The United States Army has always been an institution grounded in values and tradition. From the early days of the American Revolution, the Army has held values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. The integrity of the U.S. Army is paramount to the success of their mission and the relationship with the American People. Therefore, the Army must maintain their professional integrity to preserve their tradition and history, provide accurate assessments to commanders, and to maintain a positive relationship with the American People.
The United States Army has always had a proud, distinguished history as the premier fighting force in the world. Its many traditions have stood the test of time and
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This will give future generations of Soldiers a baseline to understand the importance of integrity and professionalism. The overall professionalism of the U.S. Army has improved over the years and its due to the recognition that it is important to maintain its level of professionalism and ethical morals. This high level of professionalism is maintained through instruction from qualified leaders, capable of explaining to Soldiers the importance of being professional and ethical. It is crucial for the U.S. Army to preserve its traditions and history as a professional, honest, and ethical …show more content…
It is important for leaders across the Army to let their subordinates know that it is acceptable to admit when there is a deficiency. Most leaders prefer the honest feedback, rather than learning the problem was avoidable. Leaders must hold their subordinates accountable and encourage honest candid feedback. The U.S. Army must maintain its professional integrity by providing accurate assessments to commanders to succeed in the future.
One of the most important relationships to maintain is between the U.S. Army and American people. Matthew Moten states, “The Army’s sense of itself, its culture, and its ethic have grown and developed over 400 years of American history.”3 The Army has grown from the American people, meaning its changes have originated from changes within American society. The American people place special trust in the U.S. Army due to their important mission to protect the country and its’ interests. Therefore, it is crucial to maintain that positive relationship with the American
Soldiers today still fight for their country. Recruits joined the United States Army to fight
One virtue every person should have and admire in other people in integrity. Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles and moral uprightness. In the Marine Corps integrity was a virtue you hoped everyone one of your Marines had. A person with integrity is someone you can truly trust, is reliable, and an honest person.
The United States Army, in its current state, is a profession of arms. In order to be considered a profession, the organization must have an ethical code rooted in values, strong trust with its clients, and be comprised of experts within the trade. These experts are constantly developing the trade for the present and the future and hold the same shared view of their trade culture. The Army currently has an ethical code embodied in the Army Values, which provides guidance to the individual and the organization. These values are universal across the Army, regardless of an individual’s personal background or religious morals.
In A Tactical Ethic, Moral Conduct in the Insurgent Battlespace, author Dick Couch addresses what he believes to be an underlying problem, most typical of small units, of wanton ethical and moral behavior partly stemming from the negative “ethical climate and moral culture” of today’s America (Couch, D., 2010, p. 15). In chapter one, he reveals what A Tactical Ethic will hope to accomplish; that is identify the current ethics of today’s military warriors, highlight what is lacking, and make suggestions about what can be done to make better the ethical behavior of those on the battlefield and in garrison. He touches on some historic anecdotes to highlight the need for high ethics amongst today’s military warriors as well as briefly mentions
The Army requires its members to adhere to prolonged training and learn specialized skills. From the moment a soldier transitions from the civilian sector into the Army, he is indoctrinated with training. Regardless of rank, the Army demands each soldier to be technically proficient and mentally competent in order to be qualified in a respective Military Occupation Specialty. As a soldier progresses in his military career, he is required to continue his education and training. Army leaders are expected and required to continue developing their skills through academic studies, operational experience, and institutional training. An opposing view argues that anyone can learn these skills; however, statistics show less than 0.5% of the population serves in the armed forces, indicating a soldier is a rare mix of intelligence and character.1 These lessons are necessary qualifications to achieve what General Martin Dempsey describes as “effectiveness rather than efficiency.”2 Much like the profession of medicine which must heal, the media which must provide truth, and law which must provide justice, the profession of arms must provide secur...
