HONOR FOR SALE: THE BASTARDIZATION OF THE QUIET PROFESSIONAL

In recent years, Naval Special Warfare has been plagued with a seemingly constant stream of highly publicized ethical violations involving mostly active-duty SEALs. The last decade has also seen an exponential increase in former SEALs who have engaged in self-aggrandizing behavior and the commodification of the “SEAL brand.” In particular, the highly publicized cases of ethical misconduct among active SEALs have raised questions about the efficacy of ethics, culture, and leadership in NSW. In response, many outside observers have provided answers to this purported “problem with SEALs.” This thesis claims that these hypotheses are false and that the problem has been misidentified and misattributed. Instead, I claim that SEALs do not have an ethics problem but suffer from a perception of an ethics problem. This perception finds its origin in (a) strategically purposed media narratives that spread far and wide due to constantly advancing information technology; (b) the politically hyper-polarized nature of American society and the mass media; and (c) five salient events involving NSW and the SEAL counterculture. In the final analysis, it is my primary claim that this perception fundamentally derives from—and would not have been possible without—the self-promoting actions of the SEAL minority counterculture. The men who have been so keen to bastardize the sanctity of the SEAL Ethos, selfishly choosing fame, wealth, and influence in place of the warrior ethic—in place of virtue.
Naval Special Warfare Command
Outstanding Thesis
Lieutenant, United States Navy
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