HISTORY OF AMERICAN ARMY VALUES

HISTORY OF AMERICAN ARMY VALUES

Introduction

The United States Army was formed in the year 1755 and even still it has endeavored in instilling values within the members of the Army profession. After its formation, the Continental Congress gave The Army its first Articles of war and rules under which it would function. The Army values are considered as the foundations of the Army profession. They are also used to describe the depth and substance of the American Culture .I.e. American History, common heritage, and the sacrifice. The Army values were officially adopted in 1955 as listed in the Army Regulation Act 600-100.Before the adoption, the soldiers were required to remain loyal and perform their duties courageously and faithfully even in situations where they are engaged with the enemy. The Army professionals consider it an honor to live and act as per the dictated rules. These values are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless–service, Honor, integrity, and personal courage. This paper aims at providing more information on where the seven Army values came from.

Although the Army Values date to the 1990s, echoes of these values can be seen throughout the 1775 war articles. These articles clearly define the traits and attributes of the soldiers before the Army laws were formed. For instance, they were to respect Human dignity.The sick and the wounded were to be taken care of, the possessions of the dead were to be returned to the families. Lastly, the leaders the soldiers receive wholesome provisions. The Values that the Army have can be dated back in 1778 at Valley Forge when Baron Von Steuben established the traits and attributes that all NCOs should have. After the Vietnam aftermath of 1970, the Westmoreland study continued and the “Officers creed “was proposed. This would emphasize values such as selfless, dignity, justice, condor, loyalty among others. Later on, several creeds were formed through informal efforts. Some of these creeds were the NCO Creed. Some Army Training Centers started incorporated some fundamental Army values into the training. This values ensured that the simple straight forward values were put into practice. Early in the 1980s, an Army Ethic that was composed of several values was formed. Some of these values were commitment, courage, competence, and honesty. There were also some Enduring Army values that were articulated in 1981. They were loyal to the institution, unit, personal responsibility, and selfless service in 1983 (Karsten, 2017).

After the Gulf war in the 1990s, the next iteration of the FM 100-1 was formed, it focused on values such as leadership, integrity, and trust. The four Army ethics were reordered. It consisted of four professional values; loyalty, honesty, duty, and selfless service. The soldierly values were then renamed to soldier values.    It was believed that instilling values among the soldiers would strengthen the Army Ethic. In 1994, another version of the FM 100 was created. The Army ethic now became the Army Ethos, and only three values were considered. This was Selfless-service, duty, and integrity (Karsten, 2017)

To sum up, the Army Values generally define the actions of the soldiers when they are on a mission as well as when they are not. They also represent the character of the individual soldiers. But most importantly, is that they shape the Army as a recognized profession which signifies what is essential within that profession and also influences the daily operations of the Army. Since the Army is considered a self –centered institution that is made up of soldiers who are morally justified, the Army values will help them in achieving this. The benefits did not just come into being but a lot of time and effort was used in developing them. America’s Army is still emphasizing on the Army values.

References

Karsten, P. (2017). The “New “American Military History: A Map of the Territory .Explored and Unexplored .In United States Military History 1865 to the Present Day (pp.3-32).Routledge