Character Building: An Army Values Workbook

By William O'Donohue

We all want to be good people. But what does this actually mean and how do we move toward this goal? This book examines how the military defines "character," "virtue," and becoming a better person. It is NOT meant to be read by only the active duty military. Instead it attempts to take the lessons learned from the military so that we all can benefit from their long standing and successful experience in character building. It is written by a former active duty Army Officer and a Professor of Clinical Psychology. The book has been tested and found to have a number of positive effects. It is short, interesting and impactful.

• Language: English
• Publisher: William O'Donohue
• Release date: Jun 27, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301669622

William O'Donohue

Dr. William O'Donohue, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at UNR. He has published over 60 books and 200 journal articles and book chapters. He is a licensed psychologist in Nevada and directs a free treatment clinic for sexually abused children, physically abused children, and women who have been sexually assaulted.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Getting Started:

Accepting the Challenge of the Valued Life

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Introduction

This is a self-help book like no other that you have seen. The goal of this book is to help you become a better soldier and person. This book is designed to help you understand yourself, the good and the bad. You will take a long, hard, honest look at yourself. When you do this, you will develop character, emphasize and increase your existing strengths, and work to reduce your weaknesses. This book is about the little things, the intangibles. In completing the work laid out before you, you will find your life is more satisfying, more rewarding, and more under your control. This book combines the wisdom of philosophers, the scientific knowledge of psychology, and the practical realities of military duty and life in an easy to understand way. Some self-help books are designed to help you be thinner, more assertive, or to quit smoking. This self-help book is designed to help you understand who you are and to develop character—character necessary for your life in the military.  A better, more fulfilling life depends mainly on self-understanding, self-control, and personal betterment.

The best self-help books are interactive. Therefore, we have included questions for you to think about and answer.  Because this is an ebook we suggest you dedicate a notebook to your self-improvement and include your answers in that notebook along with any other observations you’d like to keep handy.

Virtue

You are probably familiar with stories of uncommon valor, great acts of courage, and honor. Military life sometimes calls upon soldiers to reach deep down for strength and courage that they did not know they possessed. Your first PT session or field training exercise (FTX) during training likely demanded strengths and perseverance that you did not know you possessed. Indeed, you may not have been prepared at all. In the end you succeeded. Do you remember how that success felt? Many soldiers say they feel invincible after their basic Army training. This feeling is not due to Herculean accomplishments or acts of incredible bravery. Rather, this feeling resulted from a deep sense of accomplishment. These soldiers (you too, probably!) felt as though they could do anything. Do you still feel that way? If you do, then great! If you do not, then at least you know that you are capable of achieving goals that seemed insurmountable. You can do so again.

Army life is not civilian life. The stark realities of war and conflict sometimes place soldiers in situations that call for truly heroic action. Audie Murphy is an example of such a soldier. Audie Murphy was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions during World War II. He is well regarded as an American hero. More than 3,400 Congressional Medals of Honor have been awarded to such heroes, most posthumously. For those interested in the stories of honor and uncommon valor that lead to these awards, we recommend this website: http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/moh1.htm. These stories are sure to inspire any reader. They inspired us. Here is the citation for 2LT Audie Murphy that has been taken from the website above.

Some might argue that Lt. Murphy possessed something special, a unique quality that allowed him to act as he did when faced with terrible adversity. We agree. He did possess something special. He possessed character and virtue. Some might argue that only certain people can possess such qualities and virtues, and that these qualities are not in our control. We do not agree with this. Character and virtue are within your control. Philosophers, psychologists, military leaders, and religious professionals all agree that character can be developed. In fact, all soldiers are expected to develop their character. Indeed, soldiers are provided with examples of the kind of character that is required to succeed in the military. The Army Values, Warrior Ethos, and Soldier’s Creed paint a picture of what is expected of soldiers. You are expected to act selflessly with honor, integrity and courage. Maybe this is intimidating for you, maybe not. The life of virtue is rewarding and difficult. All the good things in life are challenging.

As soldiers, we are provided with examples of heroism so that we can understand the challenges we may have to overcome. Examples of heroism and valor inspire us. History is full of examples of acts of courage in dire circumstances. Much of mythology is about heroism and acts of courage. But what about the rest of us? Well over ninety-nine percent of the soldiers who have ever served in the Army never earned a Medal of Honor. Indeed, the vast majority of soldiers never find themselves in a position to respond in a way that would merit this prestigious award. Being a good soldier, living according to the Army Values, the Warrior Ethos, and the Soldier’s Creed does not require that a soldier act in such a way as to be awarded the Medal of Honor. This is not the purpose of these codes, creeds, and doctrines. No one can predict how a person will respond under circumstances like those faced by Audie Murphy. If everyone did respond like he did, then there would be many more soldiers wearing the Congressional Medal of Honor. There aren’t.

Everyday Virtue

What the Army Values, Soldier’s Creed, and Warrior Ethos require of a soldier is common everyday virtue. Sometimes a soldier’s character is measured by his or her actions on the battlefield. Most of the time we are measured by what we do every day. We are what we do. Every day and every action counts. As you read this book we are at war. But it would be a mistake to think I’ll wait for deployment to shine or There is really nothing I can do while in garrison that will allow me to fully express the Army Values, Soldier’s Creed, and Warrior Ethos, those are things that are for combat deployments. There are plenty of ways, everyday, that you can continually challenge yourself to live up to the high standards set by these codes. We all want to better ourselves in some way or another.

Do you maintain your physical fitness, arrive for work on time, help other soldiers who need help, do the right thing even when no one is watching, and act in such a way as to bring honor to the United States Army? Do you even think about these daily activities? Improvements in these or other areas often result in more satisfaction, happiness, and a general sense of well-being. Maybe a promotion that has been out of reach will now be attainable. Maybe a strained relationship with unit members, a spouse, or friends will improve as a result of self-improvement.

This book focuses on these little things. We call these activities little not because they are unimportant, but because they are often overlooked. Complete the following checklist.

Valued Action Checklist

The following questions are designed to identify the frequency with which you have acted according to the Army values in the last week. Simply write, in your notebook, the number of times you have acted in the way identified. These situations are just examples of ways that you might act in accordance with the Army values. There are certainly MANY more situations that could have been listed. We tried to list just a few. When answering the questions make sure to be honest and make sure to consider all situations in which valued action was appropriate.

Personal struggles

You might be thinking I don’t need this book, I already know the Army Values, Soldier’s Creed, and Warrior Ethos by heart. In fact, I even have them memorized. This is a great start. What this means is that you have these ideas right at hand when faced with a difficult situation. But are they just that? Ideas? The test of these codes is not whether you can recite them when directed to do so. The real test is whether you fully understand and have adopted these codes for yourself. It is one accomplishment to have memorized something, and a completely different kind of accomplishment to put what you have memorized into routine practice.

Think about how many things we know, but fail to act on consistently:

• Unsafe sex is dangerous (that is why they call it unsafe!).

• Smoking and chewing tobacco is bad for your health.

• Drinking excessively (to the point of legal intoxication) is problematic and may lead to alcoholism, legal troubles, or personal troubles.

• Driving after drinking is illegal and dangerous.

• Flossing your teeth drastically improves dental care.

• Brushing after each meal is important for dental care.

• Eating a balanced diet is important for