately this project offers a new rudimentary Ethical Decision-Making Model for review and consideration.