The divine moral order established by God at creation has set morality and ethics in place. There is one moral code by which we we are to live. That code is spelled out in God’s Word. It is displayed in the Ten Commandments, the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of Paul. This moral code is the foundation upon which one makes choices and decisions in life. In postmodern America, those moral ideals have been lost to a society that believes in relative morality. Society holds to the belief that there are no absolutes. It is our job as believers to uncover this moral law that is written on our hearts. By doing so, we can reveal the truths of God that are evident in Scripture.
The U.S. Army has adopted core Army values to help awaken soldiers to the values and morals we all should have. Many soldiers do not receive moral training in their early lives; therefore, the Army wants to promote these values and instill a sense of morality in its soldiers. These values mirror some of the biblical values we all should ascribe to as believers.
As believers in the risen Lord, we also should have a set of values to guide our lives. We can look to the Old Testament, the gospels and the epistles to find moral insight for how we should comport ourselves. The values the Army is instilling in its men and women in uniform can find a commonality with those found in Scripture. In order to see the connection, it is only appropriate to begin with the basics.
Everything begins with values, attitudes about the worth of people, concepts and other things. Individuals enter the Army with their own values, developed in childhood and nurtured through experience. We all are shaped by what we have seen, what we have learned and by the people we meet and come to know. When soldiers and civilians take an oath of service, they promise to live by certain values. These are more than a system of rules. They do not just comprise a code outlined in a dusty book. These values help shape what soldiers need to be every day in every action they take. Army values form the very identity of America’s Army, the solid rock upon which their choices stand, especially in combat. They are the glue that binds them together as members of a noble profession. As a result, the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts. The values are nonnegotiable: They apply to everyone throughout the Army and in every situation.
Army values remind soldiers and tell the rest of the world and the civilian government we serve, the nation we protect and our enemies who they are and what they stand for and against. The trust soldiers have for one another and the trust the American people have in them depends on how well they live up to these values. They are the fundamental building blocks that enable them to discern right from wrong in any given situation or action.
Army core values are consistent; they support one another. You cannot follow one value and ignore another. There are seven Core Army Values. They form the acronym LDRSHIP:
Loyalty
Duty
Respect
Selfless Service
Honor
Integrity
Personal Courage
Loyalty:
Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit, and other soldiers. “Loyalty is the big thing, the greatest battle asset of all. But no man ever wins the loyalty of troops by preaching loyalty. It is given to him as he proves his possession of the other virtues.” Brigadier General S.L.A. Marshall Men Against Fire
Soldiers fight for each other; loyalty is commitment. From the founding of the republic, America’s army has respected its subordination to our civilian political leaders. This subordination is fundamental to preserving our liberty. Beyond that, soldiers have an obligation to be faithful to the army—the institution and its people and to the unit or organization. Loyalty is an obligation to subordinates, peers and the larger organization (up to and including the nation). Loyalty is a two-way street: One should not expect loyalty without being prepared to give it, as well. A leader neither can demand loyalty nor win it from soldiers by talking about it. The loyalty of soldiers is a gift they give when, and only when, it is deserved—when they are trained well, treated fairly and live by those concepts. As Christians, we also should display the basic value of loyalty. If we are called by His name, we should be loyal to His teachings. In
