Essay --

Charged with sex-related crimes involving 10 female Airmen, 4 counts of adultery, and several other charges such as indecent conduct, misuse of position, and maltreatment of enlisted Airmen, former Command Chief of Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) CMSgt William Gurney failed to ethically lead his Airmen. By his own admission, he was â€Å"caught in a cycle of sin and failed as an Airman and a husband.† 1 In this essay, I will discuss the Chief’s specialty and some of the positions he held as a Printer Systems Operator, I will then highlight the unethical events that took place from a few different viewpoints to include the accused and his alleged victims. Finally, I will give you my opinion on how I would have acted if put in the same situation as the accused and the victims. CMSgt Gurney may have ended his career by putting a black mark on the reputation of all enlisted Airmen, but his previous 26 years in service were served honorably. As an analyst in the intelligence community, CMSgt Gurney was described as hard working with a great personality as he moved his way up through what appears to be a typical career progression model. He made rank quickly and began filling leadership roles as NCOIC, Flight Chief and Superintendent and eventually became a command chief for several different wings. He was eventually hired by General Bruce Carlson, the AFMC Commander as his Command Chief. Now responsible for managing enlisted issues for an entire command spanning seven Air Force bases, CMSgt Gurney’s military ethics were expected to be above reproach. Unfortunately, it was in this position where he demonstrated a lack in ethical decision making that made him a poster child for military sexual misconduct. 1 There is no question tha... ...oment. I would more than likely be hindered by my emotions and the needs of my family. In my opinion, this makes the Chief’s actions that much worse. As the senior member in the relationship, it was his responsibility to keep it that way. The CMSgt in this scenario appears to have had a clean and honorable career prior to the incidents discussed yet he instigated and willingly put himself in unethical situations with no evidence of critical thinking or regard for consequences. There are aspects of this story that are very black and white in terms of what is ethical and unethical, however if put in the same situation of at least one of the women involved, I’d like to think I would have acted differently. I consider myself to be a very ethical person but it’s difficult for me to say exactly what I would do taking all aspects of the situation into consideration.