On 22–23 October 2025, the Centre for Defence Leadership and Ethics (CDLE) at the Australian Defence College (ADC) hosted its inaugural military ethics conference at Western Creek. The event brought together stakeholders from across Defence, the Australian Defence Force (ADF), academia, not-for-profit groups, and the private sector—along with international participants from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Singapore. Members of the ADF attended from the most junior enlisted ranks through to senior leadership.
The conference theme, “Moral Courage and its Role in Leadership Excellence,” framed two days of open discussion about how moral courage is understood, practised, and fostered within the profession of arms. Across the sessions, a central idea emerged: moral courage is not only the dramatic act associated with decisive moments under fire, nor something possessed by a few exceptional leaders. Rather, it is a daily discipline that shapes how people act under uncertainty, pressure, and institutional expectation. Moral courage was described as something that must be exercised regularly if it is to endure, in the same way that physical strength is built through repeated effort. Just as organisations train physical skills through repetition, ethical judgement develops through continuous reflection, supportive systems, and a willingness to challenge widely-held assumptions.
This more expansive view of moral courage emphasised that many of the most important ethical choices are not the ones that attract public attention. They are often quiet decisions made in routine situations: asking a difficult question when it would be easier to stay silent; challenging a familiar pattern that no longer serves the mission; or requesting clarity on an instruction that seems inconsistent with values or policy. Moral courage in this sense is less about individual heroism and more about character shaped by culture. It is the willingness to pursue the “hard right” even when doing so carries personal or professional cost, and even when the consequences may not be visible to others.
A recurring theme was that courage does not operate in isolation. It is either strengthened, or weakened, by the systems and people around it. Organisations can make it easier, or harder, for people to raise concerns, challenge decisions, or take principled action. The conference participants reflected on how much difference it makes when leaders set clear expectations, reward ethical behaviour, and protect those who speak up. Conversely, they noted that institutional silence can undermine the confidence people need to act ethically, even when they know what the right course of action is. In this way, the conference highlighted that moral courage is both an individual quality and a collective responsibility.
Role of Professional Military Education
Building the capability to exercise moral courage requires education, and there was strong support for treating ethics education as a core part of professional development rather than as a corrective measure after incidents or inquiries. Several discussions focused on the idea that ethics education should be delivered early and often, embedded throughout training and reinforced at multiple levels of a career. Rather than concentrating all ethics content into a short block, participants argued that the most effective approach combines structured learning with ongoing reflection across diverse subjects and activities. When ethics is integrated into everyday learning, it becomes a habit rather than a test.
Importantly, this view of education places emphasis on real-world challenges and lived experience, rather than only abstract theory. Case studies, practitioner testimony, and discussion of complex decisions allow personnel to explore the pressures and uncertainties they may face in future roles. This approach recognises that ethical decisions are rarely straightforward: they often involve competing obligations, incomplete information and real consequences for people. Participants emphasised that ethical thinking is not a checklist, but a skill developed through dialogue, questioning and reflection.
Recent Events
The influence of recent events on the profession of arms was acknowledged throughout the conference. Participants recognised that major inquiries in Australia over the past decade have presented difficult questions about how ethical standards are upheld in practice and how institutional culture supports, or fails to support, ethical behaviour. There was agreement that these lessons should not fade once the initial urgency passes. Instead, they should remain part of how the profession understands itself, including through doctrine, training and leadership development. The idea that doctrine must evolve with experience was widely supported, with participants calling for future work that pays greater attention to curiosity, wellbeing, care and the pursuit of peace as a strategic and moral good.
Technology
Looking ahead, emerging technologies were seen as one of the most significant areas where moral courage will be required. Artificial intelligence has already begun to influence logistics, intelligence analysis, and medical support. As tools become more sophisticated, there is potential for greater influence on strategic decision-making, including decisions about the use of force. Participants discussed risks associated with over-reliance on algorithmic models, especially when their underlying logic is opaque or simplified. The concern is not only technical: it is ethical. If technology appears to make predictions with confidence, it may encourage decision-makers to treat probabilities as certainties, or to shift responsibility to machines rather than accepting personal accountability. The conference emphasised that human judgement must remain central, and that personnel need the knowledge to scrutinise, question and challenge technological tools rather than deferring to them uncritically.
Operational Environments
A related concern involved the pace of operational environments in which decisions are made. Whether in conflict, humanitarian settings, or disaster response, leaders are often required to make decisions under severe time pressure and with limited information. Discussions highlighted how background conditions can shape moral judgement. In fast-moving situations, for example, decision-makers may feel compelled to act in ways that respond to immediate risks but that carry long-term ethical implications. This reality reinforces the importance of training that exposes personnel to moral ambiguity before they encounter it in the field, enabling them to recognise ethical dimensions under stress and to apply disciplined judgement.
