The Importance of Military Bearing - Essay Example

The Importance of Military Bearing Introduction Military bearing can be summarily explainedas a set of conditions required of military personnel by maintaining their composure, tactfulness, expected decorum and discipline, professionalism, neatness in appearance and so on (Eliot & Schwartz 552). In short, military bearing refers to everything that would make a soldier be up to the task of carrying out his military oeuvres, whether at wars or at his military outpost. It is what differentiates a soldier-like nature from the civilian’s: and it is what makes the armed forces to be disciplined and fortified to fight the enemies fearlessly. Sites of Operations Whether in the darkness of war trenches or in the comfort of their offices in the barracks, military personnel are expected to exhibit a high level of professionalism. Therefore, the capability of demonstrating military bearing is independent of the sites of operation: it is a demonstration of the military tactfulness, which is a direct opposite of the civilian sloppiness. In fact, many military officers today decided to join the Armed Forces because of the spruce appearance of the military personnel. The Characteristics of Military Bearing Below are the common observable features of military bearing: 2 (a) Self-dignity: The beauty of military bearing is in the ability to carry oneself with dignity. The military personnel are often encouraged to stand tall: they should maintain a realistic air of self-importance around themselves. The extent of self-dignity depends on the ranks of individual officers. To display this enviable self-dignity, the military personnel are taught to assume certain kinds of postures, like standing straight with the back upright like a ramrod and looking straight into the eyes of their interlocutors. Some officers have taken this self-importance farther than that: one could perceive self-dignity in their gaits as they walk from one place to another: The higher the rank the bigger the swagger or faster the sprightly gait. (b) Physical Appearance: One of the amazing things about the military is the immaculate appearance that military personnel command. You could see their uniforms properly ironed and neat. Even the way they put on these uniforms depict professionalism that seems to make people dizzy about whether soldiers truly spend hours to get their uniforms prepared. Although, it isn’t the uniform itself that matters, but the way it is worn: military personnel have different ranks, and each rank has befitting official uniform that stipulates the appropriate level of authority as reflected by the officers’ epaulets, badges, caps or berets and other military paraphernalia. A military officer is expected to be neat, spruce, brisk and articulate in fashion. Despite the fact that each country has its unique uniform, the obsequiousness is the same: high-ranked officers’ appearance is full of power 3 commanding honor; the junior officers are not left behind in the same consciousness with what they should put on. Sloppiness and bedraggled appearance is never an option for a military officer, even in the course of war! (c ) Recognition of Constituted Authority: What makes the military different from the civilian lies in the undisputed recognition and showing respect for constituted authority. All soldiers of British Armed Forces or the American Armed Forces have sworn and vowed to uphold the constitutions of whichever country and promising to keep the integrity of such a nation. This is shown in the undisputed manner with which military personnel reveal their respect for those in authority. If a senior military officer is quite younger than you, in the military, you are bound by the code of conduct/ethic to demonstrate appropriate obeisance to such an officer. This is a typical attitude that pervades all military barracks, outposts and locations of military tours. As a soldier, you are expected to answer in a respectful way as “Yes, Sir!” for male officers and “Yes, Madam!” for female officers. Gender inequality doesn’t rule in the military, whereby a junior male officer may decide to disrespect a senior female officer based on her gender. Such a rude junior officer would be punished for such an untoward behavior. Therefore, the members of Armed Forces are expected to be good examples for other citizens in a country to follow. This act of total submission to the higher authority isn’t only applicable in the home country of the military personnel, it is also mandatory that in the overseas tours they are sent to, the soldiers must obey their leaders 4 before complaining. This is an enviable part of the military life which the civil societies lack. ( d) Untoward Behavior: It is imperative for military officers to refrain from any attitudes that may be deemed improper for someone in the Forces. Civilians are free to engage in any disreputable acts they chose to do, but the military personnel, on the other hand, should not try to do such things as chewing gums in the public, drinking alcoholic beverages or getting involved in a public brawl or in a street-fight. This is the essence