Character Development: Developing the Character of the Army Profession “We want leaders that are tough, resilient, that can think, and out-fight and out-smart the enemy. We want them to be adaptive and agile and flexible. And, we want them not only competent, but we want leaders of character.” (General Mark A. Milley, 2015) Character is not a trait we take for granted and most likely have an attraction for, but honestly never had to define when asked about by our superiors and peers. It is a word most Soldiers desire to have their name attached to it, and yet the standards of its realization remains rather vague when spoken about. When the military say that a Soldiers is someone of good character, we mean that they may have many …show more content…
Conscientious effort is required to develop and prepare Soldiers and Army Civilians to make right decisions and to take attendant actions (The White Paper, 2016). Leaders are in control of refining the quality of character instilled in Soldiers and DA civilians. How does the military as a whole directly guarantee proper character development to the force, you might ask? Or what should effective leaders do to indoctrinate Army values and characteristics within their ranks? They do so by teaching the Army values to every new recruits from day one of basic training as soon as they step off the bus. Collectively with the multitude of attributes given from our leaders through years of experience and ADRP 1/ADP 6-22; these values have established the groundwork for Soldiers to use as basis of what it is to be a person good character. After members absorb these values, their leaders certify devotion. Abiding to these ethics of the Army values embodies cohesion; it challenges the belief and self-confidence crucial to cooperation and mission success. A Soldiers’ moral demeanor must reflect beliefs and principles, not just fear of chastisement from each other. Over time, Soldiers adhere to dedication to the oath and the Army values because they want to live virtuously and truly confine in them because they feel it is a reflective of themselves and who they represent. When people believe and practice the Army values, they become
Getting to know Soldiers on a personal level is essential when gauging their individual resilience. It is important for leaders to clearly articulate guidance and expectations, while creating an environment that welcomes constructive criticism and is open to change. Most Soldiers prefer to feel like part of the solution rather than part of the problem. When it is apparent to them that their suggestions and thoughts matter, Soldiers are more likely to be resilient and productive members of the
This is your initial counseling, as your direct supervisor and Team Leader. I will underline what is expected of you as my soldier.
The theme of Ernest Hemingway's “A Soldier’s Home” is one that is all too familiar. The ironic title suggests to the reader of a young Marine who returns home after the war where his existence is unnoticed and the true meaning of “home” is now lost. The short story is of Harold Krebs, a young Kansas City Methodist college student who returned to his home state of Oklahoma two years after the beginning of World War I. The internal struggle of adjusting post-war within Krebs is the main conflict of Hemingway’s story.
I believe that one’s character is partially developed based on their core values. I personally embody core values such as dependability, honesty, and commitment. There are other core values that I would say are necessary in order to fit the identity as a military professional, but those three values are the ones that define me as a future leader in the military. A leader should be dependable at least. As a leader in the military, you constantly will have subordinates who are facing trials and tribulations in which they will need a leader that they can trust and depend on. That follows right into my next core value that is honesty. Being honest is the only way to really earn someone’s trust. An individual will only follow in an environment where he or she knows that the one leading them is consistently honest. This environment would include a leader that refrains from deception by lying or
“Being a good military commander means Character is often demonstrated in how closely our actions, decisions, and relationships adhere to Army ethics and values” which was said by our former U.S army men at www.army.mil. It is always have an inspiration to follow, whether if its from a close friend or even a family
The day we join the military we take an oath to “obey those appointed over me”; thus beginning the journey on the path of followership. Too often we view followership more along the lines of sheep blindly following the leader, this is not the case. An effective follower
One objective that most consider applicable to mankind is that we are all on a search for something greater than ourselves. Consider a Profession of Arms being that greater calling. In this paper I will explain what it means to be a Profession, emphasize the Balancing Role of the Profession’s Leaders, the Army Professional Culture, and the Human Resource Sergeants Role in the Army Profession. Envision one of the greatest leagues of superheroes: The Avenger’s.
