They are character traits which are essential in a professional military person of whatever rank, but they are particularly important in those to whom the responsibility of command is given. Of the traits listed, I believe that the most important are courage and integrity. Integrity is the sum of the whole person. To do this requires courage, and here I am not speaking of the courage of the battlefield, but rather, the kind of courage that allows you to admit mistakes, the courage Tillich describes in his book, The Courage to Be. Understanding that resignation can be a military duty is basic to our understanding of military law.
Emphasis is placed in all our military law upon obedience to a lawful order.
Suffice it to say, it is my belief that a true professional has a duty to resign over issues that he or she believes reflect upon their professional integrity. In my own case, I resigned my commission in the U.S. Army over the issue of the bombing of the two major medical centres in Viet Nam during the latter phases of the Viet Nam War. I believed then and do now, that this decision, made in the White House, was a war crime and my duty as a military officer was to take what action I could to bring this to the attention of those responsible. This I did, at some cost to myself, but, I believe, preserving my own professional integrity. I might add that I have heard many arguments that one should not protest what one cannot change, that one should stay around so that one may have the possibility of changing things when achieving a high rank.