"The army taught me that I had to hold myself to a higher standard no matter what."

Loyalty, duty, integrity, respect, service, honor, and courage are words that are extensively used these days as traits of an outstanding leader, but military service gives meaning to these words.

These are ingrained in a soldier during his training days. Further, time and life may mold him, but the character that is built during his service will remain with him throughout his life and will be reflected in all his actions. As said,

"You cannot always be the best, but you can always do it right."

Let me give you an example: when I arrived at the training academy, I was a typical engineer grad with all the flaws you can imagine, a fresher just out of college and suddenly huddled in the strength of an unknown 100.Boys from different backgrounds, caste, creed, culture, went into a place we called the company, mine was "Meiktila: The Mustangs". In time, the herd of unknowns will become a band of brothers willing to go to any length for the color. Traits like honor, loyalty, brotherhood, integrity were not taught in business classes but were roughed up in punishment parades. Isn’t it fascinating and odd? You may question how punishment can teach you these things? Because adversity will bind you together; it’s human nature.

The first lesson taught in the academy was "One for all, all for one", where punishment was never given individually. We all must bear that for the mistake by one. A lesson that engrained camaraderie which remained with us then and days beyond. So, when my company, deployed along the border, was punished by the Commanding officer to go on a route march for a mistake by an individual, their company commander chose to lead them, as he was taught to remember one for all, all for one, and now his company was his band of brothers.

Let me now start with them one by one.

LOYALTY

Almost all my life, I was a free bird doing whatever I liked because after my senior secondary I was out of my home exploring and constructing a path for my life on my own, with no supervision, a typical way followed by any guy during our times. Then, during my engineering days, there was not much supervision either. So, suddenly in training academy when I was yelled upon, shouted upon, being addressed by delicious adjectives, it was a rude awakening. The first time, I had to just follow and do what the leadership demanded.

While initially, my mind resisted and hated being yelled at, I gradually became used to it. Later in my life, I realized such misery was committed to carve me into an ideal soldier. So, is it that an ideal soldier should be yelled upon or punished and always should only follow commands? Well, no, but to lead, you must first understand how to lead, and, for that, you will require the unwavering and unquestioned loyalty of those you lead. Loyalty will not be earned unless you earn the trust of your men.

So, all that yelling, punishment, and resistance against a common enemy, i.e., drill instructors (😊) brought us together and made us loyal to each other. How? We were so loyal to each other that we would cover for each other whenever required and would trust each other to do the same. Thus, this important quality of loyalty remains with us throughout our lives. Later in life, this lesson was translated into giving me the ability to trust leaders.

DUTY

"I, …………………do swear in the name in the name of GOD that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by the law established and that I will, as in duty bound, honesty and faithfully serve in the regular Army of the Union of India and go wherever ordered by land, sea or air, and that I will observe and obey all commands of the President of the Union of India and the commands of any officer set over me even to the peril of my life".

This is the oath taken by soldiers of the Indian armed forces, that he is duty-bound to serve his nation and do whatever is needed to achieve that even at the peril of his life, honestly and faithfully.

How do we define duty or "karma" for a soldier?

स्वधर्ममपि चावेक्ष्य न विकम्पितुमर्हसि।

धर्म्याद्धि युद्धाछ्रेयोऽन्यत्क्षत्रियस्य न विद्यते।।

"Further, considering your duty, you should not waver. Indeed, there is no higher duty than fighting a just war for a Khsatriya."

So, does it mean that the duty of a soldier is only to fight a war? No, the duty of a soldier is much more: he must fight a righteous war. A righteous war can be on the battlefield or within oneself. A soldier is duty-bound to win both.

A soldier is duty-bound to act once ordered and that unwavering commitment to his duty makes him a trustworthy man, in uniform or otherwise, in other spheres of life. Because this devotion to duty is instilled in him and he will always stick to it. He will not complain about the vagaries he endured while executing his duty. However, he will be duty-bound to follow righteous order and oppose unjust ones.

TRUTHFULNESS AND RESPONSIBILITY

As a kid and in adolescence, whenever we made a mistake, our first natural reaction was to pin blame on someone (younger or elder siblings were the default choices or close friends, isn’t it?). So, this character trait is inherent in us, where we don't want to be blamed; we just want to avoid the burden of the mistake, or we always try to deflect responsibility.

