This paper investigates the experiences that contemporaneous armed forces of democratic countries have accumulated regarding ethical leadership. While corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Regulatory Compliance (RC) only partially cover ethical issues in multinational companies (MNCs), one of the most salient features that stand out from the comparison between the corporate and military environments is that if they share a common concern for compliance, the two other dimensions of ethical leadership and followership are left aside in corporate world. From initial training to job and career assessment, ethics have always been considered as a major issue in armed forces. As a result, they encourage transformational rather than transactional styles of leadership.