LOYALTY

Loyalty is the faithful adherence to a person or unit.  It is the thread that binds our actions together and causes us to support each other, our superiors, our family, and our country.  Supporting a superior or a program even though it is being openly criticized by peers or subordinates requires courage and loyalty.  A loyal intermediate would try to explain the rationale behind the decision and support the decision maker.  When we establish loyalty to our subordinates, peers, the unit, our superiors, and our family we must be sure the "correct ordering" of our obligations are being accomplished and not the easiest.  There is no clear rule as to which comes first.   Sometimes it will be the unit, sometimes the family, and sometimes the individual.   Open criticism and being disloyal to leaders, individuals, and the unit destroys the foundation of the organization and results in diminished mission accomplishment.   However, loyalty should not be confused with blind obedience to illegal orders.  

DUTY

Duty is the legal or moral obligation to accomplish all assigned or implied tasks to the fullest of your ability.  Every individual must do what needs to be done without having to be told to do it.  Duty requires a willingness to accept full responsibility for your actions and for your subordinate's performance.  It also requires a leader to take the initiative and anticipate requirements based on the situation.  One cadet may think that duty means participating in class.  Another may believe that duty is selflessly serving their battalion, school and peers by actively participating in school or battalion activities.  Duty means accomplishing all assigned tasks to the best of your ability.  The quote "I regret that I have but one life to give to my country" is an example of an unquestionable commitment to duty.  Individuals and leaders must have a deep commitment to duty and what is best for the unit.  This helps to ensure that you make the right decision when it really counts.

RESPECT

Respect is treating others with consideration and honor.  It is the ability to accept and value other individuals.  Respect begins with a fundamental understanding that all people possess worth as human beings.   Respect is developed by accepting others and acknowledging their worth without feeling obligated to embrace all of their ideas.  All of us possess special skills and adhere to certain values.  In order to have a cohesive, team-oriented unit, people must have respect for each other.

SELFLESS SERVICE

Selfless service is placing your duty before your personal desires.  It is the ability to endure hardships and insurmountable odds because of love of fellow soldiers and our country.  Placing your duty before your personal desires has always been key to the uniqueness of the American soldier.  As citizen soldiers, we claim our service to the nation, state, and community to be an especially valuable contribution.  Remember, the selfless cadet does not make decisions and take actions designed to promote self, further a career, or enhance personal comfort.  For leaders, the age-old phrase of "Mission First and People Always" still rings true today.  Selfless service is the force that encourages every soldier.  It is critical to the esprit and well being of military organizations.  By serving selflessly while on and off duty, we greatly enhance our value to our fellow citizens.

HONOR

Honor is living up to the Army Values.  It starts with being honest with one's self and being truthful and sincere in all of our actions.  As General Douglas MacArthur once said "the untruthful soldier trifles with the lives of his countrymen and the honor and safety of his country." Being honest with one's self is perhaps the best way to live the Army Values.  If something does not feel right to you or you feel that you have to compromise your values, then you need to seriously assess the situation and take steps to correct or report the issue.  Pressures that can challenge our ethical reasoning include self-interest, peer pressure, pressure from subordinates or pressure from superiors.  Honor is defined as living up to the Army values.   Maintaining respect, consideration, integrity, honesty and nobleness will ensure that you and your military organization will reflect great honor for your fellow soldier, the nation, state, and local community.

INTEGRITY

Integrity means to firmly adhere to a code of moral and ethical principles.  Every soldier must possess high personal moral standards and be honest in word and deed.   Living and speaking with integrity is very hard.  You must live by your word for everything, no buts, and no excuses.  Having integrity and being honest in everything you say and do builds trust.  For example, you forget to lock your car and your field equipment is stolen.  If you do not accept responsibility for the loss and instead decide to stretch the truth and you are found out, your integrity will by questioned from that moment on.  Integrity is the basis for trust and confidence that must exist among members of the Army.  It is the source for great personal strength and is the foundation for organizational effectiveness.  As leaders, all soldiers are watching and looking to see that you are honest and live by your word.  If you make a mistake, you should openly acknowledge it, learn from it, and move forward.

PERSONAL COURAGE

Physical courage is overcoming fears of bodily harm while performing your duty.   Moral courage is overcoming fears of other than bodily harm while doing what is right even if unpopular.  Practicing physical courage can be as little as overcoming one's fear of the rappelling tower or rock wall.  Moral courage is not compromising your professional ethics or your individual values and moral principles.  If you believe you are right after sober consideration, hold to your position.  Practicing physical and moral courage in our daily lives builds a strong and honorable character.  We expect and encourage candor and integrity from all soldiers.  Taking the immediate and "right" actions in a time of conflict will save lives.