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Army Culture of Trust

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

What is it?

Trust is the bedrock of the Army Profession: internal trust that Army professionals live by and uphold the Army Ethic; and external trust that the American people have in the Army to serve the nation ethically, effectively and efficiently.

Establishing, sustaining and strengthening an Army Culture of Trust is a necessary condition for mission command. Army professionals must have character, competence and commitment, and treat themselves, each other and the American people with dignity and respect, fostering an environment where individuals and teams honorably fulfill their oaths of service.

What has the Army done?

The Army empowers its leaders at all levels to be responsible for developing positive climates where respect and mutual trust are demonstrated and help-seeking behavior is promoted within cohesive teams. They are accountable to consistently and faithfully demonstrate the Army Ethic in their decisions and actions, encouraging the personal readiness and resilience of those they lead.

The Army’s ready and resilient strategy supports the development of leaders by enabling them to take action based on increased visibility and holistic assessments that address the needs of their teams. The Army’s Not in my Squad initiative provides junior leaders with tools and training to help them build better teams. The Army has also revised ADRP 1: The Army Profession to include a concise articulation of its ethic in a new Chapter 2: The Army Ethic.

What does the Army have planned for the future?

The Army is developing strategy, doctrine, policy and training designed to reinforce a values-based organization of trusted Army professionals. This entails increasing leader involvement and empowerment at each echelon of command. The intent is to promote professional responsibility and personal accountability that fosters a culture of character, commitment, competence, dignity and respect and prudent acceptance of risk through education, training and skill development. The reinforcement of Army professionalism and the establishment of a culture of trust set the conditions for positive conditional change to enable personal and unit readiness.

Why is it important to the Army?

The strength of the Army is its people, and it is people who fight and win the nation’s wars. These honorable servants, Army experts and stewards of the profession are bound together in common, moral purpose and make up an Army Culture of Trust.

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