The Profession of Arms Center of Excellence wants you to learn from airmen who have made the wrong choices.

PACE is part of an effort to focus on military professionalism that was launched by former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in 2014, when the military was reeling from a string of ethical scandals, such as missileers at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, cheating on monthly proficiency tests.

On PACE's website, airmen can now read vignettes about airmen who have lived according to the Air Force's core values — and those who have fallen short, said Patrick Penland, a PACE professional program analyst.

"It's kind of like an aircraft mishap: When there's an aircraft that crashes in the Air Force, they do a mishap investigation board and they do a safety board," Penland told Air Force Times. "The mishap investigation board looks to find out who is at fault and the punishment that goes along with that. The safety board just looks at what happened so we can learn from it. That's what we designed this to be: Just what can we learn from this?"

All of the stories about airmen who made unethical decisions are anonymous, he said.

"We're not looking to poke our finger in the eye of people or units or bases; we just want to learn from these instances," Penland said. "With that in mind, this is how we came across with the design to basically point out these ethical mishap cases that came from the judge advocate's office and other sources, but in no way do we identify the names of people or bases or units. It's all about learning."

One vignette on the PACE website tells the story of an unidentified company grade officer who had to forfeit part of his pay because he was fraternizing with a junior enlisted service member. The officer could have faced two years in prison and been dismissed dismissal from the Air Force, the website says said.

"For the ethical mishaps we were wanting to highlight airmen who'd made poor ethical choices and violation of the UCMJ, the U.S. Code, standards of conduct or just the Air Force core values," Penland said. "We wanted to look for real cases that were fully adjudicated.

On the PACE website, click on the image titled, "Ethical Mishap: Master Warning." Currently, you’ll find there are two vignettes on PACE’s website — the second is on credit card abuse — but more will be added after they are vetted by judge advocates and public affairs, said Maj. Toni Whaley, a spokeswoman for Air Education and Training Command.

The website also features vignettes about airmen who put service above self, such as Tech. Sgt. John A. Chapman, who posthumously received the Air Force Cross for his bravery during a fierce battle in Gardez, Afghanistan, in March 2002.

Chapman died trying to rescue a Navy SEAL who had fallen fell out of a helicopter and landed in enemy territory. The SEAL later died, but Chapman’s actions saved the lives of the other troops on the rescue team.

To find Chapman's and five other stories, click on the image titled, "Professionalism: Course Intercept."

"We want to help airmen discover what looks right — what does right look like," Penland said. "The core values are just words unless you are committed to them; you have trust within the organization and there's loyalty there."

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