The Warrior Ethos, by Steven Pressfield depicts the warrior’s mentality from ancient times to the present through a variety of different aspects and stories. In The Warrior Ethos, Pressfield states that men are not born with the certain qualities that make a good warrior, but instead are inculcated through years of training and indoctrination, stating at an early age. He shows how different societies have been able to instill the same or very similar ideals throughout history while maintaining their own unique characteristics. Things have changed from ancient Sparta, where parents would be enthusiastic about their children going to war, and even more elated upon learning they died valorous in battle. These days, most parents are a lot …show more content…
Things are now different in our American culture, but in the core of the test for your manhood it is inherently the same. For example, young men and women who join the US Military have to undergo their own “agoge” which would be boot camp/basic training, the most rigorous of these would be the United States Marine Corps Boot Camp, the Marines go through the most grueling time of their life during their agoge.Which in turn gives them the ultimate sense of pride in who they are because of the hardship Marines face during their agoge they tend to emulate the Spartans, not only for their warrior pride but in their moral values.Other things the Spartans valued, respect for elders and more senior military members have also transferred over to our culture in the form of modern military respect and …show more content…
military members who share harsh, traumatic, or even funny events obviously become closer through the bond of a mutual experience. This is particularly true for Marine infantry; many Marine are brought up in different areas of the US, with different values, ages, religious and political beliefs. However different we all might look on the outside, the fact that we’ve all been through good times and bad with each other makes us closer than any civilian could understand. After being a Marine, I find that I’m close to, and always will be, than my civilian friends who I’ve known for years. Along with this, Pressfield talks about how, under all the glory and allure of fighting for one’s country exists the real reason that warriors fight; for our brothers in arms. Political beliefs, government stances, and flags go out the window, only to be replaced by concern for the safety and well-being of the men to our left and right. All of these things are reasons why it is difficult for civilians to understand what it’s like to be a warrior. This is perhaps embodied best in our motto, Semper Fidelis; Always Faithful, to our brothers and those who depend on
Today’s veterans often come home to find that although they are willing to die for their country, they’re not sure how to live for it. It’s hard to know how to live for a country that regularity tears itself apart along every possible ethnic and demographic boundary… In combat, soldiers all but ignore differences of race, religion,and politics within their platoon. It’s no wonder they get so depressed when they come home. (Junger
As Marines, we have a well-known motto “One Team, One Fight” that creates an image of strong unity that everyone regardless of rank or size plays an important role. Everyone is necessary to complete the mission. In this book, one particular Marine, (then) Captain Bill Barber, has a story that since has become a crucial tool used as teaching material today for multi-level Marines everywhere. This book serves as a testimony to Captain Barber’s will in the midst of extreme opposition and sets the example of the for mentioned mindset
are always a Marine and you will never let another Marine down.’ Etc. & etc.
Wars have many battles. However, battles do not always lead to war. Marines courageously serve in our nations wars. Their ability to win battles allows our nations to deal with threats quickly without making the situation more dangerous than it already is. Since the year of 1775 the Marines have been the number one branch of the military called upon first. Their ability to execute the most rapid, effective, and efficient military response to disputes anywhere in the world, makes them one of the most respected branches of the military. The Marines Corps are deployed to respond swiftly and aggressively to threats around the world. What distinguishes the Marines Corps from any other branch is the bond formed by their motto “Semper Fidelis.” It was a motto adopted in 1883. “Semper Fidelis” in Latin means “always faithful.” It reminds marines to always be faithful to their mission, to one another, and to the Corps and our beloved nation, no matter the cost. However, we will discuss the history and background of the career, the requirements to obtain the career, the job position and description, and the job reflection and outlook.
This is exactly how Spartans acted, and expected their children to act. This hardened personality starts at birth, when parents gave their child to the elders so they could examine him or her and make judgement on whether or not they should live. If a baby is weak or feeble, it was left on Apothetae, as Plutarch states in source two. This occuredd because the elder’s thought process was that if a baby is weak from the beginning, it is not worthy to live in Sparta, and would simply use up resources without giving back to society. When men went to war, their mothers often used the phrase “with your shield or on it,” when saying goodbye. This essentially meant that the son should either come home a hero or die for the state. This phrase’s meaning was quite literal, if a woman’s son came home after losing or doing something cowardly in war, she would oftentimes kill him and bury him without dismay. Using this for motivation, Spartan soldiers did all they could to win battles using both force and tactics. The way they acted ultimately brought great success to the state and they never lost a
Following negative feelings from close individuals in a Veteran’s life, a person taking part in war can become detached.
