Military studies The 7 Army Values

The United States nation over a generation, has been defended by soldiers who, daily,
dedicate their lives on very dangerous missions. These soldiers are bound by crucial values that
enable them to go for a mission and complete the mission according to their capacity. Moreover,
they protect the Nation so that their family, friends, and loved ones could enjoy their lives and
have happy moments together. This paper will focus on the army's main core values, which
include respect, loyalty, integrity, duty, personal courage, honor, and selfless service.

Loyalty
Complicated orders surround the life of a soldier. They go to battle amidst feeble hopes
of returning to their family and loved ones. The fundamental strategy that tutors use during
training is to teach the young soldiers the importance of loyalty in battle. There are several
operations that a soldier may be tempted to forsake the fundamental values that hold the army
firm and to ensure that an operation is done successfully. Besides, according to (Kusch 2011),
loyalty has always been present in all warrior societies. Moreover, Kusch continues to clarify
that loyalty among the soldiers increases the fighting effectiveness and ensure cohesion amidst
the chaotic environment. When it comes to the army leaders, they sacrifice a lot of their time to
ensure that his/her soldiers get the right orders and protect the soldiers during an operation.

Duty
Every individual, whether employed or not, must always be responsible for something.
Duty in the army eco-system entails obedience and discipline despite difficulty or danger. The
life of a soldier is entangled with a dangerous environment throughout. They handle sensitive
equipment that can lead to the loss of countless lives of civilians or even within the army bases
when in the wrong hands or misused. All soldiers have to be responsible for their actions and always maintain a high level of discipline and obedience to ensure that an operation, however rooted in their duty, he claims that no enemy defensive line can be impossible to breach.
Moreover, soldiers are always motivated by their responsibility to keep their country and loved
ones safe, to wake up another day to enjoy their lives with family and friends.

Respect
Above all the core values of the army, respect supersedes them all. There will never be a
cohesive flow of information if the soldiers are disrespectful. Moreover, there can never be peace
in the army bases if the soldiers are disrespectful. The soldiers are meant to take orders and work
on the orders to the best of their abilities. Imagine being in an operation where the soldier faces
death. It is out of respect and loyalty to his/her country that will make the soldiers not cooperate
with the enemy. According to (Brænder and Holsting, 2020), the key reason for the fall of the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan invasion in the 1980s was the disrespect for local population. The
value of respect is clearly stated in General order Number 1. The army also needs to show
respect to the culture. For instance, in Afghanistan, the USA army was never to enter the mosque
unless under imminent threat and are reminded to treat the village elders with deference (Kusch,
2011).

Selfless Service
According to (Kusch 2011), selfless service on many occasions is generally confused by
soldiers as a sacrifice. Kusch continues to define selfless service to entail more than just
sacrifice. For instance, selfless service are those activities that a soldier might do to ensure the
betterment of the Nation. Kusch claims that even an act of providing candy to a young girl or
fixing a car knowing that their friends will ride it the next day or the act of carrying the extra weight of defensive gear to protect his fellow soldiers. All those acuities are vital and will always
earn the soldier's respect from the community.

Honor
In the modern world, honor has wholly lost its power and reverence. However, in the
USA army, honor has been a bottom rock for the soldiers to perform their duties diligently. In
the battlefield, the real and purest honor is the soldiers honoring one of their fallen soldiers
amidst bitter cold November in a howling Afghanistan wind or courtesies of giving meaning and
respect to a truly tragic event. Even though the United States may honor its fallen soldiers, this
may nov be enough for the soldiers who were present on the battlefield. Another aspect of honor
is the due respect the soldiers respect the flag of the Nation. The victims of both world war and
the fallen soldiers. (Kusch, 2011), For instance, claims that are doing the right thing for a fallen
soldier do not indulge in vengeful acts and always obeying the orders.

Integrity
According to (Lausmann 2020), doing the right thing even when no one is looking is the
true definition of integrity. There have been several occasions in the United States army bases
where a breach of integrity has been experienced. The publication of such a breach can
overshadow a significant operation that the soldiers are working on. Integrity is one fundamental
aspect that soldiers need to observe at all costs during their operations. Integrity falls under
several occasions; for instance, some simple tasks as calibrating an M2 before going to a mission
is itself a very act of integrity (Kusch, 2011). Some other scenarios where integrity should be
observed is the army officers choosing the hard decisions over easy and wrong ones.

 

Personal Courage
Personal courage is another cornerstone value that gives the soldiers courage to combat
an enemy. During an operation, one can be tempted to flee for his/her life due to the enemy's
overwhelming power. However, it is due to personal courage that will enable the soldier to stand
his/her ground and combat the enemy in case of an imminent threat that will endanger him pr his
fellow friend on the battlefield. Courage is one critical element that a soldier should have. This
will enable the soldier to protect himself and his friends. This is also as important as to the
political leaders and the public discourse. According to (Lausmann 2020), he states that courage
is the only heart of the American soldiers towards a promise.
As the general public, we need to recognize the efforts and dedication that the army
soldiers dedicate to protect our Nation in times of terror. Everyone is afraid and always tremble
in the face of death, but these soldiers put their lives on the line for our own sake and the
country. The core values have been a holding block for our soldier's unity and courage to combat
the terrorist attacks in the United States, hence we as the general public need to honor and
respect the soldiers who had fallen for the sake of our safety.

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References

Brænder, M., & Holsting, V. S. (2020). The Power of Experience? Innovative and Authoritative
Leadership Values Among Danish Army Cadets. Armed Forces & Society,
0095327X20951435.
Gingerich, E. F. (2020). Values-Based Leadership: Exploring Exemplary Approaches. In New
Horizons in Positive Leadership and Change (pp. 159-173). Springer, Cham.
Lausmann, N. R. (2020). A Study of the Impact of Core Values on Leadership Development and
Performance in Military Trainees.