of military bearing, which requires that military officers conduct themselves with good manners. The military are always looked high to as great examples for the civilians to imitate. When shaking hands, soldiers should firmly hold each other’s hands with pride and look straight into the eyes of their colleagues they are greeting. Military personnel are also barred from committing crimes that could jeopardize their loyalty to their country and ruin their self-respect and pride. Strict court-martials or military tribunals are set up to punish those who have contravened these laws or rules. The high-handedness of the tribunal or disciplinarian panels have often served as warning signs for future deterrents who might want to undermine the seemingly sacredness of the military codes and acting in shameful violation of their oath of allegiance when they joined the Army. As a result of this, soldiers are encouraged to demonstrate impeccable character/behavior whether they on tour/duty or not; whether they are in uniform or not; whether they are on vacation or not. Soldiers are always 5 advised to see their actions as a reflection of their countries’ images: if they act unwisely or cruelly, their actions would be accepted as full representations of what make up their countries’ code of conduct. Despite experiencing such bad publicity of its soldiers committing the crimes of rape, murder, lawlessness and the others, the United States Armed Forces have always laid emphasis on military personnel behaving properly in the public to avoid creating bad image for the US Forces, as well as tarnishing the country’s reputation in the comity of international bodies. (e) Patriotism: No doubt, the first commitment required of all military personnel is their patriotism to the country they serve to protect. The oath sworn by soldiers on the day of their conscription indicates that they should think about their country first, and then themselves second. This is a clear call to self-denial and making total submission to all orders for rendering protection to their country. The military authorities do not take any unpatriotic act with levity; it could cause a great damage to the military maneuvers if not quickly stamped out. In recent years, there have been instances of military personnel working as secret spies for another country while serving in his/her native country. But the good news is that when such a soldier is apprehended, he/she would face the harsh reality of punishment through court-martial or military tribunal. While it is dangerous to have unpatriotic soldiers within the Armed Forces of any country is because the secret strategies of the Forces could be leaked to the enemies. This action could weaken the efficiency of the country’s military, and subsequently leading to loss of battles/wars. 6 (f) Leadership Traits: Military officers are trained to exhibit fourteen great leadership traits that would show them as good examples in the societies. These leadership qualities are summarized as follows: (i) Dependability: It is important that the military personnel show some signs of dependability to both his military colleagues and the civilian public. In the course of war or armed conflict, both the junior and senior officers exchange vital information with one another; and everyone would be wary to receive orders from an officer that has been identified as undependable person. A dependable military officer would respect his/her oath of allegiance to the Armed Forces while discharging his/her duties. This involves observing all the rules and ethic codes laid down for all military officers in the course of carrying out their military assignments. Any officer with a long line of bad record owning to attitudes redolent of undependability would jeopardize the military homogeneity and the possibility of unifying the activities of the Armed Forces. (ii) Courage: This aspect of military bearing explains why military officers are not afraid to participate in even the hottest of wars, whether locally or internationally. Despite the heavy war tolls and casualties in Iraq, thousands of American soldiers are upbeat about their deployment to the war. It is never an understatement that military personnel should be fearless, adventurous and confident to face all challenges that their jobs bring to their ways. It takes courage to launch offensives against the enemies and try to uproot their fortresses. The United States incursion into Vietnam has always been described as an act of 7 confidence on the part of the US military. The British Armed Forces’ attack on Northern Ireland has been generally regarded as impressive. Soldiers are expected to think less of them, but think more of the security of their countries. This attitude makes the military men appear extraordinary to the civilians. The soldier’s patriotism is beyond any reasonable doubt! (iii) Judgment: Exercising the right judgment is one of the significant traits of the military personnel. In the times of peace or war soldiers should be able to discern the extent of the prevailing problems and offer appropriate judgment. Giving wrong judgment could lead to fatal errors