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Im here to talk on the importance of obeying orders. Obedience is important in the military way of life, in and outside the work place. Obeying orders is what allows us to operate in an organized and effective manner which is very important during these challenging times that the military goes through. While an individual can question the notion of obedience in daily life, this luxury is often not available in the military where the goals and aims requires a smooth internal functioning and well planned out coordination.
Indeed, many of the standards that would be frowned pon outside the military are essential to the military work success. For example, punishment is not deemed to be a positive occurrence in an average person’s life, whereas the military guide maintains that punishment strengthens one’s determination and discipline and enables a person to learn and fully take the importance of following orders in. Not following orders is not an optional choice that recruits can make upon Joining the army. To obey someone means to comply with or fulfill the commands, restrictions, wishes, or instructions of that specific person.
We are taught as children to obey our igher-ups. Starting from our parents, teachers, managers, police officers and etc… So how does this relate to the military? Well, when a person enlists in the United States Military, active duty or reserve, they take the following oath; “l do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform
Code of Military Justice. ” Right there you are making a promise to the United States Military. Before you even put on the uniform, you promise you’ll obey the orders of the President and the orders of the officers appointed over you. Military discipline and effectiveness is built on the foundation of obedience to orders. Brand new privates are taught to obey, immediately and without question, orders from their superiors, right from day one of boot camp. Almost every soldier can tell you that obedience was drilled into their heads at one point in Basic Training.
For example, no alking in the chow line, don’t talk with your hands, head and eyes forward, no smiling, stand a parade rest, and of course the famous mies Drill Sergeant / No Drill Sergeant”. Those are Just the simple orders you are made to obey in the military. Greater orders mean bigger consequences. Military members who fail to obey the lawful orders of their superiors risk serious consequences. Seems like pretty good motivation to obey any order you’re given, right? Nope. These articles require the obedience of LAWFUL orders.
An order which is unlawful not only does not need to e obeyed, but obeying such an order can result in criminal prosecution of the one who obeys it. Military courts have long held that military members are accountable for their actions even while following orders if the order was illegal. “l was only following orders,” has been unsuccessfully used as a legal defense in hundreds of cases (probably most notably by Nazi leaders at the Nuremberg tribunals following 10 war II). Ine aeTense Olan’t work Tor tnem, nor nas It worked In nunareas 0T cases since.
The first recorded case of a United States Military officer using the “l was nly following orders” defense dates back to 1799. During the War with France, Congress passed a law making it permissible to seize ships bound to any French Port. However, when President John Adams wrote the order to authorize the U. S. Navvy to do so, he wrote that Navvy ships were authorized to seize any vessel bound for a French port, or traveling from a French port. Pursuant to the President’s instructions, a U. S. Navvy captain seized a Danish Ship (the Flying Fish), which was en route from a French Port.
The owners of the ship sued the Navvy captain in U. S. maritime court for trespass. They won, and the United States Supreme Court upheld the decision. The U. S. Supreme Court held that Navvy commanders “act at their own peril” when obeying presidential orders when such orders are illegal. The Vietnam War presented the United States military courts with more cases of the “l was only following orders” defense than any previous conflict. The decisions during these cases reaffirmed that following manifestly illegal orders is not a viable defense from criminal prosecution. In United States v.
Keenan, the accused (Keenan) was found guilty of murder after he obeyed in order to shoot and kill an elderly Vietnamese itizen. Many people will say, one of the military virtues is loyalty. People in the military are loyal in a way that people outside of the military are not. In fact, any hierarchical organization demands loyalty of its people: Recently we’ve seen political parties become more demanding on this score. People who work for major corporations have to work tirelessly to advance the interests of the corporations; servants of pop stars sign confidentiality agreements.
So maybe loyalty isn’t particularly military; it’s a virtue in any sub-world where we need people to act at the behest of other people. Moreover it’s different from other virtues such as respect in that loyalty only goes in one direction with respect to the chain of command: up, not down. Respect is a virtue in both directions, both up and down the chain of command though it takes slightly different forms depending on which direction it’s aimed in. Subordinates respect superiors; superiors respect subordinates. Loyalty, by contrast, is a virtue only for subordinates.
A superior isn’t loyal to his subordinates; at most he can protect them, and is generally expected to do so. It’s subordinates who are expected to be loyal, nd for whom it’s a virtue. The comparable virtue from superiors to subordinates is something closer to benevolence, which can be bestowed freely by the superior if s/ he chooses to do so, but which is never owed. I’d argue that the bond between equals who defend each other to the death isn’t “loyalty’ either; it’s something different, a kind of breaking down of the walls between units.
Loyalty is a magnetic force holding together the parts of the whole, but like a magnet it’s polar: it only works in one direction. The superior isn’t loyal to subordinates, and this is so for everal reasons. The superior doesn’t owe the subordinates the honesty and openness they must give the superior. Nor is s/he seeking to please subordinates, to read their wishes and carry them out before they’re expressed, which is what many in the military understand loyalty to entail.
The superior doesn’t even guarantee that s/he will protect all subordinates; s/he can sacrifice some subordinates protect others (that’s what the military requires all the time). Virtues are the things that in a sense nave no otner ratlonal JustlTlcatlon: IT It’s to your DeneTlt to 00 sometnlng, here’s no societal pressure to insist on its being a virtue. You’re probably going to do it anyway. Loyalty has to be more than the sum of the benefits the person showing it gets. Why do we so insist on the virtuous nature of Loyalty?
