Values and the American Soldier

Then Secretary of the Army John 0. Marsh Jr. contributed the following article to open the November 1986 edition of Military Review. The secretary addresses "values," the Army theme for 1986, and perhaps explains why the All-Volunteer Force was ultimately the success it is today. IN 1981, WE SOUGHT to revitalize the spirit of the US Army with the first Army theme: "Yorktown-Spirit of Victory." Succeeding themes emphasized the need for the Army to remain physically fit at all times, the excellence the American public expects of soldiers and our commitment to families and to leadership. Army themes are designed to draw attention to a particular fact of our institution and, each year, earlier themes were "rolled up" into the new theme. Therefore, the spirit of Yorktown continues in today's Army. That spirit is distinctively American and springs from a fabric of native values that together have produced an Army with special qualities that are its strength and the strength of the nation. To understand such concepts as victory, caring and leadership, one must understand values and be able to make value judgments. Those are two reasons General John A. Wickham Jr. and I chose "Values" as the 1986 Army theme. Why does a soldier serve? What makes our system of government and our way of life something worth living and possibly dying for? Are we, as a society, any different from other societies around the world? Finally, if we are different, how, in what ways, and what does this distinctiveness mean to our military service? The answers to these questions are wrapped up in this year's theme. Values show us where we have been as a people and help direct us into the future. We are in the closing years of the 20th century, little more than 13 years to the second millennium. No one believes that, in the year 2000, events in Central America, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East will remain the same as they are today. How they change will be determined, in large measure, by what we do or fail to do within the next few years. We actually have the capability to influence the course of the next century as we face the struggle of contrasting values between the world's two great social systems. While our country holds the innate worth of the individual and proclaims a nation that is "of the people, by the people and for the people," the Soviets hold the state as supreme. As we examine values in our Armed Forces, we recognize two separate tiers. Tier one values are systemic to all military organizations of all nations. Tier two values are distinctly American and make our soldiers unique. Armies of all nations embrace values such as discipline, stamina, technical and tactical skills, loyalty, duty and courage. During the American Revolution, British soldiers were ordered up Bunker (Breed's) Hill. Those soldiers, carrying 75 pounds of equipment in hot weather, were ultimately successful despite withering colonial fire. The discipline and stamina they demonstrated are essential values in any military force. Another key value in the military is professional competence-that is, proficiency in tactical and technical skills. Throughout history, soldiers and their leaders have always been expected to know the profession of arms and to be skillful at it. But the American soldier is different from these soldiers of other lands and other times. The American soldier has embraced these tier one values because of his profession, but he is also an exemplar of what I call tier two values. These values are uniquely American. Our military has its genesis in the American Revolution-a revolution that was not just a political upheaval. It marked a radical change in the social structure of nations and individuals. The roots of the American experience go back to our Judeo-Christian heritage to such statements of values as the Ten Commandments and the golden rule. In the Beatitudes is the great statement that "the meek shall inherit the earth. …