Photo By Sarah Windmueller | Eight Army ROTC instructors from junior and senior military colleges completed the...... read more read more
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During Cadet Summer Training, Army ROTC cadets receive instruction and develop proficiency on small unit tactical skills. In scenarios where cadets face countless physical and environmental hurdles while training, many times the biggest obstacles to overcome aren’t the enemy forces or the physical terrain. Morally ambiguous situations are prevalent throughout combat operations, but there is often minimal focus on training leaders how to react when the right answer isn’t clear.
Enter Moral Terrain Coaching (MTC), a method developed by an active-duty Army officer and grounded in a dual-process cognition model, where both emotional intuition and logical reasoning shape moral decisions.
“Winning matters,” said Maj. Ben Ordiway, creator of MTC and an instructor at the Simon Center for the Professional Military Ethics (SCPME) and USMA’s Department of Law & Philosophy.
“But, winning the right way matters more—not only for long-term strategic success, but also for the more intimate, internal peace of mind that comes with accomplishing the mission honorably.”
Eight Army ROTC instructors from junior and senior military colleges completed the Moral Terrain Coaching (MTC) Level II Certification course May 27-30, 2025, at the United States Military Academy. This is the first “train the trainer” partnership for a trial use of the MTC concept at U.S. Army Cadet Command’s Cadet Summer Training this year at Fort Knox.
“Moral Terrain Coaching (MTC) is a course designed to help leaders coach others through complex ethical situations with more awareness, confidence, and integrity,” said Master Sgt. Nathan Barrick, an Army ROTC instructor at the University of North Georgia and recent graduate of the course. “It focuses on recognizing the ‘moral terrain’ – the often subtle, shifting mix of values, pressure, and consequences that shape real-life decisions.”
“MTC builds the skills to slow down, ask better questions, and understand what’s influencing a person’s thinking – whether it’s internal, like physiological stress or personal values, or external, like authority, culture, peer pressure or environment.”
Ordiway began developing MTC in 2020 while he was a studying philosophy as a graduate student at the University of Michigan. With USMA’s support, the MTC was refined through field engagements with special operations units and international academic conferences.
The MTC continues to gain considerable traction across the joint force, with USACC implementing the model within regiments of Advanced Camp during CST this July.
Advanced Camp is a 35-day training event designed to develop a cadet’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and to forge them into tough, adaptable leaders who can thrive in ambiguous and complex environments. Advanced Camp is the capstone leader development opportunity for all cadets between their Military Science (MS) III and MS IV years of ROTC.
The MTC is a 25-minute coaching session performed immediately after a morally significant moment in unit training. It resembles an after-action review (AAR), focusing primarily on the moral aspects.
“Moral challenges aren’t rare, they’re built into everyday leadership and decision-making,” said Barrick. “MTC helps us see those moments more clearly and respond in ways that reflect both personal and professional values.”
Trained coaches, like Master Sgt. Barrick, will observe cadets throughout CST and identify key moments to pull individual cadets or groups of cadets – depending on the training – aside for a semi-structured interview. Using a two-sided MTC coaching card, cadets reflect on the situational factors of an event, analyze their emotional and physiological responses in that moment while also reflecting on principles of disengagement and engagement – do they take accountability for what occurred or deflect?
On the reverse side, cadets explore a first-person narrative of the event they were coached on. It also includes further reflections and a re-imagining of how a cadet’s moral exemplar (i.e. who they draw leadership and ethical inspiration from) would respond in a similar situation.
Barrick sees the MTC enabling cadets, Soldiers, and service members with self-reflective tools to decisively react in those moments of pressure, ambiguity, or moral conflict – especially when the “right” approach is uncertain.
“In their careers, this helps them make decisions that not only meet mission objectives but also uphold ethical standards, strengthen trust within their units, and reduce the risk of moral injury or regret,” he said. “Over time, it supports stronger, more resilient leadership grounded in both courage and integrity.”
With the integration of MTC this summer within Army ROTC’s Cadet Summer Training, Ordiway hopes the MTC method continues to establish both tactical and moral competency as a focus within the joint force.
“Strengthening the profession and developing combat ready formations goes beyond numbers and equipment—beyond hardware,” Ordiway said. “It means preparing the full human to bear the cost of military service while accomplishing the mission with honor.”
| Date Taken: | 06.09.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.09.2025 15:53 |
| Story ID: | 500117 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 42 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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