These values are galvanized in basic training and reinforced with comradery, to be effective we must believe in the goals of the team. Without the ability to assimilate into the organization, Army leadership cannot take holed and will result in a breakdown in morale and mission success. As an Army leader it is are responsibility to continuously monitor and reinforce this to our
1) 1.Examine the centralizing efforts in countries like France, Spain, and England. How and in what ways were they successful? Why was the Holy Roman Empire not as successful as other
Over the course of my thirty-eight months at West Point thus far, character development played a prominent role in my successes and failures alike. The Periodic Developmental Review (PDR) system helped me realize which areas needed focus and careful attention to capitalize on my potential as a future officer. The five facets of character – civic, social, performance, moral, and leadership – are essential groups of personality traits for any effective leader to have in mind when considering character development courses of action. In my experience, performance is the facet of character in which I am strongest, while I have several shortcomings in the leadership category, making it my weakest. In order to become a more capable leader of
The culture and climate of a well-disciplined unit will show apparent by strong core values and attributes displayed by its unit members. It all starts with the recruiter and potential applicant. Recruiting and processing qualified applicants with good moral values and strong character traits is where it starts. In addition, Basic Combat Training (BCT) needs to build upon character development, focus on strong leadership traits and instill the core values of the Army. The Army needs “standard bearers” and not Soldiers and Leaders, who choose the easy wrong over the hard right. Providing proper training and honest feedback will create competence in our military ethnics. We need Soldiers and Leaders of strong character that will teach,
It is my ambition to attend a military service academy for primarily one goal, to be the best officer I possibly can be. I believe that they produce the best officers because they are a full emersion into the military environment, as well as forcing you to perform under high amounts of pressure and the honor code. Coming from a civilian background I believe that the service academies would be able to turn me into a better officer than I would be if I went through a more relaxed ROTC program. The culture shock which I would experience would help to form me into a high caliber officer who could be relied on to accomplish the task at hand regardless of difficulty. The second reason why I would like the academies to become my route to officership
War has always been a terrible affair between societies. It can bring out the very best and the very worse in human beings. Whether it brings out the best or the worse in an individual soldier depends greatly on how their leaders or their society conditioned them beforehand. This has inspired the U.S. Army to emphasize character development prior to a unit’s deployment as a means of preparing soldiers for ethical challenges and to ensure that those soldiers demonstrate behaviors that align with the U.S. Army’s organizational values. This paper will explore the importance of ethical leadership, examine a historical event involving an ethical challenge, and discuss character development methods that prepare soldiers to address future ethical challenges with character, integrity, and distinction.
They lie trembling like lost leaves wavering in the winter wind, huddled in mazes 6ft deep and wearily watching their parallels – their equals - the enemy they were fooled into believing was their own. Slicing through their minds with iced breath and miserable tears echoes a haunting silence through the trenches and stretches an ominous calm across no man’s land as their wearied eyes refuse to drop for fear of attack. For fear of me. My arms tug on the wire dissociating me from them. My fingers twitch around the brambled, tangled metal. My legs pummel through their weak defences. They can’t stop me. The silence dies with the rumbling guns igniting more melancholy within their abject hearts while I rein over them with a military of grey striking them down in torrents of stringent massacre. Shots and flares and bullets and relief are fired to and thro; demons deliver death cloaked in inimitable white ice fabricated by my loyal army; explosions rock the frozen earth and liberate soldiers from living; tendrils of snow waltz in perfect unison across the symphony of demise that my breath sings; and I bring murderers to their knees. And I feel no remorse.
In July 2009, the Army began reclassing all 25F MOS’s to the newer 25N MOS’s, and while it included new technology and more advanced systems I found myself wanting a change. So after almost 6 years I decided to return to Fort Gordon, and reclass as a 25B, Information Technology Specialist in January of 2010. The training to become qualified as a 25B was drastically different than my previous MOS training. During the training, I received my COMTIA A+, N+, and SEC+. Aside from typical PC computer troubleshooting and repairs, we completed the Cisco Academy CCNA training courses, and complete several sections of Microsoft’s Certified Expert course during the training. We focused on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 administration, and while