Moral Injury
Several conversations explored the connection between moral courage and moral injury. While commonly understood as a form of psychological harm following a traumatic event, participants examined moral injury through a broader lens. Moral injury can arise when individuals feel they have been placed in a position where their actions, or the actions of their organisation, conflict with their values. It can also be experienced when individuals feel they were unable to do what they believed to be right, or when responsibility was placed on them without adequate institutional support. From this perspective, preventing moral injury is not only a matter of strengthening individual resilience. It requires the organisation to show courage as well: by creating mechanisms for challenge, sharing responsibility fairly, and providing support before, during and after difficult decisions.
Participants noted that moral injury is not resolved simply through formal processes. Much of the healing, learning, and growth takes place through the meaning individuals make of their experience, and through the support they receive in its aftermath. Leaders play a central role in shaping how these conversations occur, whether by creating space for reflection, acknowledging difficult experiences or modelling humility in their own leadership practice. Some discussions encouraged leaders to normalise ethical discomfort, recognising that it is not a sign of weakness but a sign that someone is taking their responsibilities seriously.
Command Accountability
Accountability was another major theme. While there is a wide range of formal mechanisms available to organisations to manage conduct, participants argued that accountability in the military profession is about more than rules. It is also about owning the consequences of decisions and accepting responsibility for the wellbeing of those affected by them. The discussion expanded this view beyond discipline to include reward, recognition, and encouragement. Creating a culture of accountability involves celebrating acts of moral courage, not only responding to failure. This reflects the understanding that standards are reinforced through what is valued, promoted and repeated, rather than only through what is prohibited.
Related Professions
Throughout the conference, connections were drawn between military practice and other professional domains. Lessons from elite sport, humanitarian operations, emergency response and other high-pressure environments provided useful perspectives. These fields share a common challenge: people must make decisions where values, goals, and information do not always align. In these settings, culture can play a decisive role. If the environment rewards short-term results over long-term integrity, individuals may feel pressured into actions they later regret. The ability to hold firm to values against the weight of expectation was seen as a form of moral courage relevant across professions. These comparisons also highlighted the role of leadership in shaping culture through everyday behaviour, including the expectations leaders set, the feedback they provide, and the way they respond to both success and failure.
Speaking Truth to Power
The idea of speaking “truth to power” was discussed in relation to organisational culture. Moral courage often requires questioning decisions or practices that are widely accepted. This can be uncomfortable, especially where hierarchy is strong and where decisions have broad institutional implications. Yet several participants argued that intellectual humility and open dialogue are essential to the evolution of any professional culture. Without honest discussion, organisations risk repeating mistakes, suppressing valuable insight and disconnecting from the lived experience of their people. Creating spaces for candid reflection was seen as both a cultural and strategic investment.
Importantly, the conference did not present moral courage as a purely individual virtue. It was consistently framed as a collective achievement supported by systems, doctrine, leadership, and education. Courage is developed when organisations provide people with tools to reason ethically, encouragement to question decisions, and confidence that their actions will be understood in context rather than judged in isolation. When leaders model vulnerability, admit complexity and welcome challenge, they create an environment where moral courage can flourish.
The Role of Research
The final discussions focused on the role of research in shaping the future of ethical leadership in Defence. Participants emphasised that strong connections between Defence and independent academic research can help ensure that military ethics evolves in response to new challenges rather than relying solely on past assumptions. Research can illuminate emerging issues, test established ideas and provide new frameworks for understanding the moral dimensions of military service. Areas identified as priorities included the study of moral reasoning and decision-making, exploration of how concepts such as virtue operate in military culture, and the ethical implications of new technologies. Participants recognised that research undertaken within Defence and research undertaken in universities each have distinct strengths. Bringing these perspectives together can help Defence draw on both practical experience and rigorous analysis.
Conclusion
Taken together, discussions over the two days presented a view of moral courage that is at once practical and aspirational. It is practical because it recognises that ethical choices are made under pressure, within systems, and with consequences that are not always clear. It is aspirational because it treats moral courage as a standard that can and should be cultivated and strengthened, not reserved for a select few or for extraordinary circumstances. Above all, the conference reinforced that the profession of arms is rooted not only in capability, but in character. The capabilities that Defence develops—whether in technology, training, or strategic planning—are ultimately shaped by the character of the people who use them and the systems that guide their decisions.
Moral courage sits at the heart of that character. It is the willingness to choose the harder path when it serves the mission, protects people, or upholds values. It is the habit of seeking clarity, listening to others, reflecting on experience and accepting responsibility. As such, moral courage is the understanding that leadership is not measured only by outcomes, but also by how those outcomes are achieved.
In bringing together a community committed to thoughtful discussion and shared learning, the conference marked an important step in building moral courage across the profession. The conversations will continue—in classrooms, training environments, operational planning rooms, and on future deployments. They will help inform future work on military ethics and leadership doctrine, the design of education programs, and the ways in which leaders mentor the next generation. While the challenges ahead are complex and evolving, the conference showed that Defence is prepared to meet them with honesty, humility and resolve. In doing so, it affirmed that moral courage is not simply a concept to be admired—it is a capability to be built, sustained and practised every day.
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Moral Courage and Leadership Excellence: Reflections from the ADC’s Inaugural Military Ethics Conference © 2026 by . This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
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