Personal health monitoring (PHM) is rapidly evolving across multiple domains, including military contexts. Addressing the ethical aspects of PHM is crucial to ensure its responsible deployment and use among armed forces personnel. Most studies on PHM ethics have focused on civilian populations, leaving a gap in understanding the unique ethical challenges within military environments, where tasks, hierarchy, and operational conditions differ. This case study explores the perspectives and values of various stakeholders regarding the Covid-19 Radar app, a PHM tool used in the Netherlands Armed Forces. An exploratory qualitative approach was employed, involving semi-structured interviews with twelve military stakeholders. The investigation focused on engagement with PHM, reflections on its practical application and data handling, moral dilemmas encountered, and the perceived need for ethical guidance. The collected data were analyzed using an inductive thematic method. Analysis revealed three overlapping categories relating to PHM ethics: (1) core values, (2) moral dilemmas, and (3) external standards. Central values included data security, trust, and hierarchical structure, alongside several related ethical considerations. Some moral dilemmas were reported, but no widely shared dilemmas emerged, and participants generally did not express a strong demand for ethics support. The study identifies key values and provides insight into both experienced and anticipated moral dilemmas, emphasizing considerations for ethical support in military PHM. Certain values may expose military personnel to vulnerability when personal and organizational priorities conflict, while others may obscure aspects of ethical decision-making. Ethics support could help reveal and address these hidden ethical challenges, highlighting the armed forces’ responsibility to carefully attend to the ethical dimensions of PHM.
