What is Professionalism?

What is professionalism? Essentially we like to think that it just means to be professional in a professional environment. Although that may be true, there a lot more that goes into it. Honestly the focus is how to be professional in the military and what it means to be a Soldier. The reason being is that we often forget that the army is also a business and with the army being a business we need to present our selves in a professional manner. But to answer the question of “what is professionalism?” Professionalism is the skill, competence, and behaviors that are expected of someone in a profession.
Now the next question is, what is a professional? In my eyes a professional is someone who is skilled, polished, and proficient that there job. Also a professional will hold himself or herself to a higher standard than everyone else. They do this because they know that they not only represent themselves but also their companies that they work for. As a professional they must follow the rules and ethics of the organization you represent or are a part of. Also a professional must maintain a sense of professionalism no matter if he or she is on duty or off duty. Now just because the profession may change doesn’t mean that the professional completely changes how that act because they still have to maintain a level of professionalism. But I cant only define what a professional is without defining what a profession is. A profession is an occupation that requires educational training. Although you must go to school for most jobs that doesn’t mean that they are professions, they may just be trade. The profession was a trade that required education and qualifications that needed to be met. The main difference is a profession is mostly mental work while a trade is just physical work. But this is not always ways the case because the army is a profession but we also do both physical and mental work. The skills and knowledge a Soldier holds is always being put to the test as we