NOTE: The following photo diary is based on an actual report by CNN about how soldiers are now receiving 2 hour slideshow training sessions about "the importance of professional military values."
I'm dead serious.
"Values" Spokesman, Gen. Peter Chiarelli:
Don't leave wounded enemies to die.
Don't desecrate the dead.
Don't cause unnecessary suffering.
Don't steal things while searching private homes.
And don't photograph detainees, especially when they're hooded.
...and please...don't smile.
...and, oh yeah! No smoking, either.
Theft, war crimes and prisoner abuse are considered "acts inconsistent with common values."
The presentation emphasizes troops should behave no differently in Iraq from the way they would in the United States.
"Military personnel are professionals, and professionals do not change their value systems simply because they are in a foreign country," it states.
Another slide says: "The soldier, be he friend or foe, is charged with the protection of the weak and unarmed. If he violates this sacred trust, he profanes his entire culture."
(CLICK TO VIEW "TROPHY" VIDEO):
The presentation cites the Geneva Convention governing the rules of war as the basis for the military's system of values.
Training vignettes are offered, posing various scenarios in which a soldier must consider the ethical implications of his or her actions.
(CLICK PIC TO SEE VIDEO)
One discussion question asks what a soldier should do if he or she is given an order that could be illegal.
First, the training states, the order should be clarified, and "if after clarification the order still appears illegal, the service member is not obligated to obey" and the incident should be reported.
Now, go take on the day.
And, above all -- Smile (when the cameras aren't on you).