Military Personal Values

For as long as I can remember, I feel as though I have been raised in a military environment. At a very young age my parents taught me to value discipline, manners, and to show and treat people with respect. In addition to these ‘staples’ of my upbringing, excelling in academics and on the athletic fields was where I further grew as a leader and learned to work with others to further distinguish myself from my peers. I knew based on my priorities and values that I was different from others by not only the way I carried myself but how I spoke to my peers and elders and the respect that I commanded. Perhaps those values were aided by both my grandfather’s serving in the military and my uncle attending West Point, a graduate of the class of

emphasize the importance of asking questions to clarify assigned tasks. I will teach my Soldiers that

In the United States Army we are taught to live by the Seven Army Values. They are broken down to us in the acronym ‘LDRSHIP’ which is short for Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. We are all taught these 7 Army values repeatedly from day one in the United States Army. First we memorize these values. Then we are trained to live by them. All of these 7 values coincide with each other, and play an important roll in our Army lives. These 7 Army Values also play well into life outside the Army in our personal life. People sometimes do not realize the importance these values have on the way we are viewed by the people who look up to the men and woman who are privileged enough to represent the

In the US army we are taught to live by the 7 army values. They are broken down to us in the acronym ‘LDRSHIP’. Loyalty “Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. constitution, the Army, and other soldiers.” Duty “Fulfill your obligations.” Respect “Treat people as they should be treated.” Selfless Service “Put the welfare of the nation, the Army and your subordinates above your own.” Honor “Live up to the army values.”

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.

The Values identified, manifested and espoused by the US Army are: Loyalty, Duty Respect, Service &Stewardship, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. These are defined by our US Army as:

It takes a lot to be a leader. It takes experience, communication, positivity, passion, and much more to be an effective leader. Communication, positivity, and passion are the three most important characteristics to me. I represent all three of these with great pride. I communicate effectively whether it be in the classroom, on

The seven Army values are the backbone of the United States Army. They are broken down to us in the acronym ‘LDRSHIP’. Loyalty, “Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. constitution, the Army, and other soldiers.” Duty, “Fulfill your obligations.” Respect, “Treat people as they should be treated.” Selfless Service, “Put the welfare of the nation, the Army and your subordinates above your own.” Honor, “Live up to the army values.” Integrity, “Do what’s right legally and morally.” and Personal Courage “Face fear, danger or adversity (physical or moral).”

of Soldiers, Families, and Civilians, and to enable unit readiness. While the delegation of senior command authority is

A leader for a good or bad cause, is a person who can gather different individuals under one accord and move towards the same objective. They are good at inspiring people. You may not always agree with their perspective. However, leaders are good at bringing people together. All exceptional leaders past and present possess integrity. It takes a strong individual to be a leader, but it takes an even stronger person to be a leader with integrity. A part of being a leader is setting standards for others to follow. Integrity is a characteristic that does not happen overnight. It is embedded in all outstanding leaders. Knowing to do the right thing when no one is watching takes strong determination. Talk show host Oprah Winfrey once described

Finally, personal values hold a key place in my leadership. I will continue to place the mission first and place the needs of Soldiers above my own. As previously mentioned, everyone is not built to lead; however, I will do my best to build future and better leaders. I know that we, as a committed team, can work together and overcome any obstacles that stands in our way and build a better Army for tomorrow.

As an individual in the Army you have the duty of being a soldier but as a leader you have to be a soldier and a leader. Without being a soldier you cannot accomplish your duty as a leader. Being a leader in the Army is a duty in itself. You could say that you have 2 duties. That is why these two are closely related to each other. Another Army value that would go together with duty would be selfless service. Selfless service is the act of putting once self before a particular group. The group that we as soldiers put ourselves before is the citizens of our country and other counties that need our assistance such as Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the value that would instill duty in us as a soldier. Without selfless service, we would not be in the Army performing our duties today. I don’t think I need to state and example because is already something we doing by being in the military. The last Army value that would relate to duty would be personal courage. Personal courage is the act of actually having the strength, physically and mentally, to perform your duties as a soldier. I think it is the most important value next to duty. Without personal courage you would not be able to pick up a weapon to defend this country which is our primary as soldiers. It facilitates our responsibilities as soldiers. Without it we would not have the courage to be at our appointed place of duty. Duty is not just related to our Army values. It is also defined the Soldier’s

After serving over 15 years in the Ohio Army National Guard, I have experienced many different leadership styles. Some styles have had a positive impact on both my personal life and my military life. While others, have had a negative influence. My experience with different leadership styles has taught me what type of leader I strive to be and highlights the impact I have on others as a peer and leader. These experiences helped define me as not only a leader, but as a person. I have been given the privilege of influencing young Soldiers and our future leaders. As a leader I value integrity, hard work, and service.

When a leader can instill trust in their soldier and get them to do something without instilling fear; the work quality will be greater and the output will be greater. Why? Because a soldier will trust a good leader’s word and even if the leader is not around all the time, the soldier will want to continue to do the right thing because the integrity and trust of the leader is greatly valued to the soldier and will conclusively generate the foundation of loyalty.

I know that my inability to be at the right place, at the right time, in the right uniform, and with the right attitude reflected poorly on my leadership which is something that I never wanted to happen. I also know that I showed a lack of leadership, selfless service, and responsibility, which are three of my army values.