In the minds of many people today, the United States Army is considered to have one of the best structured organizational communication networks. This is based upon the specified code of conduct that the Army is underlyingly ruled by. This is upheld by the specific chain of command, which is easily distinguished by rank and uniformity. Strict punishment is carried out upon those who violate rules and conduct, commonly accepted by this organization. The authority figures, in the Army, set tasks, and relay a common purpose to all subordinates down to the lowest level in the organization.
Young soldiers need to learn to live the Army values, which are loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. If these values can be instilled in us then we will have everything we need to make an excellent soldier but also a great person. These values also come into play when you are sent downrange because you want to have good fellow soldiers who will always have your back know matter what the situation you find yourself in. The army values also define our character traits as a person and they teach us discipline. The Army Values are a big part of our lives us young soldiers need to learn how to maintain them.
The core values are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. The Army’s definition respect is, “Treat people as they should be treated. In the Soldier’s Code, we pledge to “treat others with dignity and respect while expecting others to do the same.” Respect is what allows us to appreciate the best in other people. Respect is trusting that all people have done their jobs and fulfilled their duty. And self-respect is a vital ingredient with the Army value of respect, which results from knowing you have put forth your best effort. The Army is one team and each of us has something to
The second characteristic of professionalism is responsibility. General responsibility creates the moral responsibility of marines and helps us understand the set of values which guide us. In addition, however, marines must also possess the values of other human beings and question service to a society which does not respect these values. These values include justice, common courtesy, human dignity and humbleness. A government which does not respect these values is illegitimate and cannot be said to serve the society it directs. In the case of United States marines, the values of the United States must be examined in the context of the military profession. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution provide clear statements of these values and Ethics. Ethics are standards by which one should act based on values. Values are core beliefs such as honor, courage, and commitment that motivate attitudes and actions. Not all values...
The United States Army has been through many changes since its start in 1775, yet it remains the greatest, most disciplined all volunteer fighting force in the world. Like the service members of the past and present, many Army units have contributed to the success of our military, and like those service members many have been lost. Even though these units are not as well known as the divisions they have belonged to, they have enriched the history of our Army just the same. The achievements of the 123rd Aviation Battalion have contributed to the history and success of our nations battles.
As our forefathers before us stated, ‘‘No one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers. As a Noncommissioned Officer, I realize that I am a member of a time honored corps, which is known as “The Backbone of the Army (“The NCO Creed writing by SFC Earle Brigham and Jimmie Jakes Sr”). These words to Noncommissioned Officer should inspire us to the fullest with pride, honor, and integrity. The NCO creed should mean much more than just words whenever we attend a NCO’s school. For most of us this is what our creed has become because we learn to narrate or recite. The military from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard has an overabundance of NCOs who fall under their pay grade of E-5, E-6 and etc. Yet somehow there still not enough leaders. I believe that the largest problem afflicting the military today is our lack of competent leaders, ineffective leader development, and how we influence our subordinates under us who are becoming leaders.
LM01, Ethical Leadership. (2012). Maxwell Gunter AFB. Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education (AETC)
In an Army unit, where every individual must be willing to trust someone next to them, even with their life, the ability to do what is right at all times is a necessity. Without integrity, an Army unit will cease to function in a cohesive manner. How can any soldier be willing to look at a fellow soldier and trust they will help them in a time of need if the simple task of doing what is right is left out? At the same time, what is right? Can an amb...
Several of this concepts are still the same in today’s military. First, the concept of universal conscription is still the main process that most nations build their armed forces in today’s world. Second, all [male] citizens are eligible for all ranks and careers in military in today’s military. This is a practice that was initated during the Napoleonic era as a result of the transformation of the armed forces from being a private property of the aristocrats and monarch to property of the nation. Finally, the financing of war and armed forces in today’s warfare is still through the resources of the public.
But it takes the whole team, as a unit, as one, to attain this goal. As I strive to be a better soldier and take the initiative to be a leader in today’s Army, I look a little closer at each of these values. There is always something to work on personally and objectively. To me, being late to PT wasn’t that big of a deal, but if I look at the whole picture, it is. If I look deeper as to what my actions are saying, I realize just how important appearance really is.