The Army; A Profession

There are many reasons why the Army should be considered a profession. The Army trains and certifies its members, has continuing development of its personnel, and contains many professions within it. Much like doctors and lawyers, the Army requires each member to complete training and certification. The Army focuses on development of its personnel to maintain skills important to the profession. Aside from the profession itself, the Army contains many other professions. The U.S. Army has and will continue to maintain and advance the profession through study and intellectual development. The Army takes great strides to ensure it members are fully qualified professionals. All professions, such as accounting and psychology, are certified and monitored by a governing body familiar to that field, such as a state bar or the state psychological association. The same is true within the Army, as members must complete requirements set by their respective branch. Similar to nursing, each rank requires a certain level of specialized education and certification. Officers and enlisted personnel will spend years in their fields completing various levels of education in order to become experts. The Army places an immense importance on developing leaders to maintain the profession. As General Dempsey states in his White Paper, “Leader development is an investment required to maintain the Army as a profession and is a key source of combat power. Leadership entails the repetitive exercise of discretionary judgments, all highly moral in nature, and represents the core function of the Army professional’s military art, whether leading a patrol in combat or making a major policy or budget decision in the Pentagon.” The Army mu... ... middle of paper ... ...n. Other professions within the Army will grow as needs change but they will all still be an important piece. For the Army to succeed the future, it must require study and intellectual development therefore maintaining it as a profession. Works Cited Cavanaugh, MAJ Matthew. "The Decay of the Profession of Arms." Foreign Policy.com. January 8, 2014. http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/01/08/the_decay_of_the_profession_of_arms (accessed February 16, 2014). Chae, Chang Kyu. "The Effect of Graduate Education on the Promotion of U.S. Army Field Grade Officers by Career Field." March 2008. www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA479772 (accessed February 16, 2014). Dempsey, GEN Martin E. "The Profession of Arms." December 8, 2010. http://www.benning.army.mil/armor/content/PDF/Profession%20of20Arms%20White%20Paper%208%20Dec2010.pdf (accessed February 16, 2014).