Army ROTC is a college elective that teaches you the skills needed for a
successful career. You will combine classroom time with hands-on experience
and learn leadership and management skills. Since ROTC is an elective, you can
try it out for up to two years with no obligation. Whatever you decide, the
experience you will gain in Army ROTC will give you the confidence you need
to be successful in college and beyond. Whether you choose to pursue a career in
the Army or in the corporate world, Army ROTC prepares you unlike any other
college course you can take.
PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP
• Know yourself and seek self-improvement
• Be technically and tactically proficient
• Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions
• Make sound and timely decisions
• Set the example
• Know your Soldiers and look out for their well-being
• Keep your subordinates informed
• Develop a sense of responsibility in your subordinates
• Ensure that the task is understood, supervised, and accomplished
• Build the team
• Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities
Leadership is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation, while operating to accomplish the mission and improve the organization.Within a unit, leaders are responsible for the cohesion and disciplined proficiency that enable Soldiers to effectively train for, fight, and win the nation’s wars. But more fundamentally, Army leaders at every level have a solemn duty to embrace values. As Heraclitus said more than 2,000 years ago, “A man’s character is his fate,” and the destiny of the led is bound to thel eader. Those Soldiers whom sergeants train, captains maneuver, and generals commit are, first, America’s sons and daughters. Given the great responsibilityl eaders have to the nation and its people, the Army is committed to values-based leadership that reaches for excellence every day.
ARMY VALUES
The Army has approved seven Army Values and their definitions. These values are posted and displayed in specific order (Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal courage) to form the acronym LDRSHIP, using the first letter of each value.
Loyalty
Loyalty is the faithful adherence to a person, unit, or the Army. It is the thread that binds our actions together and causes us to support each other, our superiors, our family, and our country.Supporting the chain of command 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 Soldiers, the unit, our superiors, our family, and the Army, we must be sure the “correct ordering” of our obligations is being accomplished and not the easiest. There is no clear rule as to which comes first. Sometimes it will be the service, sometimes the family, and sometimes the Soldier. Open criticism and being disloyal to leaders, Soldiers, and the Army destroys the foundation of the organization and results in diminished mission accomplishment. However, loyalty should not be confused with blind obedience to orders. We all take the oath to obey the orders of the superior’s appointed over us “according to law and regulations.”
Duty
Duty is the legal or moral obligation to accomplish all assigned or implied tasks to the fullest of your ability. Every Solider 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 Soldiers’ performance. It also requires a leader to take the initiative and anticipate requirements based on the situation. One Soldier may think that duty means putting in time from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. daily. Another may believe that duty is selflessly serving his or her country and unit, and Soldiers within the unit. Duty means accomplishing all assigned tasks to the best of your ability. The quote, “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country” is an example of unquestionable commitment to duty. You may be asked to put the nation’s welfare and mission accomplishment ahead of the personal safety of you and your Soldiers. Soldiers and leaders must have a deep commitment to duty and what is best for the unit and the Army. This will 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 accepting others and acknowledging their value without feeling obligated to embrace all of their ideas. All of us possess special skills and adhere to certain values. Without respect for all other individuals, there would not be a cohesive and team-oriented Army.
Selfless Service
Selfless service is placing your duty before your personal desires. It is the ability to endure severe hardships for 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 know our service to the nation, state, and community to be an especially valuable contribution. Imagine a unit where the value of selfless service was not instilled. The unit receives a call to active duty and has only two weeks to deploy. Instead of the unit working as a cohesive team in preparation for deployment, many Soldiers start to actively seek ways to avoid deployment. Remember, the selfless Soldier 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, Men, and Me” still rings true today. Selfless service is the force that encourages every Soldier. It is critical to the spirit 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 your are compromising your values, then you need to seriously assess the situation and take steps to correct or report any issues identified. Pressures that can challenge our ethical reasoning include self-interest, peer pressure, pressure from subordinates, or pressure from superiors. If a superior asks you to look good on an inspection by “doctoring records,” then you should, based on the Army Values, challenge his request. As previously stated, 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 reflect great honor on 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. Having integrity and being honest in everything you say and do builds trust. As a counter example, your artillery crew accidentally damages an expensive artillery round of ammunition. This will result in an investigation. Instead of telling the battery commander that you damaged the round, you decide to stretch the truth and tell him that the round was defective. When the battery commander discovers the truth, he will question your integrity 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 a leader, you should know that 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 it is unpopular. It takes special courage to make and support unpopular decisions. Others may encourage you to support slightly unethical or convenient solutions. Do not compromise your professional ethics or your individual values and moral principles. If you believe that you are right after serious 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.
