The Army's current shift to a core values approach will inevitably fail due in large part to the inability of the values program to effectively communicate and instill ethics beyond even the most superficial levels. The current training relies on the core values as though this were the case, appealing to them for supposed resolution of ethical conflicts. The aim of my paper is not to attack virtue ethics in general. Instead, I want to argue that an agent-centered core values program is not suitable for the Army as a whole. The current program need not be dismantled but instead implemented in a tiered approach. Values can, and arguably must, still be emphasized within the NCO and Officer Corps during unit professional development sessions and at professional service schools. However, ethical education at the soldier and unit levels must result from realistic training, which indoctrinates concepts and rules.

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