The Wilds Things Grow

Respect & Discipline

What does respect mean to you? Well that depends on who the "you" in your sentence is referring to. Most people in the world would say giving someone leeway for the things they have done in the past or allowing them special privileges for accomplishments. To some it might even mean to honor them. All hold true in the Army, with one addition. Knowing when to shut the fuck up.

When the Man or Women in front, or above, you is yelling, asking a question or trying to explain something to you, ninety nine percent of the time he or she is not looking for an answer or a reason why, they just want you to be quite and listen to them speak. It has nothing to do with who is right or wrong or good or bad, the only thing that matters is the person with more black lines, stripes, birds or stars is always right.

For a lot of people it can be difficult to show respect when none is given, often times because of the way they were raised. From a young age people are told the saying "respect is earned, not given." Most people would agree with saying and follow its guidelines. Often times in the Army, especially infantry, we tend to forget one very important detail.

When you are all wound up and ready to explode and don't want to back down, because a high percentage of us are "A-type" personalities, we tend to forget that you show respect to the RANK always. Now this is not to say one should disregard the man or women wearing the rank, but is signifies time, skill and proven abilities. Also the "look I've been there done that" that one day every young soldier in the army hopes to be able to tell his or her soldiers.

Why is respect in the Army so important? Such a simple question with very significant reasoning behind it. First off respect is one of the seven army values. It is values such as respect that form the building blocks of good soldiers and future leaders. Respect is also referenced in the Soldiers Code; "I will treat others with dignity and respect and expect others to do the same."

Respect on basic human level is important as well for it helps us to stay human, and not act like animals. Respect is one way we in the military can communicate without saying any words. It is what gets the job done when a leader tells you something needs to get done. As a soldier when you have respect for that, you will complete your task and accomplish the mission more swiftly and with better success every time.

Something to keep in mind when talking about respect is to always understand that respect means different things