Outside of some kind of religious conversion, when it comes to personality and character, by early adulthood people are pretty much what they always will be. By middle-age, almost set in stone.

You cannot “train” character. You cannot “build” character either. You can only create circumstances that demonstrate character.

Behavior on the other hand can be shaped. You can train people with a variety of character types to behave one way or another, but only if they have the base character to allow you to. The two are connected, not unlike the observations explained in Star Trek’ episode, “Mirror, Mirror.”

KIRK: What I don’t understand is how were you able to identify our counterparts so quickly?

SPOCK: It was far easier for you as civilized men to behave like barbarians, than it was for them as barbarians to behave like civilized men. I assume they returned to their Enterprise at the same time you appeared here.

KIRK: Probably. However, that Jim Kirk will find a few changes, if I read my Spocks correctly.

MCCOY: Jim, I think I liked him with a beard better. It gave him character. Of course almost any change would be a distinct improvement.

KIRK: What worries me is the easy way his counterpart fitted into that other universe. I always thought Spock was a bit of a pirate at heart.

SPOCK: Indeed, gentlemen. May I point out that I had an opportunity to observe your counterparts here quite closely? They were brutal, savage, unprincipled, uncivilized, treacherous, In every way, splendid examples of homo sapiens, the very flower of humanity. I found them quite refreshing.

Though Lolita Baldor’s article focus on the Army, as amply demonstrated in the Fat Leonard Scandal of the last few years, our Navy has recognized problem with a certain percentage at the very top of our uniformed leadership.

Struggling with an embarrassing series of misconduct and behavior problems among senior officers, the Army is putting together new mental health, counseling and career management programs to shape stronger, more ethical leaders.

The programs stem from a broader worry across the military about the need to bolster professionalism within the officer corps while holding accountable those who abuse their power. The Army plan appears to focus more on building character than berating bad conduct.

In recent years, general officers from the one-star to four-star level have violated the military code of conduct they’ve lived under and enforced — often for decades. Some infractions involved extramarital affairs, inappropriate relationships with subordinates or improper use of government funds.

“The idea that we’ll be perfect, I think, is unrealistic, but we can be better and we strive to be better,” said Lt. Gen. Ed Cardon, tasked by the Army’s top officer to review the problem and devise ways to strengthen the senior officer corps. “Competence is no longer enough. Character is as or even more important.”

Exactly; character. The thing about character though is that character is there from the start.

You have to recruit for character. Once recruited, you have to put those men and women in to circumstances where their character will be tested and revealed. Then you have to evaluate the results. You do that right, you get good results based on the character traits you reward and punish. Do it wrong? Well…

The character flaws in a General Officer/Flag Office were there when they were a 2LT/ENS.

If we have a character problem at the highest levels, then what incentives do we have in place that enable that critical mass of leaders with poor character to rise so high? What is wrong with our screens and filters?

Do we reward personality types that manifest themselves in the military with bad character traits and the resulting second and third order behaviors? If so, is the problem with what we value, reward and promote when those same personality types/characters are more junior personnel?

The Army, he said, needs to better help officers manage stress, organize calendars, make time for physical fitness, take time off and reach out to mentors or coaches for support.

Cardon said a key effort is finding ways to build self-control and self-awareness, ensuring officers and their families can quickly recognize and deal with problems that arise. Ethical behavior should be reinforced.

If a grown man or woman in their 40s already in your organization for a couple of decades needs this training, it isn’t going to stick.

Other ideas focus on time management, encouraging high-level officers to take longer vacations. He said every general should take 10 to 14 uninterrupted days off each year to unplug, breaking with a military culture making them believe they’re too important to disconnect.

On schedules, officers would be urged not to overbook themselves. Packing their calendars with events all day and every evening can increase stress and make it difficult to prioritize.

Here is another idea; stop punishing company and field grade officers who do this now. Stop rewarding those who don’t. We control who we promote.

Army officials stress only a minority of general officers are the cause.

“We have tolerated people doing things they shouldn’t be doing because we say all of them are extremely competent and really good at what they do. And that’s not good enough now because you’re not only damaging yourself, you’re damaging the institution,” Cardon said. “We have great trust with the American people, every time one of these things happens, you’re putting a nick in that.”

This is well meaning, but only going after symptoms, not problems.

Just one antidotal data point: I saw one of the best officers of my year group, #1 everywhere he went, have his career destroyed heading out of what should have been a #1 LCDR DH tour because he said “no” to a ball-busting community job that would have required him to work sea duty hours as a geographical bachelor. Why? Because … wait for it … his wife just gave birth to a daughter with significant birth defects that required a lot of doctor care in her first few years that only a few hospitals could provide (a few of which were co-located with good non-ball busting shore duty jobs). All he wanted was something that for a couple of years as nature took its course, he could be home by 19:00 and most weekends.

He should be a flag officer today, but instead his skills are being invested in the civilian sector.

Oh, and the reporting senior who, embarrassed by his #1 saying “no” had is FITREP changed so as to spike this rising star’s career?

On his 4th wife.

Oh, and he made Flag. Funny how that works.