Posted on Feb 28, 2015
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Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage.
I recently heard of a situation, where 2 soldiers were recognized for speaking up about a potential SHARP incident, going out of their way to say something, when they could have stayed quiet.
It got me to thinking about the Army values (or the values of any service), and about what are the most under or overrated values of any service.
The particular situation make me realize what I believe are the 2 most underrated, underused values today: personal courage and selfless service.
What do I mean by this?
Personal courage: doing what is right, doing what you need to do, even when you don't benefit, even when it costs you. How many SHARP cases happen because someone didn't want to speak up, thought it wasn't their place, thought it would be too intrusive?
Selfless Service: living and serving entirely for others, even at cost to self. How many SHARP cases happened because someone decided to sleep in for the night, instead of being a DD, or helping to watch out for their friends?
What do you think are the most underrated or overrated values, and why? I understand that each should be held equally, but what do you think often gets pushed to the background, even at harm to others? What do you think gets pushed to the forefront, neglecting other equally important values?
I recently heard of a situation, where 2 soldiers were recognized for speaking up about a potential SHARP incident, going out of their way to say something, when they could have stayed quiet.
It got me to thinking about the Army values (or the values of any service), and about what are the most under or overrated values of any service.
The particular situation make me realize what I believe are the 2 most underrated, underused values today: personal courage and selfless service.
What do I mean by this?
Personal courage: doing what is right, doing what you need to do, even when you don't benefit, even when it costs you. How many SHARP cases happen because someone didn't want to speak up, thought it wasn't their place, thought it would be too intrusive?
Selfless Service: living and serving entirely for others, even at cost to self. How many SHARP cases happened because someone decided to sleep in for the night, instead of being a DD, or helping to watch out for their friends?
What do you think are the most underrated or overrated values, and why? I understand that each should be held equally, but what do you think often gets pushed to the background, even at harm to others? What do you think gets pushed to the forefront, neglecting other equally important values?
Values
Honor
Duty
Service
SHARP
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 7
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Many seem to underrate Integrity which I believe is the building block of all the rest. While all are important, maybe Loyalty is the overrated one in the group. If you don't have integrity, the rest will eventually fall by the wayside.
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Most underrated and underused - DUTY
DUTY means doing what is expected, when no one is looking, whether or not you receive recognition or praise.
DUTY means sacrificing the time and energy necessary to accomplish the mission.
DUTY means seeing to it your subordinates and leaders get the time and resources they need in order to accomplish the mission, without unduly sacrificing their time and energy.
Duty means supporting the decisions of those above you, even when you disagree.
We have fallen away from this badly, as the image of self-serving behavior has trumped the ideal of teamwork and pride in unit accomplishment.
DUTY means doing what is expected, when no one is looking, whether or not you receive recognition or praise.
DUTY means sacrificing the time and energy necessary to accomplish the mission.
DUTY means seeing to it your subordinates and leaders get the time and resources they need in order to accomplish the mission, without unduly sacrificing their time and energy.
Duty means supporting the decisions of those above you, even when you disagree.
We have fallen away from this badly, as the image of self-serving behavior has trumped the ideal of teamwork and pride in unit accomplishment.
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That's a good question, SPC D W. I've heard it asked with a slightly different angle on military boards. It's kind of hard, in my opinion, to criticize any of the Army values. That said, I think CPT Richard Riley makes an excellent point about integrity being kind of a cornerstone value on which the others build.
For me, respect stands out as central to being a good Soldier and a good leader. Again, though, all of those values are important.
For me, respect stands out as central to being a good Soldier and a good leader. Again, though, all of those values are important.
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