Accountability in Army
A Soldier’s Accountability
A soldier of the United States Army has many values that are set forth in the “Soldier’s Creed.” The Soldier’s Creed states: I am an American Soldier. I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself. I am an expert and I am a professional. I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat. I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life. I am an American Soldier. Throughout a Soldier’s training and career the Soldier’s Creed is the core value set that soldiers’ are expected to learn and live by. These are the values that a soldier is held accountable to. A soldier can thrive and fail in these values, but one thing is for sure, they will be held accountable. Most of these values are easy to understand and all make logical sense that a soldier should possess these values. The one value that many soldier’s struggle with is the accountability in “I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.” When a soldier fails to maintain these values they are held accountable. Which leads to a few questions: What is accountability? How does accountability pertain to the United States Army? What does all this mean to the value stated in the Soldier’s Creed, “I always maintain my arms, my equipment, and myself.” How does all this apply to an individual soldier? And a personal note, on how accountability plays a role in my career as a United States Soldier. First, what is accountability? Accountability comes from the term accountable, which by definition means “subject to the obligation to report, explain, or justify something” or
A soldier of the United States Army has many values that are set forth in the “Soldier’s Creed.” The Soldier’s Creed states: I am an American Soldier. I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself. I am an expert and I am a professional. I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat. I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life. I am an American Soldier. Throughout a Soldier’s training and career the Soldier’s Creed is the core value set that soldiers’ are expected to learn and live by. These are the values that a soldier is held accountable to. A soldier can thrive and fail in these values, but one thing is for sure, they will be held accountable. Most of these values are easy to understand and all make logical sense that a soldier should possess these values. The one value that many soldier’s struggle with is the accountability in “I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.” When a soldier fails to maintain these values they are held accountable. Which leads to a few questions: What is accountability? How does accountability pertain to the United States Army? What does all this mean to the value stated in the Soldier’s Creed, “I always maintain my arms, my equipment, and myself.” How does all this apply to an individual soldier? And a personal note, on how accountability plays a role in my career as a United States Soldier. First, what is accountability? Accountability comes from the term accountable, which by definition means “subject to the obligation to report, explain, or justify something” or