In the military, as in all professions, the issue of competence is directly relevant to professional integrity. Because human life, national security, and expenditures from the national treasury are so frequently at issue when the military acts, the obligation to be competent isn't merely prudential. That obligation is a moral one, and culpable incompetence here is clearly a violation of professional integrity. Part of the social aspect of professional integrity involves the joint responsibility for conduct and competence shared by all members of the profession. Only fellow professionals are capable of evaluating competence in some instances; hence, fellow professionals must accept the responsibility of upholding the standards of the profession. Fellow military members can spot derelictions of duty, failures of leadership, failures of competence, and the venalities of conduct that interfere with the goals of the military mission. Often, the obligations of professional integrity may be pitted against personal loyalties or friendships; and, where the stakes for society are so high, professional integrity should win out Professional competence is: