The nobility of soldiering

Regarding "Ethics and the fog of war" by Paul Winner and the related Editor's Note by Tom Roberts (NCR, Jan. 12): As a retired Army officer and deacon, I applaud the recognition of the important issue of the legitimacy of force. This is a message that I believe many, if not most, of NCR's readers need to hear and learn. Thoughtful consideration of this issue in the military is not new but has never been fully appreciated by the broader society outside the military, and admittedly by many within as well. The Naval War College has always taught such courses, the best of which was a course created in the late 1970s by Admiral (and former prisoner of war) James Stockdale, who brought in philosophy professor Joseph Brennan to team-teach with him.

West Point's social sciences department, where I taught in the 1970s, has been the intellectual "nursery" and source of officers such as Maj. Gen. David Petraeus whom Paul Winner credits with the thoughtful curriculum at the School of Advanced Military Studies. Gen. Petraeus is a fellow graduate alumnus of Princeton where university leadership has consistently supported ROTC in recognition of the critical importance of educated, service-oriented young men and women in the military. Like Paul Winner, I learned from my father that soldiering is a noble profession. The Christian dimension of this nobility was best expressed for me by Bishop Fulton Sheen in his 1976 homily at West Point when he told Vietnam-era cadets not to allow public sentiment against soldiers to discourage them. Descriptions of Christ's encounters with soldiers in scripture are all favorable, something the bishop mentioned that cannot be said about members of any other profession.

As is always the case with scripture, this is a critical point of departure for reflection by both soldiers and pacifists as we grapple with our common concern over violence and force.

(Col.) DOUG LOVE JOY

Princeton Junction, N.J.

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