Dr. Heidi Squier Kraft, a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, tells a story in her book, Rule Number Two: Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital, of an injured Marine under her care during her first tour in Iraq. The Marine had been rushed to the emergency room after he and his fire team survived an IED explosion. The Marine's left eye had been completely blown out, leaving only a thin, dark stem of tissue protruding from its gaping socket. As Dr. Kraft and her team prepared to Medevac him to Baghdad, the Marine had only one question. "Hey, Doc?" he began, "is my other eye okay?" After getting the affirmative reassurance he sought, the Marine asked for help to sit up, opened his intact eye and scanned the passageway. Recognizing the surviving members of his fire team, who were having their wounds dressed, his lips moved in silent confirmation of their numbers. Satisfied, he sighed, and with a smile, gingerly lowered himself back to his cot. "Thanks, Doc," he said, closing his eye. "I only have one good eye, but I can see that my Marines are okay."1
Common Tales of Uncommon Grit
Dr. Kraft's story, while moving, is not unusual. Such narratives of courage, commitment, and sacrifice have, over the course of its 232-year history, become almost synonymous with the Marine Corps itself. The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have proved no exception. What has preserved the Marine Corps' reputation as the "greatest fighting force in the world" for more than two centuries? In what ways has the Corps adapted to continue to win in every situation? And most important, what is my role as a future officer in ensuring the continued success of the Corps while upholding its traditions?
Although the stories of battlefield valor remain similar, undoubtedly the specific wartime challenges faced by officers in today's Marine Corps are atypical, and constantly shifting. Over the years, the role of the officer has evolved from a fighter to that of professional warrior. Today's Marine is faced with a war in which his enemy is often indistinguishable from civilians; a war in which our own media and the public's perception is of unremitting concern, and one in which young Marines are sometimes required to develop diplomatic relations and provide humanitarian aid in addition to facing incoming AK-47 rounds. This new kind of war demands a new type of leader.
As is often the case, one must search history for the knowledge and experience to meet and overcome present obstacles. Two timeless principles of success are apparent. The first is that it is necessary for an institution's leaders to adapt to the changing world. When society, organizations, teams, or individuals slip into complacency, they are soon left behind or defeated by those who are quicker or better able to adapt.
The Marine Corps has embraced this ethic throughout its history, ensuring not only its success on the battlefield but its very existence when threatened with Congressional disbandment or absorption into a larger branch of the U.S. military. Lieutenant General Victor H. Krulak illustrated the Marine Corps' innate ability to adapt in his book, First to Fight: "Whatever the form of combat, the genius of the Marine as a fighter has caused his superiors to place a great deal of confidence in him. They are convinced of his ability, to the point where they will offer unhesitatingly his commitment in an hour of crisis. More important, the American people will accept the offer with the confidence, born of long experience, that when a Marine is called upon, he will be ready and, when committed to a fight, that he may be depended on to win."2
As a future officer, it's my responsibility to adapt to the changing world around me to continue the advancement and modernization of today's Marine Corps, just as past Marines have done to make the Corps what it is today. Part of this job involves training for a new style of warfare coupled with diplomacy, and familiarizing my Marines with a new enemy, culture, and language.
Adapt to Change—But Read Your History
The second principle was expressed by retired Navy Admiral Frank B. Kelso II. "Embrace change; thirst for knowledge," he said. "You must read history and learn from it, because despite the fact that the technological advancement in today's world is unparalleled, it will continue to change. Through it all you will see that only ethics remains."
Admiral Kelso's words of advice to an entire room filled with future officers in the Navy and Marine Corps illustrated a truth that remains especially so, in this fast-paced 21st century: The core of a good officer will always be a solid set of morals. Developing and maintaining ethical behavior may be of even more importance today, as technology has made it possible for killing to become a detached art—a world in which an entire Iraqi village can be wiped out with the push of a button and when the human factor of war is often forgotten.
As a future Marine, it is vital that I uphold my moral standards, thus preserving the public image of the Marine Corps as a reliable and moral institution. Only then should the United States continue to place her utmost faith into the Marine Corps' abilities.
I vividly remember the words of Lieutenant General John F. Sattler, on Orders Assignment Night; words of challenge delivered to a roomful of jubilant Marine Corps selectees, but a question that felt specifically directed at me. "What kind of leader will you be?" he asked. "How will you respond when times get hard? When you get back to your rooms tonight, I want you to do something that will help prepare you for the challenges ahead. I want you to take an index card, and on one side of that card write the word 'Selfless,' and underneath it, before you look it up in a dictionary, write down what you think that word means. Then turn the card over and write the word 'Selfish' on the back, and below that write the definition.
"You know, it's often been said that in sports, there's only inches between winning and losing. Well, it's the same with the front and back of that index card. Future Marines, there are only inches between good and bad leadership, only inches between selfish and selfless leadership."
Putting Them First
I returned to my room that night and wrote down the words on an index card. It's the first thing I see every morning. While my definitions are neither eloquent nor dramatic, on this card I see very clearly the role I am to fulfill as a junior officer in the Marine Corps. In a world filled with leadership analysis books, seminars, how-to classes, and debates on whether leaders are born or made, I realized there is something very simple to meeting the challenge of today's Marine Corps. Although a good leader undoubtedly possesses qualities such as decisiveness, intelligence, and a desire to succeed, there's something even more fundamental, a quality that the Corps has been extracting from Marines since its inception.
It's just this: when Marines of strong moral fiber are banded together as one, their innovation, ability to adapt to changing situations, and uncompromising determination to succeed are stronger than any other force in the world. And like the Marine who cared less about the pain throbbing from his lost eye or his own chances for survival than about the well-being of his Marines, I, too, must demonstrate selflessness. As a future officer, my job is to lead and actively to put my Marines first, no matter the cost. I eat only after my Marines have eaten, sleep only after I have cared for them and made sure they have gotten enough rest; I am the first one up in the mornings to prepare them for the day. Nothing is about me. And as General Krulak stated, "To the extent that that perception pervades the Corps, the Marine brotherhood will continue to flourish."3
1. Dr. Heidi Squier Kraft, Rule Number Two (New York: Little, Brown, 2007), pp. 123-125.
2. Lt. Gen. Victor H. Krulak, USMC, First to Fight (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1999), p. 177.
3. Ibid. p. 158