Defining Military Discipline and Values

Military Discipline is a state of order and obedience existing within a command. Self discipline in the military is where soldiers do the 4 rights without being told, even in the absence of the commander. Discipline is created within a unit by instilling a sense of confidence and responsibility in each individual. To strengthen discipline, senior leaders need to give praise to their subordinates, either individually or as a whole, for tasks done well. By doing this, it will accomplish every commanders goal of having a unit that functions well and builds a bond which binds together the team. Everything in life requires some sort of discipline. Whether it is hitting a baseball, learning to sew , playing a musical instrument, making good grades or brushing your teeth it all comes down to a matter of discipline.

The dictionary defines punctual as: Acting or arriving exactly at the time appointed, prompt. Under the rigid and disciplined structure of military life there is no margin for error. Procrastination or being late may cost lives on the battle field. There are many examples of where being late for something could cause dire consequences, such as showing up later than the appointed time for guard duty could cause a breech in security and cause a brutal massacre of the base. Being punctual also helps your leaders to know where you are at all times. If they do not know where you are they might not know you are sleeping in your bed and might think that you were in a car crash or even kidnapped by terrorists because you chose to display you name or rank at your house.

Loyalty is defined as a strong feeling of support or allegiance. I agree fully with this definition. Being loyal is one of the most important of th...

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...ure a little longer, and look a little closer to see how he or she can add to the effort. If each soldier takes the initiative to work just a little harder we can accomplish the mission that much faster and to a better degree. But it takes the whole team as a unit, as one, to attain this goal.

As I strive on to be a better soldier and take the initiative to be a leader in today’s Army, I look a little closer at each of these values. There is always something to work on personally and objectively. To me, being late to PT wasn’t that big of a deal, but if I look at the whole picture it is. If I look deeper as to what m actions are saying, I realize just how important appearance really is. If I am perceived to be a bad soldier that that is the way I will be treated. I will continue to strive to do the right thing and follow the advice of my leaders.