United States Army and Respect Essay Example for Free

United States Army and Respect Essay RESPECT HAS BEEN a distinctive US Army value since 1778 when Frederick William Baron von Steuben noted that a US officer.s first objective should be to treat his men .with every possible kindness and humanity..1 So it was not surprising when the US Army identified respect as oneof its seven values. In 1998 respect language gave the Army a powerful way to organize ongoing discussions about discrimination and harassment.2 The previous year.s headlines had been filled with allegations of appalling violations of respect. The inclusion of respect as a value along with loyalty, duty, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage sent a strong message that respect for others should be an integral part of US Army leadership. The US Army Training and Doctrine Command. (TRADOC.s) initial definition of respect, .treat people as they should be treated,. provided little guidance for defining the characteristics of this core component of Army leadership. RespectinFM22-100 As the capstone leadership manual for the Army, US Army Field Manual (FM) 22-100, Army Leadership, gives a concrete definition of respect in Army leadership. 3 It emphasizes character, principles of Army leadership and Army values and provides a clear, understandable doctrine to guide soldiers as they strive to become and develop as .leaders of character and competence..Despite its stated mission, FM 22-100 fails to explain how respect is unique to Army leadership and what it looks like in practice. In fact, these issues are never addressed. Its brief discussion of respect is framed in language borrowed from philosophy and management theory without considering whether that language is adequate for Army leaders. Applying respect to leaders. interpersonal skills and practical judgment.what leaders .know and do..is never specifically explored. Should we conclude that respect in the Army is no different from popular versions of respect? Most professional soldiers are acutely aware of a discontinuity between the Army.s organizational culture and popular US culture. Official documents often refer to this disjunction as a reason for teaching Army Values, especially to new recruits.4 The fact that FM 22-100 leaves its readers wondering whether respect in Army leadership is the same as popular respect highlights a potentially serious operational problem. Without a clear, solid definition of respect, Army leaders cannot be expected to understand the sort of respect they are meant to exemplify. Some sound explanations are found in FM 22- 100, such as the notion that tough training does not demean subordinates. Building their capabilities and showing faith in them is .the essence of respect.. Respect is .an essential component for the development of disciplined, cohesive and effective warfighting teams. that is based on trust and regard for fellow soldiers.5 The manual also notes that team identity and the bond between lead ers and subordinates spring from mutual respect as well as discipline. Nevertheless, it is difficult to know how to interpret these passages because so much of the discussion of respect in FM 22-100 is hidden in popular language about tolerance, civility and individual autonomy. So while Army Values such as selfless service and personal courage come with fairly sophisticated explanations and examples, respect is left behind. This is something everyone wants, not many people have, and a few people give. Most people would appreciate getting respect from others but do people actually give respect. Unfortunately, a lot of the time, this does not happen. Perhaps, people just dont recognize that they arent giving respect. So, what is the definition of respect exactly? The Oxford dictionary defines respect as deferential esteem felt or shown towards a person or quality. Does that actually explain what respect really is? Respect can be broken down to many topics. People appreciate receiving respect from others; however, much of the time people fail to give resp ect. Respect takes a number of forms: Respect for other people, respect for peoples property, and perhaps most importantly, respect for oneself. If you want others to give you respect, you must first learn how to give respect yourself. There is a lot of ways to respect a person or people, there are a lot of definitions to define respect: â€Å"To feel or show definite regard for; esteem. To avoid violation of or interference with: respect the speed limit. To relate or refer to; concern†. relation or reference, esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability, deference to a right, privilege, privileged position, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy; acknowledgment, the condition of being esteemed or honored, a formal expression or gesture of greeting, esteem, or friendship, favor or partiality. Anot her one is to respect their rules, feelings, their personal space or bubble. There are many other forms of respect. Respect is created in many ways. It is created when people treat others as they want to be treated. So the growth of something, such as respect, often nourishes itself from its own process and dynamics. Being the first to accord respect, and with time, it will develop amongst all the conflicting parties. Avoid insulting people or how they feel about certain situations. Instead try to understand them. Many disastrous interactions are characterized by attitudes such as arrogance, disdain, intimidation. To avoid this be courteous. Listen to what others have to say. Treating people FAIRLY , all is the basic elements â€Å"that we learned in Kindergarten† that goes a long way to creating an atmosphere of trust and respect. Contempt and humiliation are the absence of respect, as are a sense of being unheard or not UNDERSTOOD. The absence of respect or a perceived lack of respect often leads to conflict at personal or professional level. Respect plays an important role in a number of ways. Those who are respected wi thin the community or the workplace are most likely to be able to bring or encourage peace. If there is no respect to be perceived in the workplace it can lead to destruction meaning no TRUST and/or low morale. Once people are given respect, they are more willing to make compromises which are long term and sustainable, rather than those that are made under duress. One must respect his or herself. This respect is holding your head high and respecting your own opinions. It’s acknowledging that you have ideas and then sharing them because you are not AFRAID or intimidated of what others may think. It is not letting peer pressure and other things affect the way you think or want to think. I can say that I lost all respect for the Army. The army is the worst organization to be a part of. Lower enlisted soldiers don’t get respected or treated like human beings even though it is claimed that they do. Any Soldier who enjoys the significance of respect and self-respect in everyday life largely explains why particularly in morale has been lowered and the increase in rules being broke. They are also invoked in bioethics, environmental ethics, workplace ethics, and a host of other applied ethics contexts. Although a wide variety of things are said to deserve respect, for the interest in respect has overwhelmingly been focused on respect for persons, the idea that all persons should be treated with respect simply because they are persons. Today the Army defines RESPECT as (Quote) The regard and recognition of the absolute dignity that every human being possesses; incorporates diversity and compassion. An even easier way is to think of it as The Golden Rule – treating fellow soldiers exactly the way you would wish to be treated. Respect in the Military in my opinion means allowing to be talked to any type of way or just treated not like a human being all because of a certain rank. Regardless of the military we are all human beings and deserve to be treated like people not robots.