Abstract
This article argues senior officers may fail in character because their rate of character development throughout their careers typically decreases as environmental stressors rise. It conceptualizes character as an open system with both gains and leaks over time and integrates existing scholarship on personality and ethical development to create the Leaky Character Reservoir framework, which it then applies to Army officers’ careers. Military leaders will gain a new understanding of character and find specific actions officers, units, and the US Army can undertake to strengthen the character of its senior officers.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.55540/0031-1723.3190
Recommended Citation
Everett S. Spain, Katie E. Matthew & Andrew L. Hagemaster, "Why Do Senior Officers Sometimes Fail in Character? The Leaky Character Reservoir," Parameters 52, no. 4 (2022), doi:10.55540/0031-1723.3190.
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