When the marines had returned home, Corporal Weissert returned to an empty house without knowledge of where his wife had gone. Rather than let Weissert wallow on the street without a home, the men in Weissert’s platoon took turns caring for their friend and dubbed it, “Weissert duty” (Phillips, 48). The soldiers acted as though they were still stranded in a foreign country with only one another for company and support and shared a common language and their experiences, which civilians could only
He starts this by setting the audience in common ground with someone who’s life has been impacted by enlistment. “The men and women who do enlist deserve better than to die in the dirt and come home in a bag, or spend their lives in wheelchairs, and their parents should not have to drown in tears and suffer the heartbreak of burying their children (Paragraph 13)” Masciotra continues to captivate the readers into joining his side of the argument and to also feel the empathy that he felt as he was writing this. His use of firm imagery also aids in projecting a picture for the readers. Likewise, Masciotra makes an effort to distinguish a difference between the minds of regular men and women, and the parents of injured or deceased soldiers. “The ‘troops are heroes’ boosters of American life typically toss out clichés to defend their generalization – ‘They defend our freedom,’ ‘They fight so we don’t have to.’ (Paragraph 7)” Society doesn’t take time to put themselves in others’ shoes and acknowledge what the law enforcement has done for them; they brush this fact aside and forget to recognize the bravery and skill that these people have. Unfortunately, not every member of this force lives up to the standard that they are positioned in. As Americans, the nation is called to embrace and defend the country, no matter the circumstances. Following along those lines, Masciotra explains how people label the wrong groups, which results in fear and conflict. “Haurwas’...combat the hysterical sycophancy toward the military in a culture where even saluting a Marine, while holding a coffee cup, is tantamount to terrorism (Paragraph 12)” Masciotra implies the fact that even the slightest action could set off a social epidemic. Along with the conflict happening in the world today, with the amount of hypothetical terrorism increasing,
The life of a Spartan male was a life of discipline, self-denial, and simplicity as the Spartans viewed themselves as the true inheritors of the Greek tradition. This key to understanding the Spartans. The ideology of Sparta was oriented around the state as the individual lived (and died) for the state. Their lives were designed to serve the state from their beginning to the age of sixty. The combination of this ideology, the education of Spartan males, and the disciplined maintenance of a standing army gave the Spartans the stability that had been threatened so dramatically in the Messenean revolt.
This particular asset is the brotherhood soldiers’ forged during battle. This, band of brother, creates a strong connecting between the soldiers, much like those of a tightly knit family. This connection allows the soldiers to watch out for one another, just as brothers do. She depicts that while men are at war, they use each other as support and motivation to help encourage their comrades to perform as instructed. She discusses the value of comradeship in the opening of the chapter, Love and Hate, “The power of love and friendship in enticing men to kill has been widely commented upon… combatants reported they were able to kill because of the love they felt for their comrades” (130). This proves that during times of war, soldiers look towards one another for encouragement and to achieve recognition to boost their psyche. This, in turn, helps the military keep the troop’s moral high and also helps creates a more affective killing machine. This helps the military’s objective and reduces down time caused by soldiers who are unwilling to fight in
...litary end even the women in Sparta would have been affected by the military ways of life almost as much as the young men. From childhood they were being primed to raise a family, they were taught in the ways of mid wifery, learning the correct manner in teaching the future young men of Sparta and keeping themselves fit to produce fit children.
A soldier’s “greatest fear is not death but failure, and the shame that accompanies failure. More than anything else, warriors fear letting themselves down and letting their leaders and friends down at a moment when it matters most. They fear most not losing their lives, but their honor” (Nash, 2007, p. 25).
Spartans were a people of war who thrived on fighting, so naturally physical might was a much needed and wanted attribute. The children who were strong excelled to high levels in society while the weak either became farmers or scholars. The deformed or mentally handicapped were either shunned or exterminated. When a boy reached manhood, he would undergo a series of tests that involved surviving on his own and not returning to his home until he had brought home a trophy (usually an animal hide or etc.) that proved his worth as a warrior. At the age of seven, Spartan boys were taken from their mothers to military barracks for twenty-three years and were taught skills such as athleticism, discipline, hunting, survival, weapons training, and how to endure pain. At the age of twenty, Spartans became
The Spartan’s were a highly developed warrior based society. They came into the major military power through their highly developed military strategy. The men were required to be a part of the military if they were to be future citizens. The Spartans had a highly revered group of men, who decided if a
courage as a virtue. Before long the Spartan way of life was more show then