What it Takes to be a Soldier

No country or civilization has ever survived without Soldiers. Soldiers do the things that the majority of the populations just aren’t physically able or willing to do. Without Soldiers to stand in the way of harm, no borders would hold enemies out. Some say Soldiers are born and others would say that they are trained how to Soldier. Soldiers test their virtues not just in the midst of battle finding their own ways through the war time fog of good, bad, right, and wrong, but their virtues are challenged during live fire exercises or extended field rotations as well as in day to day Garrison environments. Soldiering is one of the oldest professions in the world. While the weapons Soldiers use has changed from spears to swords to guns to bombs, what it takes to be a Soldier has not, Soldiers are high on integrity and personal courage while offering selfless service to their country knowing that the virtues it takes to be a Soldier run parallel with ensuring even the smallest duties are accomplished.

Soldiers are charged with many different missions as long as they serve their countries and some require the choice between “easy right and a hard left.” What is good, bad, right, and wrong will always weigh on Soldiers minds; it’s their integrity that will ensure they make the best decision available for the circumstance they are facing. “The military needs soldiers who will resist peer pressure to misbehave and who will do what is right not only when the gaze of others is upon them, but also when it is not,” (Robinson, P., 2007) . When a Soldier receives orders to clean his/her weapon and decides to not thoroughly clean their weapon, they run the risk of their weapon not operating properly. If challenged by their superiors ab...

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...ds in front of you own are virtues of a Soldier. Whether it was the Revolutionary War or Operation Enduring Freedom, whether it was single shot muskets or Hellfire missiles only the time and weaponry has changed what it takes to be a Soldier has not, those pertinent virtues are still within our Soldiers of today. They offer integrity, personal courage in the face of battle, and offer selfless service to their country to preserve the American way of life and democracy as a whole.

Works Cited

Military Virtues and Cross-Cultural, Inter-religious dialogue, Michel Dion, Sherbrooke Univ (Quebec)

Robinson, P. (2007). Magnanimity and Integrity as Military Virtues. Journal Of Military Ethics, 6(4), 259-269. doi:10.1080/15027570701755364

Tom Sileo; The Unknown, S. (2013, August 30). Examples of selfless service in our military. Leavenworth Times, The (KS).