"Own up". Every military man must have heard it multiple times during his training when something goes wrong and, if a mistake is not morally or ethically wrong, then they stick together to receive the punishment as a team. However, if the mistake is ethically or morally wrong, we could see the same team persuading the defaulter to own up. The "Own up" concept is all about the fact that "I have the duty to be the best, morally and ethically, and I must take ownership of the mistakes I make. It’s my duty as a soldier.

Mistakes are sometimes grave, shameful, idiotic. However, to err is human and a soldier is also a human at all. He is, however, encouraged to own his mistakes and, as a result, is obligated to accept the consequences, if any exist. It may be painful and difficult at first, but in the long run, he will be a happy man with no guilt.

So, what a soldier learns is devotion to duty and he reflects this in all his realms of life. Once a soldier is tasked, it is his responsibility to carry it out, and he ensures that, whatever the outcome, he will stand by his sworn duty and bear the burden of responsibility. A lesson for all to learn from a soldier’s life.

Let me give you an example: a team led by a young captain was sent on an operation in a dangerous and hostile terrain. To execute his task, he had to cross a raging mountain stream. While crossing using expedients such as placing ropes across both ends of the stream, one of the individuals lost his Motorola (handheld radio set used for communication). He realized this after crossing the stream and reported it to the team leader. They searched but couldn’t find it in the gushing stream. When they returned, it was reported to the battalion, and the young officer was faced with two options: blaming the erring individual entirely or accepting responsibility as the team leader. He did the latter, but as a punishment, he had to return to the same location, 25 kilometres away from his company, during the torrential rains of July, to look for it again (the beauty of the army, mistakes must not go unpunished so that lessons can be learned permanently. The mistake here was that the radio set and other stores should have been secured properly before crossing), but it earned him the badge of a true leader, whom his men would follow blindly.

RESPECT

"Treat others the way you want to be treated."

I would like you to return to paragraph one, where I said, ‘suddenly huddled in the strength of an unknown 100, boys from different backgrounds, caste, creed, and culture.'

So, what was the key to forming a team with such a diverse group? "Mutual Respect" and "adaptability" was the answer. Respect each other, respect mutual existence, respect contrary views.

So, the quality of respecting each other helps you to form and mingle with any new team you are in. You must just remember the basic principles of respecting each other as discussed above and the army taught me that. I may dissent professionally with someone's views, but to convey that, I need not be disrespectful.

SELFLESS SERVICE

"The safety, honour and welfare of your country come first, always and every time.

The honour, welfare, and comfort of the men you command come next.

Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time."

The Chetwode Credo.

This credo epitomizes selfless service in so many words and it must be engrained in a soldier and a leader.

This selflessness of a soldier is where his actions are true without any desire, and he puts his duty before himself. This selflessness frequently propels him to success.

Thus, "selflessness is a mentality of giving without any expectation in return." And a soldier does live by this motto. A true leader will have a selfless devotion to his duty and will act without any lust for anything.

HONOUR

"Mine honor is my life; both grow in one.

Take honor from me, and my life is done."

― William Shakespeare

Honour is the idea of a bond between an individual and society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as valour, chivalry, honesty, and compassion. It is an abstract concept entailing a perceived quality of worthiness and respectability that affects both the social standing and the self-evaluation of an individual or institution, such as a family, school, regiment, or a nation. (Wikipedia)

A soldier’s honour is his ethos and his flag. No matter what, he will not let them down, even at the peril of his life. This is reflected even in his conduct in society. A good soldier will follow his ethos and teachings in letter and spirit. Thus, it adds a dimension of discipline and mutual respect to society.

Final Thoughts

While military training is geared towards creating the perfect soldier, the very same lessons can create an ideal social fabric, where people will believe in mutual respect and existence. When you learn loyalty, selfless service, duty, and other Army values the hard way, they become so ingrained in your brain that you may not know the other way.

Even when I hang up my uniform next year, learning will be the foundation for whatever I achieve in life, because the dimensions may be different, but the values remain the same.