”What Now, Airman?” spurs discussion about ethical dilemmas

The Profession of Arms Center of Excellence is currently producing “What Now, Defender?,” the 11th topic in the “What Now, Airman?” series.

“What Now, Airman?” training videos present moral and ethical “gray areas” to spur discussion and address decision-making among targeted audience groups. The central focus of the videos is to address character development, Air Force Core Values and moral, ethical decision-making.

The Defender training video is being developed to support the new Air Force Global Strike Command Security Forces New Supervisor Workshop and other Security Force units in the Air Force.

“The series allows Airmen to take an ethics and character ‘simulator ride’ where they get to walk through specific scenarios before they have to face them for real,” said Kevin Adelsen, PACE program analyst for the “What Now, Airman?” series. “We try to get the audience to see both sides of the dilemma because we want our Airmen to understand not only what they believe, but why they believe what they believe. So they can take that and apply it in a real-world situation.”

Each video module has ethical topics the audience has or will experience themselves or vicariously within their peer groups.  

Tom Guidry, PACE Instructional Systems specialist, said the two modules developed for the AFGSC-SF New Supervisor Workshop specifically communicates to defenders and addresses two of the most common and challenging dilemmas facing a new supervisor within that command. 

“Having a dilemma that the AFGSC-SF defender can relate to and identify with enhances the learning environment and makes it more probable that the overall learning outcome will be achieved as the curriculum was designed,” Guidry said.

Each module has six scenarios that consist of a main character who introduces the ethical dilemma he/she is facing. There are five to six other characters who present their perspectives of what the main character should, or should not do. 

Guidry added that each dilemma starts out with a connection to the Air Force Core Values, and is then summarized by the main character with the perspective of what really happened.

“This helps the audience understand what virtues or values may have been questioned for that particular dilemma and what the actual Core Value connection was, “Guidry said.

The class is led by a trained facilitator, usually lasts an hour and is meant for a group of 10-15 students. Each character perspective is a minute- to two-minutes long and are designed to spur discussion among the group.

The goal of the “What Now” series is to enhance professional development, promote discussion, strengthen the connection to the Air Force Core Values and foster habits of the mind that lead to moral courage and ethical judgement.

The series includes training videos for Airmen’s Week at Basic Military Training, Judge Advocate General School, the U.S. Air Force Academy, Total Force Officer Training School and squadron commanders.