Integrity in the Army - Do What's Right Legally and Morally
Essay by people • July 16, 2011 • Essay • 1,123 Words (5 Pages) • 8,261 Views
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"Do what's right legally and morally", these are the words that the Army uses to describe integrity. The word integrity means to be honest and forthcoming about yourself and the things you do. To be a soldier you must have impeccable integrity, nobody should be able to question it. If your integrity is questioned you should be able to prove that you were being as honest as possible. An example for this is if you say you were going to be somewhere, and the person doesn't believe you, then you should be able to go with that person to the location in question and prove that you had been there and that the deeds that were accomplished while there were one hundred percent accurate.
Embellishing and lying is the opposite of integrity. Everyone especially in the United States Military frowns upon untruthfulness. Lying hurts morale and promotes disharmony with in the United States Military. Integrity tells a lot about who you are and what type of worker you will be. Everyone should be diligent in keeping his or her integrity impeccable and glistening. Integrity is one of the most important abilities you are taught to in the United States Army. You can take it anywhere in the world and is one of the reasons civilians like to hire military personnel for their business, because they are dependable to get the job done. Dependability is the key for integrity; you must be able to be counted upon by anyone not just your superiors.
You should always be as honest as possible to everyone; this means that you should only state the truth about what you know and not saying anymore than you know. You can be wrong about something but be honest about what you know, because integrity isn't about being right all the time, it is about relaying information to the best of your knowledge without overstepping your bounds. The reason this occurs is due to a misunderstanding with the information that you have or received.
The Fourth Edition of The American Heritage College Dictionary reads that integrity is a "steadfast adherence to a strict ethical code", and "the state of being unimpaired; soundness", and finally "the quality or condition of being whole or undivided". So without integrity the United States Military will be divided. In a profession where unity is key to the success of the mission soldiers can't be unimpaired or divided. Being divided reminds me of one the best military leaders of all time, Julius Caesar, and his famous quote of "Divide and Conquer". If there is any division in the United States Military then we will be conquered, the way to protect against this is to show integrity at all times, and not when it suites our purposes.
The words that the Army uses to describe integrity "legally and morally" are not open to discussion. Some might say that what is morally allowed by one person is morally wrong to another person. Lying in any religion or creed is wrong, and look at with disdain. So when the Army uses the word
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