An American Soldier

This is the first installment of a series of reflections I have undertaken to write, based on "The Soldier's Creed." Some, like this one, will have an appeal to the Army values and patriotism, but most will also include a devotional aspect as well.
I welcome any comments ... especially criticism.

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I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team.
I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.
(*the rest of the Soldier's Creed is annotated at the end.)


Former President George H. W. Bush, in an interview late in 2007, described his favorite photo of Operation Desert Storm. It depicted a terrified Iraqi soldier in his foxhole, surrounded by American Soldiers. An emotional President Bush recalled, “and the American guy says, ‘We're not going to harm you. We're American soldiers.’”

We’re not like the others, the Soldier was saying. You can count on us to be humane, even amidst the inhumanity of war.

There is something about the claim, “I am an American Soldier” that provokes in me a certain pride—but also the humility of being in undeserved company of greatness. It is the American Soldiers, not the generals or the policy wonks, who have captured the hearts of Americans, particularly since 9/11. TIME Magazine portrayed the American Soldiers in 2003 as, “the bright, sharp instrument of a blunt policy, and success or failure in a war unlike any in history ultimately rests with them.

“For uncommon skills and service, for the choices each one of them has made and the ones still ahead, for the challenge of defending not only our freedoms but those barely stirring half a world away, the American soldier is TIME's Person of the Year.”

Forty years after Vietnam, the American People have rekindled their love for their Soldiers. Whether they agree with the current war or not, people often stop me when I am in uniform, just to say, “Thank you for your service.” It humbles me, having never served a moment in combat, to be thanked for the courageous contributions the American Soldier has been making for six years.

Most of these soldiers are young enough to be my children. Just a few months or a couple of years ago, they wore baggy pants and lip rings, and their biggest challenge had been to master the latest video game. And now they exemplify the best of American values, giving themselves for their buddies and their country.

General Douglas MacArthur, in his famous “Duty, Honor, Courage” speech to the West Point graduating class of 1962, described the American Soldier:

“His name and fame are the birthright of every American citizen. In his youth and strength, his love and loyalty, he gave all that mortality can give. … He has written his own history and written it in red on his enemy's breast.

“…In 20 campaigns, on a hundred battlefields, around a thousand campfires, I have witnessed that enduring fortitude, that patriotic self-abnegation, and that invincible determination, which have carved his statue in the hearts of his people. From one end of the world to the other, he has drained deep the chalice of courage.”

“I am an American Soldier,” says we are different. We are not just soldiers, but we are AMERICAN Soldiers. We don’t abuse prisoners. We defend not only our own freedom but even the faint stirrings of liberty a world away. We flush with discomfiture at the thank yous—after all, “I am an American Soldier; it’s what I do.”


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The Soldier's Creed

I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team.
I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and
proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.
I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.

I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies
of the United States of America in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.