Editor's Note: This is the fifth in a 7-part series on Army Materiel Command's enduring commitment to the Army Values as the organization celebrates its 58th birthday in August. This installment is focused on the Army Value of honor.
REDSTONE ARSENAL, AL -- From change of command ceremonies to promotion and retirement celebrations, the Army Value of honor is well established in its traditions.
But for every Soldier and civilian who works to fulfill the Army mission, the value of honor is the result of a more introspective vision, with employees exhibiting it through the choices they make in living the other Army values. As Army Materiel Command employees recognize August as their organization’s birthday month, their commitment to the other Army Values – loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, integrity and personal courage – shows in their honorable service both at work and in their communities.
“If we don’t have honor, then we are not adhering to the rest of the Army values,” said Sgt. Maj. Ross Eastman, AMC’s chaplain sergeant major. “If you are doing great with duty and respect, but lack integrity, then you have no honor. If you value loyalty, but don’t have personal courage, then you don’t have honor. All of the values are important and if you are missing any of them, then you don’t have honor.”
Honor defines the conditions for the workplace and the ability for employees to achieve mission success.
“Honor principles set a standardized foundation for all to align,” said Tim McLean, division chief of Civilian, Workforce and Talent Management for AMC Human Resources (G-1). “Army traditions visually enforce the thoughts and beliefs associated with honor, and solidify the processes and procedures that build togetherness and cohesion.”
Just like glue binds materials together, honor is the seal for how employees work together to achieve an organization’s goal.
“Without honor, everything breaks down – confidence, communication, effective work outcomes, purpose and direction,” said Joe Coutcher, lead Human Resources specialist for AMC Human Resources (G-1). “If the AMC shield is on it, everyone knows we will honor our obligation above and beyond what is expected.”
While honor is on full display in Army ceremonies, it is most influential when exhibited in relationships, and particularly within the relationship between non-commissioned officers and enlisted Soldiers.
“Honor is when I take care of Soldiers, when I help them and counsel them, when I talk them through a crisis or help them to deploy to combat, despite their fears and challenges, and family concerns,” Eastman said. “Honor is the American Soldier who doesn’t serve for the glory, but serves because it’s the right thing to do.”
Employees with a strong sense of honor give their best effort not for the next promotion or recognition, but in service to the better of their teammates and organization.
“Honor puts the focus on the mission, community, teams, coaching, mentoring and compassion,” McLean said.
Of the Army values, honor is the one that most often spills over between personal experience and professional expectations, and is instilled most often through both personal and professional examples.
“I learned early that my word, action and reputation resulted in my name being honorable,” McLean said. “To honor laws, regulations, guidance and leadership provided me with a sense of discipline and pride, and a desire to do my part by serving my country. To honor my family and my community, I always want to do the right thing, as my mother taught me, regardless of the situation.”
Coutcher is committed to giving his best every day in honor of those who came before him, including his father, a two-tour Vietnam veteran; his mother, who came to the U.S. from Germany and whose commitment to Army civilians led her to develop the AMC Fellows Program; teammates who strive for equal and fair treatment for all; employees in AMC’s Organic Industrial Base dedicated to providing Soldiers with the best equipment and the nation’s young heroes who have made sacrifices in war.
“If I gave less than all I could, I would not be honoring their deeds, sacrifice and service,” he said. “Their sacrifices inspire me to press on, to find solutions and answers, to do what needs to be done, right.”
Honor is most evident in the working relationships between employees with different backgrounds.
“It takes all kinds of employees with all sorts of skill sets, values, education, awareness and beliefs to make a successful team,” McLean said. “We all serve honorably in our own way. Teamwork occurs when we honor others’ creativity ideas and inputs.”
With honor, we are given the freedom to appreciate and celebrate such differences, Eastman said.
“We honor service with ceremonies that recognize how Soldiers served, how they lived,” he said. “We treat each other with respect and how we want to be treated because we honor each other’s right to be here and to contribute and to make a difference.”
While the idea of honor may be difficult to grasp, the implementation of honor can be seen in the differences it makes it people’s lives.
“Living the Army Value of honor becomes a way of life,” McLean said. “Once honor is embedded in your DNA, public service is your mission. Honor gives you the will to give more to others.”
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