Custom «Military Integrity» Essay Paper

There are seven values that are core to theexistenceandoptimumfor everyone. It would be vital totreatthem the way they should be treated. A soldier lives and fights on behalf of the nation. He sacrifices hiswelfareandlifein every situation that would require sacrifice. The leadership in the army is hierarchical andis guidedby a code. Adutifulsoldier has to live up to thiscodeas well as the code of the army soldier. There are many situations when the soldier has to face the enemy. These situations expose the soldier to risk of death or fatal injuries. Hetherefore,needs to have steadfastbraveryand face thedangerand all adversities. A soldier has to fulfill all theworkassigned to him. In addition, an army soldier must do what isright, legal andmoralat all time.

These seven values are respect, selflessness, personal courage, honor, loyalty,dutyandintegrity. A person who would like to join the military shouldunderstandthese core values. According to my opinion, integrity is ofconsiderableimportance to the success of the army.Thisessay discuses the relevance ofintegrityin the military.

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Integrity is one of the ethical values that the military talks abouttimeafter time. Before we look at the importance of integrity, let us firstlookdifferent definitions of integrity. The true meaning ofintegrityis sometimesexceedinglypuzzling. Acting morally sometimes confuses with acting with integrity. Integrity is avirtueto live by. It is aqualitythat defines a person’scharacter.

Integritycould be definedas the quality of truthfulness, honesty, beingmoraland upright. It is the soundness of moral character. Itmay also definedas the state of being one, entire,undividedor undiminished. It is aconceptof being consistent in moral values, principles and actions. Hypocrisy is theappropriateoppositewordfor integrity. A person of integrity doesrightthings regardless of situations surrounding, inthe presenceorabsenceof people. It is a leadership quality thatis highly prizedin the world. Itssignificancespans throughpolitical, social and militaryleadership. Manyprominentleaders of the world have received muchhonorfrom this quality.

Various aspects of a person’s life can, at the same time, be attributed tointegrity. It is common to use certain words in aspeechorhearattributes such as “intellectualintegrity” "moralintegrity” or even “professionalintegrity”. This shows that there are different types of integrity.In my opiniona person mayactat a certain situation with a lot of integrityand may be regarded as amanifestationof hisoverallintegrity.Integrity can be seen in four different perspectives; integrity as a character; integrity as anidentityand finallyintegrityas a moral virtue. For the purposes of this essay, I will discussintegrityas a virtue and acharacter.In my opinion, a person either has integrity or does not haveintegrity. A person who does not have integrity is nothonest. He keeps lying to his colleagues and seniors. At the same time, he does not fulfill hisdutyin time. In other words, he does not meet deadlines or does notcompletehis work.On the other side,a person of integrity istruthful. He hassoundmoral values. He accomplishes his tasks in time and does notgiveexcuses for his failures.

From a military point of view, integrity is aqualitythatis developedby sticking tomoralprinciples.It demands that a soldier does or says nothingdeceitfully.This explains the first importance of this highly prizedquality. A person with no integrityis not trustedby anyone.People do notplacefaith inthemtogetthings accomplished.Integrity buildstrustin a person anda team. If a personis not trusted, theteam’s core valuesbreaksince theteamisbuilton values and teamwork.In theprocess,the team will not achieve its goals. The army works in a team work format like a machine. Trust is thefluidthat lubricates the team. If the fluidity of the teamis not maintained, the team would not have enoughforcetodrivethe adversities beyond their limits.

Onesintegritydetermines thetrustthat one can obtain from others.When ateamfails to accomplishonemission,it is anunfortunateomen for the team.A mistake of oneindividualcanfailthe whole team.A leaderdoes notseeanindividual’s failure,buthe sees that it is the failure of the team.There is alikelihoodthat aleaderwill notchooseanindividualwho willmakethe teamfail. If soldiers lie to each other, they fail to trust each other. People need totrustthemilitaryin all the duties accorded to it. Integrity in thearmyimpacts confidence in the team.

Integrity iskeytopropercommunications within the military. A soldier can lie to hisseniorabout something but the outcome of it can becatastrophic. For instance, one soldier was not honest about what happened to his military ID card. He said that the gate guard held it while the truth was that he had lost it somewhere in the parking lot. Later on myseniorfound it in the parking area. Hewas summonedbut still maintained that theguardhad it. He failed to live up tointegrity. What he needed to do was toreportexactly what happened so that theseniorcould address the situation and probablyorderfor the search. Supposing thebadgehad fallen into wrong hands, the badge could be used for malicious reasons. Dishonesty inhibits taking of an appropriate action ormeasure.

It supports healthy relationships within the army. We have seen that,integritybuilds trust. Consequently trust isvitalin any relationship. Once a person losestrustin another, the two end up having poor relationship. Good relationship isvitalfor the success of an army. Once trustis lostin a person, it may behardto work with the person. Heis seenas a betrayal to the team. People tend to keep themselves away from those who lie to them.Anythingthe person maysaybe ittrueor a lie will not be believed. They will automaticallyconsiderthat he is lying until heproves to them that he is not lying.

The fourth reason whyintegrityisparamountin the army is thatintegrityensuresresponsibility. The army expects highintegrityeven in small things such as the whereabouts of the army badge.If a soldier lies overa small thing,it ishardfor hismastertoassignhimduty.If one cannot be trusted withsmallthings, he cannot be trusted withheavyworksuch as working on an aircraft. Dishonesty in themilitarytherefore,disables the army’s work force. One will agree thatintegrityfostersdutyand responsibility.

