The Profession of Arms Summarized
The Profession of Arms is an Army White Paper that discusses the Profession of Arms, Professional Soldiers, and the Army Ethic (CAPE, 2010, p. 1).
This paper defines a profession as producing uniquely expert work, requiring years of study and practice, earning trust of clients through ethic, and using intrinsic motivations (CAPE, 2010, p. 2). The Army meets the four criteria to qualify as a profession. First, the Profession of Arms has a unique purpose that no other organization can fulfill. Soldiers perform the essential task of fighting for and defending the United States (CAPE, 2010, p. 2). Secondly, the military requires years of training as well as tests and certifications before members are accepted
The Army White Paper, The Profession of Arms, provides an insight into what it means for the Army to be a Profession of Arms, what it means to be a professional Soldier, and how Soldiers individually and as a profession meet these aspirations after a decade of war. The Army is made up of numerous jobs that have multiple roles. One in particular is the Human Resource Sergeant. HR Sergeants are a profession of its own; they provide a broader framework for the Profession of Arms, balance the role of the Profession’s leaders, and are greatly influenced by the Army’s professional culture.
Profession is a paid occupation that requires a long period of intense training to become an expert in a particular field. Professionals provide a service. Their experience and knowledge base are trusted by those who seek advice The Army as a Profession of Arms provides a service. Its services are unique, it provides security, ethical professionalism in lethality weapons and operations. The Army profession and professionals are diverse, that are trained in many task.
The Profession of Arms what it means to be a profession and if the Army meets this condition. Three main questions asked, what does it mean for the Army to be a Profession of Arms? What does it mean to be a professional Soldier? How are we as individual professionals and as a profession meeting these aspirations? (CG TRADOC, 2010, p.1)
A Profession of Arms. It is a title that the United States Army currently holds. A Profession that is uniquely separates us based on the lethality of our weapons and operations. Many factors are involved that make what we do in the Army a Profession and not just a job or an occupation. To maintain this idea that what we do is a Profession takes understanding what a Profession is, a tenuous balance by leadership and the culture of the professionals within. As a Human Resource Sergeants, we do not carry the Arms that grant us our lethality, yet we still have a vital role within this Profession of Arms.
Frequent deployments and changing times created a distraction in the Professional aspect of the Army. The distraction created a deficiency in maintaining the highest standards of the Profession of Arms. In an effort to refine their understanding of the Army Profession, the Secretary of the Army and the Army Chief of Staff directed that a review of the Army Profession be conducted, thus the creation of the Profession of Arms Campaign.
To understand whether the Army is a profession of arms, we must understand the term profession and what it takes to be a professional. “Professions use inspirational, intrinsic factors like the life-long pursuit of expert knowledge, the privilege and honor of service, camaraderie, and the status of membership in an ancient, honorable, and revered occupation. This is what motivates true professionals; it‘s why a profession like ours is
A Professional Soldier is someone that makes a commitment of servitude to his or her country. An individual willing to adapt to the nation’s ever-changing needs. A soldier that makes a lifelong commitment to learning and becoming a professional in the Army. The Profession of Arms in the Army means to establish firm ground work of character, ethics and unmatched adaptability in times of warfare. Developing the American Soldier and understanding the Profession of Arms will give insight to how it will benefit future generations in the Army.
Stewardship of the Army Profession is the last of the Five Essential Characteristics of the Army Profession, but in terms of importance, it is just as, if not more important than the other four. The United States Army’s ADRP-1, or Army Doctrinal Reference Publication 1, even defines stewardship as “the responsibility of Army professionals to ensure the profession maintains its five essential characteristics now and into the future”. Such importance is placed on this characteristic because Stewardship of the Army Profession is the one that ensures the other four are maintained. I sought out the definition of stewardship because despite having spent almost three and a half years and West Point, I was not entirely sure what the doctrine behind Stewardship was. In doing this, I felt like I was better prepared for both this paper and ensuring that the corrections I made were stewarding the profession. With this newly acquired knowledge, I set out to make my corrections.
According to TRACDOC commander General Robert Cone, it takes “years of hard work to reemphasize training and doctrine and years of individuals seeking to professionally improve themselves and the profession” to reach the desired end state of masters in the profession of arms.
As HR SGTs on top of serving the people of the United States we serve those who decided to take the same path than us as a Soldier. In the Profession of Arms as in any other profession, we as the HR professionals earn the trust of our clients through our work ethic. All “professionals require years of study and practice before they are capable of expert work”. (The Profession of Arms, 2010) In the Profession of Arms is no different, for us the HR SGTs is no different. The Profession of Arms is the profession responsible for the security of the American society following and holding the values of this nation. There is no greater honor or pride than to serve one’s
Professionals in the United States Army stand apart from others engaged in particular careers in the civilian world. While many vocations contain some of the characteristics of professional, a lot of careers do not include all of the elements necessary to distinguish themselves as being as close to a professional as a United States soldier. Professionalism grows depending on the time and service they have in the Army. A professional has specialized knowledge and skill which can only be acquired through prolonged education and experience. Such skill and experience form the basis of objective standards of professional competence that separate the practicing professional from their peers and
The term professional has always been loosely associated with the Army since its official organization in 1775. The title of Army professional in the past was restricted to only the officer ranks discarding Soldiers and the Non-Commissioned Officers. The fluctuating opinions of the professional Army was mostly due to social definitions of a professional, and the Army’s ability to meet its criteria. The Army is a profession because it requires specialized skills and human expertise, establishes ethical behavior for its members, and contain members who embrace and are stewards of the culture.
A group of strong and honorable individuals that are professionals in the Profession of Arms protects the United States of America. We are professionals because we choose to dedicate our lives to our Nation and its people. All Army professionals meet the Army’s certification criteria of competence, character and commitment. The five essentials characteristics of the Army Profession are trust, military expertise, honorable service, esprit de corps and stewardship of the profession. By having these characteristics and practicing them in our daily lives, we have earned the trust of our leaders, peers, subordinates and the citizens of our nation.
Webster’s dictionary defines the word profession as a type of job that requires special education, training, or skill. Many Soldiers would not consider the Army as a profession but a way of life. Some think the word profession belongs to everyday jobs like a plumber, mechanic, or doctor. Dr. Don M. Snider stated “the Army is a profession because of the expert work it produces, because the people in the Army develop themselves to be professionals, and because the Army certifies them as such” (Snider, D. M. 2008). In October 2010, the Secretary of the Army directed the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) to lead an Army wide assessment of the state of the Army Profession. We have been at war as a Country for over a decade and the Army
What is a profession? First and foremost let’s look at how we can define a profession from a general point. A profession is an occupation requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation. Profession doesn’t mean only to be perfectly prepared on the basis of theoretical aspects, but to meet the strict criteria as well. A good professional should be a leader and leadership means solving problems. Leaders can be assessed according to the amount of resolved problems. Everybody has a tendency to be successful, in trying this; a successful leader has to be confident in his decisions. It follows from that, that generally we can consider the leader as an expert, a matured personality, somebody who meets the high