that could make the Armed Forces lose their control over any war or conflict. Soldiers are taught not to rely on fiction but facts; they have been instructed not to be emotional when carrying out their statutory tasks. Bad judgment could lead to unnecessary bombing during the war; it could cause many casualties on the part of the battalion that had made the mistake. The desire to handle every circumstance as precisely as possible may have engendered serious warning and training in the military that would prepare every military officer to exercise the right judgment using all their six senses. (iv) Endurance: There is no gainsaying that anyone who wants to be a soldier must be ready to endure many unfavorable circumstances. During the war, soldiers are confined to trenches, dungeons and jungles: these places are the least comfortable locations where anyone would like to be. Also, military training is energy-sapping: it requires great endurance to be able to withstand this rigorous military training. More so, military 8 personnel use endurance to handle annoying issues among themselves. For example, friendly fire among the soldiers may spark a racial or ethnic problem. If the soldiers do not exercise patience, they may start to fight one another and undermine their country’s security. It also takes endurance to take and follow orders from superiors, especially in a situation that may pose serious difficulties for the junior officers. (v) Decisiveness: It is a great characteristic of military personnel to be decisive twenty-four hours a day. In case of any eventuality, soldiers are trained to come up with the right decision straightaway to confront any problem that may be facing them. A slight hesitation to making a constructive decision may cause the Army hundreds of lives. This is why the battalion commanders are equipped with the leadership training to help them make quick and practical decisions when situations arise. (vi) Justice: One feature that is usually associated with the military is the possibility of receiving good justice within the Army. The military disciplinary committees are mostly not as corrupt as the judges in the civilian judiciary. And they demonstrate high level of transparency that every common soldier craves for. Also, soldiers are encouraged to be polite and just when dealing with their colleagues and the civilians. They are not expected to fraudulent or criminal in their dealings with people. (vii) Integrity: Soldiers can be separated from civilians in the way both groups of people approach the issue of integrity. Being honest and straightforward is an attitude that is always expected of soldiers, while civilians could dance round it without taking it quite 9 seriously. It requires integrity to fight severally for one’s country without selling out. It requires integrity to lay one’s life to defend one’s country and the people in it. The military officers are aware that they have to deal with both their juniors and seniors with complete truthfulness. This characteristic, though essential, hasn’t received similar emphasis in the civil society as it is in the military. The oath of allegiance soldiers sworn to when they joined the military clearly requested that all military personnel should deal with their country with high level of honesty and genuineness. Lying to a fellow soldier or to one’s country during the duty is considered a serious crime which is punishable by imprisonment or total expulsion from the Army. (viii) Tactfulness: Military personnel should be tactful: he/she should exercise his/her judgment in a way it would positively affect the outcome of a military operation or oeuvres. This tactfulness is also expected in the way they execute their duties: soldiers are not expected to toy with guns carelessly or threaten civilians on account of their power or whatever. (ix) Initiative: The military personnel should demonstrate some great initiative at finding solution to immediate problems. They are expected to know when to crack the gun or fire at the enemy. They should be familiar with the signs of success or failure in the course of warfare; they should understand when to act or to hide for their safety. All these actions boil down to having quick initiatives to handle unexpected circumstances. This explains why soldiers are quick at responding to the some critical conditions. 10 (x) Enthusiasm: In order to keep being committed to his/her military duties, a soldier is expected to have enthusiasm for the job. He/she should love what he/she is doing despite hard situation, uncomfortable circumstances and dangerous conditions. It takes great enthusiasm to march ahead to meet an enemy one doesn’t know how armed he/she is. It is apparent that soldiers that lack enthusiasm often end up in mutiny and participate in disloyal operations. (xi) Bearing: All the traits of leadership described above and below all point to the issue of military bearing. Soldiers are expected to carry themselves in a dignified manner that shows how special they are in the society. Military personnel shouldn’t walk like a drunken man on street or undignified gait. (xii) Unselfishness: Military personnel shouldn’t be selfish: in fact, they are called to sacrifice their time, lives, convenience and all to protect their countries and the people in it. In order to fulfill these duties, they would have to think of their countries’ security first, and any other considerations should come later. (xiii) Loyalty: Military personnel should demonstrate high degree of loyalty: they should be loyal to their countries; they should be loyal to both their seniors and juniors; they should be loyal to themselves as they go about their daily assignment. This feature helps them to abide by their sworn oath when they joined the military. Being loyal to one’s country means one won’t want to turn against it as a mutineer or a disloyal traitor. 