Learning With a Military Mindset Christopher A. Jabs American Military University COLL 100 Dr. Francine Kemp 31 October 2009 Learning with a Military Mindset Everyone needs a good education in order to be successful in life. For some, it is not easy to earn an education while also defending the freedoms that so many in this great country of ours enjoy. In this essay, I will try to explain the advantages and the disadvantages of trying to earn an education while serving in the military. I am also going to try to show the differences between traditional college students and military college students. Being in the military is not a very easy career.
The 7 Army Values The 7 army values are the foundation for the US army solder , the 7 values are, Loyalty-Baring true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the U.S Army, my unit and my fellow soldiers. Bearing true faith and allegiance is a matter of believing in and devoting myself to something or someone. A loyal soldier is one who supports the leadership and stands up for his fellow soldiers. By wearing the uniform of the U.S. Army I am expressing my loyalty. And by doing my share, I show my loyalty to my unit.
Loyalty is to bear true faith and allegiance to the US Constitution, the Army, your unit, and other soldiers. For example all Soldiers and government civilians swear a sacred oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. The Army leans on loyalty. Loyalty in the Army is a two way commitment between leaders and subordinates. By working with each other and completing their duty’s they are gaining trust, while becoming very loyal towards each other.
At the core of the BE-KNOW-DO frame work are the Army values. These known values are the guiding lines for Soldiers to follow in all they do. The Army values are: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage, and they form the acronym LDRSHIP. Definitions of our Army Values -Loyalty Loyalty is the faithful adherence to a person, unit, or the Army. It is the thread that binds our actions together and causes us to support each other, our superiors, our family, and our country.
Michael Weisskopf was the only member of Ward 57 who was not in Iraq to fight the war; rather he was there to write the Person of the Year story on the American soldier. Unbeknownst to him he would be returning without his dominant right hand and identity. He lost his journalistic abilities and his work was filled with frustrations. Weisskopf states (2006), “The telephone, a reporter’s principal tool, became a liability. Instead of holding it in one hand and jotting notes with the other, I had to resort to a headset that picked up every noise and spooked sources.”(p.175).
Many jobs that are being filled, are being filled by military personnel that have left the service. Many businesses, like Wal-Mart, are offering recently separated military personnel employment. Compulsory military service helps a young person gain maturity. So many people enter into the military with a mentality of not wanting to grow up, but shortly after entering, they realize they have to become an adult and have to make sure they are taking steps that will make them think about their consequences and future endeavors. Military service helps a person with everyday life, not only does it help someone plan out their life
Operation Iraq Freedom When they surrendered in the first Gulf War, Gulf War I, they agreed to allow inspections of WMD. They kicked the inspectors out and started shooting at our planes in the no-fly zone. More babies are aborted each and every day in the USA than the number of USA troops killed in Iraq since the beginning of the war. If people are worried about life, they should be working to stop abortion instead of the war. The average age of the soldier in Iraq is 30 years old so when you hear someone say to get our kids, boys, young men, out of Iraq, they don't understand what is happening over there.
The Pledge is something that is instilled in each and every American citizen as soon as we can talk. That is why the Pledge is so important to us; and even if every single American citizen didn't favor or agree with the Pledge, there is no doubt that every American citizen knows it. The Pledge of Allegiance is important in various ways and is a vehicle to ensure patriotism. The Functional Approach, Symbolic Approach, and the Conflict Approach are all provisions that can interpret how The Pledge of Allegiance is used as a vehicle to ensure patriotism by instilling it in American children, but the Functional Approach best analyzes why. Functionalism is defined as "the theory that various social institutions and processes in society exist to serve some important function to keep society running" (27).
According to the National Polls, two thirds of the whole American population believe that the Iraq War is not worth it. The only word that Vice President Dick Cheney replied to this fact was "So". Even though the facts of the Iraq War is evident, the government of the United States choose to rely on senseless optimism to continue to fuel reasons to stay in Iraq longer. Ever since the Iraq War, there have been around four thousand American soldiers that have given their lives to the war. The Iraq war has cost the United States 600 billion dollars so far, and the United States government estimates that this number will rise to around 2 trillion when the war is over.
I feel if everyone tried to live their lives by the army values the world would be a better place. The first army value is loyalty. Loyalty to me means always being there for your friends and family. Loyalty is important to me, because in the army you have to know the person to your left and right are going to do what they need to so that everything works out in the end. That can go into life outside the army as well.