Marshall Hughes
Leadership Qualities Derived from Service in the Armed Forces
During our MSI year of ROTC (Freshman) we were asked to determine which of the seven Army Values was most important: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, or Personal Courage. Assuming that it was a trick question, we attempted to reason through the dilemma anyway. We sought to contrast the Values in context and synthesize their possible outcomes. We racked our brains trying to come up with the best solution but repeatedly found that one value alone was problematic. By the end of the exercise our initial suspicion was confirmed: that none of them could take precedence over any of the others. They are all imperative qualities that a Soldier must include in his or her daily life. As well, they are qualities of such weight that, at all times, we must be conscious of any derivation from them and try always to perfect our route toward them.
I was twelve when I first began my investigation into the different branches of the military. Of course, I was more in awe at the machines I had observed and my capabilities I had witnessed than I was internally inquisitive of my future role. I had just entered my local Boy Scout Troop, freshly "graduated" from the Cub Scout Pack as a Webelos. Fort Lewis had been a great host to the local Scout Troops for a number of years and I attended may Spring Scouting events there. From sitting in the tanks and aircraft to the semi-tactical activities that we were allowed to do, I found myself surrounded in the world's most famous hands-on job; and I loved it.
Though I had no idea, yet, of the culture and the lifestyle (let alone the intensity) of our military I had some experience, from Scouting, of the requisite attributes. It wasn't until my first year of high school that I knew why I would join. I saw something very comforting in its purpose. I saw something comforting in knowing that People were voluntarily submitting themselves to the most arduous of tasks in order to ensure something I could not, at the time, fully grasp: Freedom. I wondered, during my first year of high school, where these People come from. No one is born into this service. No one is obligated by law to serve, unless under dire circumstances. Our military is an all0volunteer military and I was struck by this fact. If these People chose not to take on this mission, then this great nation would not be a nation at all. The reason I joined was because I realized that I was no different from these outstanding volunteers. Those who have been given the most are those who should serve. The lives they know were afforded them by People who fought before. I have been given an enduring Freedom because of the volunteers in our military so it is necessary that I do everything in my power to provide the opportunity for those around me to have the same.
How would I serve then? I wanted to enlist immediately after high school. My parents and teachers advised against it saying that college first means benefits later. I was offered a scholarship from PLU Army ROTC but the decision was still tough. I was concerned that I would be taking an opportunity away from someone perhaps more deserving and I knew that OCS was always an option. With few pulled hairs and some strong words of encouragement, my physics teacher from high school, a fellow Eagle Scout, finally convinced me. The first thing I learned about leadership was admitting that I am capable.
From there, the MSI and II years were prime conditions for learning how to follow. It was a task I though I knew until I was put into situations where I assumed I could do better. Taking orders from someone who does not know what they are doing is more than irritating. But, later, having so many of my own inconsistencies revealed and entering the third year on stronger legs I learned what it meant to follow. Whether I could do a better job or not, I grasped that to follow is to support and aid my superiors.
Entering the MSIII year was the first real step to assuming leadership. I have learned that to lead is certainly to command buy with other important traits involved. A leader takes into account every aspect of the situation. More than just the terrain, the equipment, and the mission, this involves the People we lead. "Better than any technology, better than any machine, the greatest weapon in any Army is a well-trained Solider," said SFC Darr. This continues to resonate with me when I stand in front of formation and look at the faces of my peers knowing full well that, though I may be in charge, it is the People I am facing who will get it done.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." (Aristotle). To point out any of my strengths would be unfair and dishonest without point out my reciprocating weakness. I have done well, at times, in following the Army Values and yet have caught myself wronging them at other times. In the past I have succeeded in accomplishing the mission but I did so without others in mind. However, I have found, time and time again, that I am always attempting excellence. Therefore, the greatest leadership quality I have derived thus far from the Armed Forces is sincerity. I am sincere in my intentions. I attempt, daily, to live the Values that I know and when I fail I use my failure as a learning tool for myself and those around me. I am aware that I will never have a fault so terrible that it cannot be overcome and I will never have a quality so venerable that I cannot make it better. My sincerity is my greatest leadership quality
I was little confused as to how to answer this question until I thought about the second part of it: "beyond." Anyone can pursue an education; one hardly needs foundational values and leadership qualities to accomplish this. I ask, "Of what value is an education if it is not used?" This is where I appreciated the weight of "beyond." What do I pursue beyond my education? How will my leadership qualities help me in my endeavor beyond?
One very unfortunate truth about the world is that there will always be problems within it. From individual troubles to global tribulations, the method of involvement we choose now will define not only our character as a nation but the foundation we lay for the future. Will we succeed? Those who live on hope have a slim diet. We find, however, that beyond hope is sincerity. A farmer does not hope that his crops will flourish and wait for winter to find them stiff and frozen. His diligence, his perseverance during the most fruitless years before, will prove of benefit later. With this kind of sincerity once can imagine the good that will come out of the trials we face. Finishing my Eagle Scout project was not easy; not while I was a Senior in high school (deciding between College or Enlistment), on the football team, and the President of the Associated Student Body. I do not mean to distract with gloating - instead, I aim to show from these activities that one will undoubtedly find themselves overwhelmed with tasks, obligations, and burdens. Yet I volunteered for that stress! What good was any of that hard work? What I reaped was more than a few patches on different uniforms and jerseys, more than a diploma, and more than my education.
What is beyond me is the People I serve and will serve. Others are my pursuit. What is true of all personal characteristics is that they are only realized in relationship to their application. My ability to study is only as good as my grade on the exam. My ability to speak publicly is only as good as the reactions and interactions of the crowd. Our attempt to succeed in life is only as good as our ability to help others achieve as well. Our joy in life is only real when shared with others. Similarly, what I do with my education will define its value. Should I stay in the military for a twenty or thirty year career I will work diligently to benefit the Soldiers I will lead, support their families, and impact on them the same sense of Duty and Selfless Service that leaders before me have instilled in me. My leadership qualities, especially sincerity, will be my primary tolls to advance my individual skill set and help those around me better themselves.
Specifically, I want to buy hundreds of acres of property and build my own Scout Camp by the time I am sixty. If I do not start my own home-town Troop then I will join the local one as an Assistant Scout Master and take with me many of the things I will have received from these future Army and college years to pass on to youngster brothers. It has been mentioned to me that I should consider teaching. Between the Army, teaching, and medicine I have doors open and choices ahead to make for myself. However, I must reiterate, that what I have learned and what I will learn will only ever prove itself when I have applied. It.
In short, I project that these qualities will help in my pursuit of doing good for others; in ensuring their opportunity to have what I have. In both the general and specific sense, I seek to benefit People. I attempt to look beyond my personal scope, beyond my own aestheticism for learning, in order to provide for the future.
Thank you for this opportunity,
CDT Marshall Hughes
Army Strong.
PLU Army ROTC
