Alumni Recognition

Dr. Brian Ray, Stetson University ‘88, Director of the Poe Business Ethics Center at the University of Florida Warrington College of Business, was honored with an award from the United States Special Operations Command for his work on an ethics guide for the military. The Joint Service Commendation Medal is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who distinguish themselves by meritorious achievement or service in a joint duty capacity.

Brother Ray, who is also a chaplain and colonel in the U.S. Army, was presented with a Joint Service Commendation Medal for his contributions to A Special Operations Forces Ethics Field Guide: 13 Ethical Battle Drills for SOF Leaders. The guide is based on material from The Business Ethics Field Guide, which Ray uses in his ethics courses at Warrington, and offers a practical application of ethical decision making in a Special Operations Forces (SOF) environment.

“It has been extremely rewarding to collaborate with the military professionals at Special Operations Command as well as the lead author of The Business Ethics Field Guide, Dr. Brad Agle, the George Romney Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Brigham Young University,” Brother Ray reflected. “The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who make up our nation’s Special Forces are asked to serve in some of the most challenging wartime situations imaginable.”

Delta Sigma Phi is proud of Brother Ray’s contribution to helping our men and women who serve do so in the best ways possible. Brother Ray noted, “It is often said that Special Ops forces find themselves ‘operating in the gray,’ a phrase used to describe combat situations where ethical decisions are extremely complex. I am pleased that my colleagues and I were able to develop a set of resources that will help these brave men and women serve with greater ethical confidence when they find themselves in the gray zone of combat operations.”

More than 10,000 copies of the guide have been distributed across U.S. Special Operations Command, including eight Theatre Special Operations Commands and four Department of Defense Services.