Clearly loyalty is necessary to ensure the predictability of subordinates (namely to do what the superior says) in situations of action where predictability can’t be otherwise ensured. If you have people go beyond calculating in each situation whether they choose to follow or not, you can predict their behavior and use it to repel a threat. So loyalty is omething that isn’t re-negotiated at every turn, it’s the “plus factor” that makes it possible to count on people. In this way it’s similar to the way we insist that marital vows need to be kept “Just because”: even if things are going badly in the marriage, they still need to be kept.
Indeed, when things are going badly is precisely where the “vow’ part kicks in that is more than the question of whether or not you want to keep it. Loyalty is necessary for the superior to be able to crack a whip made of individual humans to evoke the childhood game, where children hold on to each other for ear life as the end of the whip fghts centrifugal forces. If everybody isn’t hanging on, the person at the “handle” end can’t produce the crack. The military’s objective is to produce groups of people with more power than any individual alone, facing outward to a common foe.
If you sign on to the military, or even if you’re conscripted, you have to be clear about this: loyalty, which is what subordinates owe superiors, is more than self-interest, as marriage vows are more than “do I want to keep these? ” The reason we glorify both loyalty and marriage vows is that there may be times hen we want to break them. That’s precisely when we shouldn’t. Army military bearing is how a soldier conducts himself on duty. It encompasses his level of professionalism when dealing with others and his approach to military situations.
Soldiers who do not exhibit military bearing are subject to punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice Maintaining self-control and being accountable for actions is the mark of a soldier with good military bearing. Arguing with superiors, ignoring Army standards and permitting rule-breaking are not consistent with ilitary bearing. A soldier with military bearing does not yell at subordinates; rather, she calmly instructs them and helps them rectify their mistakes. Military bearing includes taking the appropriate action in the absence of orders.
When a soldier encounters a new situation, he takes the action he would have been instructed by a superior to take, without complaint. When being addressed by a superior, standing at the position of attention or the position of parade rest are good examples of military bearing. Soldiers’ behavior in public directly reflects on the Army. Acting rofessionally at all times and being polite to civilians is an example of good military bearing. Any action that would be considered disgraceful to the Army or other branches of the military is not an exhibition of good military bearing.
For example, a soldier in uniform should never be drunk, lewd or disrespectful to people or property. Many people know what the words Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage mean. But how often do you see someone actually live up to them? Soldiers learn these values in detail during Basic Combat Training (BCT), from then on they live them every day in everything they do ??” whether theyre on the Job or off. In short, the Seven Core Army Values listed below are wnat Delng a soldier Is all aoout. Ana loyalty Is to Dear true Taltn ana alleglance to the U.
S. Constitution, the Army, your unit and other Soldiers. Bearing true faith and allegiance is a matter of believing in and devoting yourself to something or someone. A loyal Soldier is one who supports the leadership and stands up for fellow Soldiers. By wearing the uniform of the U. S. Army you are expressing your loyalty. And by oing your share, you show your loyalty to your unit. Duty, fulfill your obligations. Doing your duty means more than carrying out your assigned tasks. Duty means being able to accomplish tasks as part of a team. The work of the U.
S. Army is a complex combination of missions, tasks and responsibilities ??” all in constant motion. Our work entails building one assignment onto another. You fulfill your obligations as a part of your unit every time you resist the temptation to take “shortcuts” that might undermine the integrity of the final product. Respect is when you treat people as hey should be treated. In the Soldier’s Code, we pledge to “treat others with dignity and respect while expecting others to do the same. ” Respect is what allows us to appreciate the best in other people.
Respect is trusting that all people have done their Jobs and fulfilled their duty. And self-respect is a vital ingredient with the Army value of respect, which results from knowing you have put forth your best effort. The Army is one team and each of us has something to contribute. Selfless service is when you put the welfare of the nation, the Army and your subordinates before your own. Selfless service is larger than Just one person. In serving your country, you are doing your duty loyally without thought of recognition or gain.
The basic building block of selfless service is the commitment of each team member to go a little further, endure a little longer, and looks a little closer to see how he or she can add to the effort. Honor is to live up to Army values. The nation’s highest military award is the Medal of Honor. This award goes to Soldiers who make honor a matter of daily living ??” Soldiers who develop the habit of being honorable, and solidify that habit with every value choice they make. Honor is a matter of carrying out, acting, and living the values of respect, duty, loyalty, selfless service, integrity and personal courage in everything you do.
Integrity is to do what’s right, legally and morally. Integrity is a quality you develop by adhering to moral principles. It requires that you do and say nothing that deceives others. As your integrity grows, so does the trust others place in you. The more choices you make based on integrity, the more this highly prized value will affect your relationships with family and friends, and, finally, the fundamental acceptance of yourself. Personal courage is face fear, danger or adversity (physical or moral). Personal courage has long been associated with our Army.
With physical courage, it is a matter of enduring physical duress and at times risking personal safety. Facing moral fear or adversity may be a long, slow process of continuing forward on the right path, especially if taking those actions is not popular with others. You can build your personal courage by daily standing up for and acting upon the things that you know are honorable. In conclusion, I have earned a very valuable lesson from writing this essay. As little of n offense as wearing earrings may seem it is a very big offense.
It is wrong for many reasons as such: it is a direct order army wide, post wide, and applies to all military personnel as well as tnelr spouse In certa n Tac ltles sucn as tne gym. I unaerstana now that although earrings may be looked at as fashionable in the civilian world, they just don’t fit the image of the average American soldier. Our Job as soldiers is distinguish ourselves from civilians and we do this by the way conduct ourselves , the choices we make, the lifestyle we live, and the image we portray to the rest of the world.