Adulty In The Military

Adultery is grave action that includes three of these four forms of behavior. It is the epitome of "breaking a promise," and "deceiving someone" because of the serious commitments made within a marriage (Wasserstrom 192). The breaking of a promise and deception are what make adultery morally wrong (Wasserstrom 192-3). Some opponents of adultery use "the Principle of Utility" as a basis for their views. "This principle requires that whenever we have a choice between alternative actions or social policies, we must choose the one that has best overall consequences for everyone concerned" (Rachels 97). The opponents of adultery believe that adultery does more damage than good. It does harm to the person being deceived, and in the military, it can "disrupt moral and functioning in a military unit" (Capitol 1). In the adultery case of 1st Lt. Kelly Flinn USAF, the first female B-52 bomber pilot, the functioning of her military unit was definitely disrupted. Lt. Flinn lied "about an affair she had with the husband of an enlisted woman" (Capitol 2). "Lt. Flinn was charged with fraternization, disobeying a direct order, lying, conduct unbecoming to an officer, and she was charged with adultery. If you add up all the charges, they come back again to activities, alleged activities, that compromise good order and discipline" (Double 2). She compromised the honor and integrity of the United States Air Force, herself, of the enlisted woman, with whose husband she slept with. In this example, Utilitarianism disapproves of Lt. Flinn's actions because her choice did not produce the best consequences for everyone concerned. On the other hand, many people believe that personal choices, such as sexual ethics, should not be governed within the military. According to a recent poll, taken by the Gallup Organization-Princeton, "the public is not convinced that extramarital sex should be subject to punishment within the military" (Gallup 1).