Dishonesty ispunishablein the military. If one lies to his senior, he can lead toseverepenalty. Honesty and truthfulness keeps one frompunishment. The time when one is underpunishmentrenders him unavailable forduty. Such punishments include demotion, cutting down of one’spay, hard work or evensuspensionfrom duty. This can beseriouslydetrimentalto the life of a soldier. Thearmymember maylivefeeling guilty and disrespected. One day in the recruits training camp, I woke up late after others had woken up early in the morning. I rushed to theparadeandmissed topolishmy shoes well. My supervisor noticed that, in addition to that, I had tied my shoe laces wrongly. He asked me what happened. I lied to him that my shoes were missing in the morning.I did not know that he had cometoinspectthebeds.He told me thetruththat he had left me sleeping in the morning.Iwas subjectedto a one weekpunishmentof polishing all the shoes of my colleagues in the hostels for one week alongside the daily duties assigned to me.In the long run,I regretted why I lied to himinsteadtelling the truth. I was behind schedule inmanyduties due to the punishment. It was not easy.

Integrity is a sign of maturity. When anarmymember does notsaythe truth, he soundschildish. Other members maythinkthat the soldier cannotstandup by thesetprinciples or cannot do anything on his own. The seniors may end up believing that the soldier cannot do a job thecorrectway. Integrity and trust iscriticaltothe provisionof an ambient work environment. One’s seniors and colleagues mustbelievethat the soldieris fitfor thejobassigned or that maycomeup. A person of integrity eliminatesdoubtsabout him. Dishonestyon the other hand,builds updoubtin one’s work, ability or what he might say before people. One’s speech maybe looked down at.

Integrity in themilitarybuilds confidence in a soldier’s life. It boosts his self esteem. High self esteem isessentialfor a soldier who needs a lot of brevity. Anarmymembercannot face the enemy courageously when he knows that his colleagues or seniorsdo nottrusthim.Integrityenforces other military values.

Themilitaryproducesworldknown leaders even presidents. These leaders were soldiers ofimmenseintegrity. Aleadermust not becorrupt. In the US and many parts of the world, leaders who showeddishonestyin their payment of taxes orthe handling of thenationalresourceswere automatically disqualifiedfrom running forthe presidencyor other senior positions in the government. Dishonest leaders are poor leaders. They are evercorrupt.

Apart from the fact thatintegrityis avitalcharacteristic of a military soldier, it is also asignificantlifetimevirtueto have. It should be integrated into the daily life of a soldier. Oneinstanceof lying canspoilahistoryof one’slifeof integrity. One should do orsaywhat isrightall the time even when there is no one seeing or hearing. Onewholieseven when the people cannotdifferentiatethe truth from the lies isalsodishonest. Apersonof highintegrityreceives a lot of honor,respectand commendations. Thesocietyrecognizes him and hails his work.

Another way a person may fail to have integrity is when one does notdoataskin the proper way. Integrity is accomplishing thedutyassigned to completeness. Doing work in a halfhazardmannerisa lackof integrity. Doing aperfectwork is the responsibility of a soldier. For instance, a soldier assigned with the task of maintaining of an aircraft must ensure the work iscomplete. Otherwise, theimperfectwork canriskthelifeof fellow soldiers. Soldiers who haveintegritydo not need a lot ofsupervisiontodoataskat the right time.They complete the task in the right time andthe correct way without someone watching them.Integrity is completing ajobwithout cutting corners.

Meeting deadlines isessentialfor any soldier of integrity. Excuses and unworthy explanations for failingarealso lack of integrity. Most excuses are lies. Integrity is taking responsibility for one’s mistakes and failures. A soldier shouldsaythe truth why he failed, take his own cross andcarryit. Blaming others or circumstancesarenotintegrity. He shouldnotfearto tell the truth evenif itmay be hurting.

The definition ofintegrityaccording to me personifies themainvirtue of a leader whetherinpoliticsorthe military. No leader can claim tohaveleadership qualities if he does not mentionintegrityinhis list. It is common to findwrongpeople in leadership positions. This frustrates the subjects especially whenthe peoplehave noabilitytoairtheir grievances. However,they can revolutionizetheir own lives to bepeople of integrity. According to my opinion, integrity separates leaders from people who are not. Aleaderissoundin morals free from corrupt influences.

A person candecideto practiceintegritythrough commitment to assigned obligations, honesty in all endeavors, and fairness andequalitywhen treating all people. Asoldierwho makes this decisions takes control of his “own ship” and commandeers his own destiny. One willfinallyfindtrue happiness inside himself. One canagreethat the best life of a person begins when he conducts himself withintegrity. Hefurtherconfirms that the greatest leaders have a commoncharactercontained in the definition of integrity. Dwight D. Eisenhower, one of the soldiers andarmyleaders of the World War II, once said that the supreme quality of a leader isundoubtedlyintegrity and no success can be achieved without it whether it is in the army orthe office.

Integrity unleashes the warrior within a person. One canrealizeand fulfill his goals when he definesintegrityin his life. At the same time, integrity enables a soldier toremaincomfortable with himself and achievehappinessin his career. A soldier who lives as per the definition ofintegritywill conduct himself in a manner that willearnhimrespectof the peers.

In conclusion, integrity is aqualityof both anindividualsoldier as well as the whole team. It is aqualitythat cements the team together for the purposes of achieving goals. It is the main ingredient oftrustfor not only one soldier but also for the whole team. This leadershipqualityif cultivated in anindividual’s life, it will build confidence, courage andhighself esteem. Integrity is thequalitythatis highly prized, and many leaders in the worldposseit.

In summary,integritybuildstrustin the military. It fosterspropercommunicationin the army; limits the number of punishments that a soldier may receive and maintainsgoodrelationshipbetween soldiers. Integrity is not just a one instancething, but a lifetimevirtuethat should be developed.