JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Professionalism, pride and honor are all attributes we possess as military members.
For members of the United States Air Force, our core values of integrity, service and excellence provide the foundation for our members that ground us and center our actions.
Honor, courage, and commitment are the core values that guide the United States Navy. These attributes contribute to the same end ... military professionals dedicated to defending the United States Constitution and selfless service to our nation. Military service is a calling. There are not many people who can do what we do.
United States Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta demonstrated his selfless professionalism in Afghanistan's Korongal Valley, Oct. 25, 2007. There, he led his team through an impossibly daunting task. His team was ambushed and was receiving heavy enemy fire. He saw that his squad leader was down. He exposed himself to enemy fire and made his way to his squad leader to cover him and administer medical aid. While he was doing this, he was struck by enemy fire. He didn't give up; he could not.
Giunta returned fire and continued to aid others in his squad. He led his team to reach other separated and wounded soldiers. Realizing one of his soldiers was unaccounted for, he went to find him and saw two insurgents taking his teammate away from the battlefield. Giunta engaged the enemy and saved his teammate's life. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his selfless actions.
You can be sure that Giunta did not wake up that morning with the intention of earning a Medal of Honor. The full citation can be read at
http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/afghanistan.html
How could Giunta do this? Why would he risk his own life to save others? Giunta did this because he was a trained professional. The Army's core values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage were the attributes Giunta used to complete his task and lead his team. His professionalism saved his life and the lives of his team; but why?
Giunta believed in what he was doing. He knew that he had to lead his team and live up to the core values of his service. He knew his teammates would do the same as well. As you can see, Giunta was able to lead because he was trained to be in control of his environment even when things were dire. Hours of tedious training and repetition paid dividends ... this is directly attributed to his professionalism.
As military professionals, we strive for perfection. Details, no matter how small, are tediously checked and rechecked. Details that most people consider unimportant or too small to matter are the very things military professionals think are just as important as the biggest detail. Why? Our profession is one that depends on the people next to us. As military professionals, we trust that our brothers and sisters in arms are taking great care to look at the details just as we do ourselves. Details are important because it is what makes up professionals. The core values of our service give us all the same point of reference to operate from. We can trust that we are all on the same page with our teammates beside us. Core values build trust.
We all begin in the armed forces as individuals. We arrive at our initial training locations and are really only aware of ourselves. Our perspective of the world is limited and our experience as team members is lacking.
We are given uniforms. Our hair is cut. We're given rules and swear allegiance to something greater than ourselves. We begin our profession as single parts of a great force and are molded and formed into a team of professional service members that no longer are solely motivated by self centered needs. We become part of a great team that is capable of accomplishing the impossible.
Giunta's professionalism gave him the presence of mind to know someone was missing. His medical training allowed him to save his teammates. The repetition of weapons training provided him the tools to protect himself, his squad, and to ultimately defeat the enemy. His team was grounded in their service's core values and they were able to operate successfully as a unit.
Why are core values important? It's simple ... core values allow us to trust each other. It is one less thing to worry about in a combat environment. If you know with certainty that your teammate believes what you believe, you can trust they have your interests in mind. It strengthens us and builds a force that is capable of accomplishing anything. When we know that the person next to us is invested in the same thing we are, it frees us to focus on our mission.
It's great to be part of the United States military. We are the best trained professionals in the world. No one even comes close to us!