11 (xiv) Knowledge: The military training endows the officers with much knowledge about how to conduct their military affairs in a nice way. They don’t only learn about the art of warfare, but also about how to carry themselves in a respectful way. Every soldier is expected to have full knowledge of the Constitution and the military decrees that guide their military assignments. A good soldier should know what action is regarded as criminal and what it isn’t. He/she should understand how the offenders would be recommended for prosecution. Most importantly, military personnel should exhibit enviable regard for law and order, which could only come from having appropriate knowledge of laws and statutes that are in their home countries. Importance of Military Bearing Highlighted above are the comprehensive explanations of what military bearing means: however, it is as well interesting to know the importance of having military bearing. Some of these benefits of military bearing include: (1) Homogeneity: The good thing about having soldiers exhibit great military bearing is to create an environment of homogeneity whereby every officer would act politely towards one another. There would be peace and spirit of camaraderie that would cement them together in one bond. This characteristic would make it possible for the military personnel to act in unison as they work hard to defend their countries and the people in it. Homogeneity helps to destroy walls of separation that may give rise to mutiny and other disloyal acts of traitor and felony. 12 (2) Greater Performance: Military bearing helps Armed Forces to achieve greater performance in the process of keeping a country safe or unanimously engaging in warfare. It establishes an environment of obedience which would make junior officers to easily obey the orders of their seniors. Like any moralistic virtue, military bearing produces an air of joint-action that could foster successful relationship among all the military personnel working at the same outposts or on the same barracks. (3) A Good Example: There is no doubt that military bearing produces some sterling qualities that even civilians would be happy to imitate: talking of honesty, loyalty and endurance, all these qualities most civilians would like to have. It is also common that some civilians copy the meticulousness of military as they put up clean, immaculate and attractive appearance in their starched and properly ironed uniforms. Even young people wear camouflage to appear like a military officer: they shake hands stiffly, imitating the military way of doing the same. (4) National Dignity: Any country whose military demonstrate great military bearing would be regarded as a great military country. For examples, the US soldiers and British soldiers do exhibit a great deal of professionalism within and out the countries as they go to fight wars that serve the interests of their countries. Soldiers that are unruly and disrespectful in their operations always bring shame and indignity to their countries when they go to international peace-keeping missions. 13 Though, it may be hard to control all soldiers, but laws and ethics are available to monitor their behaviors within and outside their home countries. (5) Safer World: There is no doubt that military bearing which engenders good military ethics has been able to establish a world army that believes in the rule of laws and shows respect to the international charters of human rights. Now, countries are having joint-military operations which seem to have been successful so far because of military bearing that helps all participating military officers to show loyalty and enthusiasm in the operations. Problems Affecting Military Bearing (a) Selfishness: Whenever the military officers begin to show some signs of selfishness, it is obvious that they would lose sight of the military bearing and start to engage in ignoble activities that would tarnish the image of the countries and that of themselves. (b) Failed States: Countries that are politically volatile and unstable usually have the problem of lawlessness that may affect even the military bearing of their military personnel. The soldiers would automatically lose their good nature and turn wayward pursuing illegal goals that could make their countries more insecure. 14 Works Cited McDaniel, Megan. Middlemarch. Oxfordshire: Spark Educational Publishing, 2003. Print. Read More