The Man Who Brought Socrates to the Military

Last week when I read of Brigadier General (ret) Malham Wakin’s death, his name sounded familiar. As a newly arrived cadet at the Air Force Academy in 1968, the head of the Department of Philosophy, a colonel in his mid-30s, spoke to about a hundred members of my class in a spacious lecture hall. I vaguely remembered an impeccably dressed officer with jet black hair, who may have been 5 feet 4 inches tall. A picture from his obituary confirmed my recollection that this was the same man who lectured for less than an hour 56 years ago.  I never saw or heard of General Wakin again.

The encounter occurred long ago in a minute period of time that did not involve violence or a life-changing crisis to mark the event, but it formed the origin of an everlasting memory. A gifted speaker works wonders by the content of the lecture and the style in which it is delivered. I cannot remember one word of the lecture, but Professor Wakin’s passion for integrity as the most important character trait made an indelible impression on a receptive audience.

General Wakin was recognized in People Magazine in 1975 as one of the “Twelve Great Professors” and authored two critically acclaimed books: Integrity First: Reflections of a Military Philosopher and War, Morality, and the Military Profession. As a captain in 1963, he co-authored an article, “The Vocation of Arms,” that was published in Air Force Magazine, where he clarified the responsibilities of the profession of arms.

• The mission, we assert, simply and positively establishes the threefold need of soldier-scholar-athlete for duty-honor-country.
• Every man, every military man, needs to feel satisfaction in some accomplished task. The life in which this need is never or seldom realized is robbed of something essentially human.  
• If it is a profession, then it surrenders to a larger part of our lives; there is a greater involvement, a more total commitment.
• The man who voluntarily puts on the blue or green uniform of the service implicitly, if not explicitly, commits himself to the principal view that there are some values in life worth more than life itself.
• All servicemen discover themselves the allies of Socrates, who lived and died with the unshakeable conviction that a decent man cherishes far more whether he does right or wrong (his way of life) than whether he lives or dies.

The essay calls for a melding of disparate individuals into a Socratic organization where accomplishing the task and adhering to its principles predominate over life itself. Service members must demonstrate commitment and possess the requisite intellectual and physical skills to attain the ideal of duty, honor, and country. To lead by example and not forsake one’s integrity for personal gain cannot be sacrificed. But 60 years have passed since the article was written and to society’s detriment values have eroded. The politicians’ disdain for truth-telling and willingness to lower standards have found accomplices within the highest echelons of military leadership. 

For much of Dr. Wakin’s tenure at the Air Force Academy, faculty members were required to be active-duty military officers with advanced academic degrees. Dr. Wakin earned a PhD in philosophy from the University of California, but he was also a command navigator with combat experience. The constellation of experience and aptitude provided a role model for cadets—scholar, warfighter, and ethicist.

The interface between cadets and role models in the operational Air Force constituted a significant portion of training. These motivational experiences solidified group cohesion and the desire to emulate proven leaders. A half-century later I remain indebted to two officers in particular, whose wisdom, integrity, and leadership styles played an instrumental part in my personal character development. 

While at Hahn AFB in Germany, I was assigned to an F-4 squadron. My sponsor, Captain Tim Roels, who later became a Thunderbird, taught the importance of leadership by example. The following summer at the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, I met Buzz Aldrin and participated in research that was used for the Space Shuttle reentry profile. My sponsor, 1964 USAFA graduate Captain Dave Diefenbach, was a superb pilot, who treated me like an equal. Within a week after meeting him, he died tragically in an aircraft accident—leaving behind a wife and two small children and reminding me of the enormous risks of the profession.     

Dr. Wakin spoke of the tensions between materialism and duty, the temptation to succumb to fluid ethics, and the importance of role models to negate these counterproductive behaviors.   

One’s moral capital is indistinguishable from personal integrity, and the public’s current lack of trust in the military reflects the departure from traditional codes of ethics and the integration of sham role models into the military hierarchy. The process to elevate unqualified but ideologically pure individuals into positions of power is destructive, intentional, and a common tactic to weaken institutions.

Anthony Daniels discussed the perversion of social norms in Utopias Elsewhere, where, in an Orwellian fashion, values contrary to the state are not only forbidden but mocked. The effect deprives citizens of foundational underpinnings and also humiliates them through the use of constant gaslighting and oxymoronic figures of speech. 

The absurd becomes acceptable in a world unmoored from reality. For example, the promotion of an activist, transgender bureaucrat, who advocates nearly unrestricted use of puberty blockers and mutilating surgery for minors for gender-affirming care, to the rank of a four-star admiral is an act of provocation and contempt. 

As standards fall, the Air Force Academy struggles to train cadets committed to a career of military service. Skewed priorities and a failure to heed the lessons Dr. Wakin taught for nearly 60 years have damaged the institution. Approximately 40% of the faculty at the academy are civilians, many with no military experience which impairs their ability to serve as adequate role models. A degree alone is inadequate to be a member of the faculty at the Air Force Academy, West Point, or Annapolis. Perspective, service in the operational military, and the uncommon understanding that some commitments are more important than life itself represent the minimum standards to train the next generation of military leaders.