CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Why an Army of One?
Many of you may have seen the commercial where a Soldier is running alone across the desert, carrying a backpack but no rifle. Helicopters swoop overhead. A squad of Soldiers runs past, moving in the opposite direction of the lone runner. Voiceover: "Even though there are 1,045,690 Soldiers like me, I am my own force. The might of the U.S. Army doesn't lie in numbers. It lies in me. I am an Army of One."
For more than 20 years, the U.S. Army had hinged its recruiting efforts on the slogan, "Be all you can be," which the trade journal Advertising Age, ranked second on its list of "Top Ten Jingles of the Century," after the McDonald's line, "You deserve a break today." Advertising experts say the slogan was popular for many reasons, primarily because it spoke of providing space for an individual to develop his own skills and character while simultaneously reinforcing the importance of being folded into something larger and more meaningful than you alone.
For those of us serving in the military, this seemed a particularly odd recruiting slogan. After all, one of the most fundamental truths about serving our nation is that, with few exceptions, the image of a warrior acting alone is far from the reality of the need for unit cohesion if we are to collectively succeed in our assigned tasks and missions.
For example, even some of the more mundane practices of the military, such as parade-ground drills, formation runs and training projects geared to collective problem solving, are intentionally designed to reinforce that every individual movement is part of a larger organism at work. Be it a flight, platoon, company, squadron, or wing, no one "fights alone."
The "Army of One" slogan, intending to appeal to independent youth of the Y Generation and based on the assumption that today's young people wanted to focus on their individuality, missed the mark. Earlier this year, the Army unveiled its replacement slogan, "Army Strong." In effect, realizing they may have been sending the wrong message by touting the power of me instead of the value of we.
Army Strong is designed to convey the idea that joining the Army will help you gain not only physical and emotional strength, but strength of character and purpose as well. The slogan conveys timeless truths associated with military service -- no one is expected to fight alone. Warfare, like most significant undertakings in life, is a team endeavor!
Time will tell if the slogan is successful in stemming the Army's recent recruiting woes. I believe it is a step in the right direction because it reinforces that success in life is never a solo proposition. Only when we learn it's not about what one takes, but what one gives, be it in our homes, schools, churches, businesses, or on the battlefields, will we succeed in turning back the tide of self-interest that promises to continue to undermine the real strength of our society.
A society where "me" is once again replaced by "we." History has shown our strength is in numbers. We would all be well served not to forget this lesson!
Team Charleston - Take the Fight to the Enemy!