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As the top Soldiers on post vie for the coveted title of “Best Warrior” this week. The competition highlights the need for leaders to be great stewards of the Army profession.
“We are the people’s Army, and we always have been,” said Gen. Mark Milley, Chief of Staff of the Army, in a video. “We come from the people and we serve the people. We have to maintain the trust of the American People. Right now we have it, but trust is a fragile thing, and anyone who breaks trust is chipping away at that trust. It is a powerful bond but a fragile bond as well.”
The U.S. Army and Fort Jackson are no different – they are ultimately responsible to the American people. Fort Jackson has recently introduced a leadership forum to discuss the stewardship of the Army profession to improve the professional behaviors, good order and discipline of the organization.
We have to “constantly look at it, realizing and understanding that this is our nation’s Army,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Lamont Christian, Fort Jackson senior enlisted leader. “We are here for our country. That is what it boils down to. This is not my Army – it’s the citizens’ Army. That is why I have to and am obligated to do right by them. That’s what Soldiers really need to understand when they join this profession.
“It’s not a job where they can say, ‘It is a nine to five and I’m done.’ They have to understand there is much more to it than that.”
The push to become better stewards of the Army profession started as a facilitated discussion held after the Sexual Assault Review Board between installation senior leadership in an effort to change the basic culture of Fort Jackson and combat bad behaviors among Soldiers.
Mike Ryan, who developed Fort Jackson’s leadership program, said being a good steward of the Army profession is one part of Maj. Gen. Pete Johnson’s, post commander’s, leadership development strategy. After the SARB, Army Training Center, brigade, battalion, the post’s “G” staff and select leaders would gather together for sessions on leadership and to discuss ways to professionally develop subordinates with information Ryan took from Army Regulation 600-100 – Army Profession and Leadership Policy, and from the Center of Army Profession and Ethics.
The goal of this leadership strategy is to “develop trusted leaders of character, competence, and commitment who clearly provide purpose, direction, motivation, and vision to their units and teams while executing their missions,” Johnson wrote in a memorandum.
The Army profession has five characteristics including trust, military expertise, honorable service, esprit de corps and stewardship. The profession of arms and the Army Civilian Corps make up the two communities in the profession.
Being a steward of the Army profession is prevalent in how the service brings both civilian and Soldiers into the Family. Ethics plays an important role in how the stewardship is developed. Army White Paper, “The Army’s Framework for Character Development” defines the Army Ethic as including “the moral principles that guide our decisions and actions as we fulfill our purpose: to support and defend the Constitution and our way of life. Living the Army Ethic is the basis for our mutual trust with each other and the American people.”
“When we talk about this stewardship of the Army profession it is really about the intangible stuff that is not even necessarily written in a book,” Christian explained. “How do you integrate and move people into your organization? Do you just shake their hand and say hello? Do you say, ‘Hey, welcome to the organization. We have an event today that we would like you to participate in.” How is that done? Is it different?”
When people are brought into a unit properly they assimilate quickly to group norms and affects the organization’s overall character.
According to Army doctrine, ADRP 1, The Army Profession, a person’s character is defined by one’s “true nature including identity, sense of purpose, values, virtues, morals, and conscience.” ADRP 6-22 states the character of an individual will determine their adherence to Army Ethics.
Christian said that part of being a strong steward of the profession is to help mentor Soldiers to take up the mantel after current leaders are gone.
“It’s a big challenge to integrate past experiences into current experiences,” he said noting that leaders must pass on acceptable behaviors. “One thing I often talk about is, you know, things that are done in 1775, as in training our Army, would not have been acceptable during 1965. Things done in 1965 would not have been acceptable in 1985. And of course things done in 1985 are not acceptable here in 2018. Our modeled behaviors will continue to make that evolutionary change in our military.
“In the Army we recognize our most valuable resource is our Soldier,” he said. “You have to be reminded of that. That is why we go through this process of the stewardship of the Army profession.”
| Date Taken: | 09.01.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 12.30.2017 19:37 |
| Story ID: | 260987 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 514 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Jackson aims to become stewards of Army profession, by Robert Timmons, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
