Integrity Case

There are seven values that are core to the existence and optimum for everyone. It would be vital to treat them the way they should be treated. A soldier lives and fights on behalf of the nation. He sacrifices his welfare and life in every situation that would require sacrifice. The leadership in the army is hierarchical and is guided by a code. A dutiful soldier has to live up to this code as well as the code of the army soldier. There are many situations when the soldier has to face the enemy. These situations expose the soldier to risk of death or fatal injuries. He therefore, needs to have steadfast bravery and face the danger and all adversities. A soldier has to fulfill all the work assigned to him. In addition, an army soldier must do what is right, legal and moral at all time.

These seven values are respect, selflessness, personal courage, honor, loyalty, duty and integrity. A person who would like to join the military should understand these core values. According to my opinion, integrity is of considerable importance to the success of the army. This essay discuses the relevance of integrity in the military.

Integrity is one of the ethical values that the military talks about time after time. Before we look at the importance of integrity, let us first look different definitions of integrity. The true meaning of integrity is sometimes exceedingly puzzling. Acting morally sometimes confuses with acting with integrity. Integrity is a virtue to live by. It is a quality that defines a person's character.

Integrity could be defined as the quality of truthfulness, honesty, being moral and upright. It is the soundness of moral character. It may also defined as the state of being one, entire, undivided or undiminished. It is a concept of being consistent in moral values, principles and actions. Hypocrisy is the appropriate opposite word for integrity. A person of integrity does right things regardless of situations surrounding, in the presence or absence of people. It is a leadership quality that is highly prized in the world. Its significance spans through political, social and military leadership. Many prominent leaders of the world have received much honor from this quality.

Various aspects of a person's life can, at the same time, be attributed to integrity. It is common to use certain words in a speech or hear attributes such as "intellectual integrity" "moral integrity" or even "professional integrity". This shows that there are different types of integrity. In my opinion a person may act at a certain situation with a lot of integrity and may be regarded as a manifestation of his overall integrity. Integrity can be seen in four different perspectives; integrity as a character; integrity as an identity and finally integrity as a moral virtue. For the purposes of this essay, I will discuss integrity as a virtue and a character. In my opinion, a person either has integrity or does not have integrity. A person who does not have integrity is not honest. He keeps lying to his colleagues and seniors. At the same time, he does not fulfill his duty in time. In other words, he does not meet deadlines or does not complete his work. On the other side, a person of integrity is truthful. He has sound moral values. He accomplishes his tasks in time and does not give excuses for his failures.

From a military point of view, integrity is a quality that is developed by sticking to moral principles. It demands that a soldier does or says nothing deceitfully. This explains the first importance of this highly prized quality. A person with no integrity is not trusted by anyone. People do not place faith in them to get things accomplished. Integrity builds trust in a person and a team. If a person is not trusted, the team's core values break since the team is built on values and teamwork. In the process, the team will not achieve its goals. The army works in a team work format like a machine. Trust is the fluid that lubricates the team. If the fluidity of the team is not maintained, the team would not have enough force to drive the adversities beyond their limits.

Ones integrity determines the trust that one can obtain from others. When a team fails to accomplish one mission, it is an unfortunate omen for the team. A mistake of one individual can fail the whole team. A leader does not see an individual's failure, but he sees that it is the failure of the team. There is a likelihood that a leader will not choose an individual who will make the team fail. If soldiers lie to each other, they fail to trust each other. People need to trust the military in all the duties accorded to it. Integrity in the army impacts confidence in the team.

Integrity is key to proper communications within the military. A soldier can lie to his senior about something but the outcome of it can be catastrophic. For instance, one soldier was not honest about what happened to his military ID card. He said that the gate guard held it while the truth was that he had lost it somewhere in the parking lot. Later on my senior found it in the parking area. He was summoned but still maintained that the guard had it. He failed to live up to integrity. What he needed to do was to report exactly what happened so that the senior could address the situation and probably order for the search. Supposing the badge had fallen into wrong hands, the badge could be used for malicious reasons. Dishonesty inhibits taking of an appropriate action or measure.

It supports healthy relationships within the army. We have seen that, integrity builds trust. Consequently trust is vital in any relationship. Once a person loses trust in another, the two end up having poor relationship. Good relationship is vital for the success of an army. Once trust is lost in a person, it may be hard to work with the person. He is seen as a betrayal to the team. People tend to keep themselves away from those who lie to them. Anything the person may say be it true or a lie will not be believed. They will automatically consider that he is lying until he proves to them that he is not lying.

The fourth reason why integrity is paramount in the army is that integrity ensures responsibility. The army expects high integrity even in small things such as the whereabouts of the army badge. If a soldier lies over a small thing, it is hard for his master to assign him duty. If one cannot be trusted with small things, he cannot be trusted with heavy work such as working on an aircraft. Dishonesty in the military therefore, disables the army's work force. One will agree that integrity fosters duty and responsibility.

Dishonesty is punishable in the military. If one lies to his senior, he can lead to severe penalty.

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