Shannon French, an associate professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, wrote an interesting article on the ethics of war for The Chronicle of Higher Education. She teaches philosophy at the Academy and has written a book on a soldier’s code of conduct on the battlefield that’s due to come out next month.

In this article she mentioned a Spartan mother’s charge that I’m very familiar with - it is something that was usually said to a Spartiate heading off to battle: “Spartan! Return with your shield or upon it!” (This is the variation I know, at least.) There are some other good points that she emphasizes, particularly this:

The warrior’s code is the shield that guards our warriors’ humanity. Without it, they are no good to themselves or to those with whom and for whom they fight. Without it, they will find no way back from war. I have dear friends – many of them former students and Naval Academy colleagues – who are currently in harm’s way. They are our pilots, surface-warfare officers, submariners, Navy SEALs, and Marines. Come May, more of my current students will join them. When and if they go into combat, I want them to be able to return from war intact in body and soul. I want all of them, every last one, to come back with their shields.

(via ALD)