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In keeping with the traditions of the Mess, it is my privilege as Mess President to address you briefly. Suffer me for a few moments as I speak from my heart.
As I look upon the Mess I see a company of Marines, many of whom are brighter, more talented, faster, stronger,
°r more experienced than I am. Yet I have been presented with this challenge—to utter a few words that might inspire them to be even better. For this reason, I must call our attention to something much larger and much better than anything anyone among us might claim to have attained—some ideal so worthy that all our accomplishments pale by comparison.
Please reflect with me on a fundamental ideal of Marine Corps leadership—the ideal of perfect, selfless service to God, to Country, and to Corps.
As we reflect upon service to °ur Corps, let us consider our subordinates. Once, a tall, sharp, senior drill instructor told his lew platoon of rag-tag recruits that even though they might at some point give up on the Marine Corps, the Marine Corps Would never give up on them.
As long as they were willing to answer the call, they would be consistently challenged to excel.
Well, a little over eight years later, I must say that my drill instructor was right. He was right because he knew that within the Marine Corps there were officers and noncommissioned officers who would take it upon themselves to lead us to an ever higher level of maturity and proficiency. He was right because the Marine Corps is more than a giant collection of planes, tanks, trucks, and high-tech weaponry.
These items are merely the accessories of a profession. The Marine Corps is people—people serving people. And in the relationship between leader and subordinate, we must remain constantly aware that leadership is more than being in charge. We are servants to those we lead and to our peers. Yes, our subordinates have taken an oath that binds them legally to follow orders. However, that oath is sworn to God and country, not to us. In the leader-subordinate relationship, we must understand that the balance of who owes whom the most falls heavily in favor of the subordinate. It is cliche to say that Marine leaders often hold the lives of those they command in the palm of their hands. But it is too easily overlooked that those young lives—complete With dreams, ambitions, love, and seemingly unlimited potential—are as valuable as our own lives to God and family. We owe it to those we command to set an outstanding moral and
professional example. We owe it to those we command to provide them with the best training, discipline, care, and love we can muster. We owe it to those we command to serve them with all of the best that is within us.
Service to country is perhaps our most resounding rallying cry. If you are asked why you are here, surely somewhere within your reply we will find a paraphrase of this theme.
We are public servants. We are protectors of those ideals and traditions that bind the people of this nation together. By our commitment, we are thrust forward as keepers of those
ideals, invested with a special trust and confidence. Ironically, we protect the right of Everyman to differ with us. And we serve even those who look upon our calling with disfavor. Thus, neither recognition nor thanks should be the impetus behind our service. If accolades are our chief ambition, our actions become hollow and meaningless.
In a world where warriors are seldom understood, we must keep our priorities straight. Let us be ever aware that we have pledged, when necessary, to sacrifice all of our being in service to the country and the people we love.
Finally, but most important, let us consider our service to God. A proverb says that as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. I believe this is so. Regardless of our specific faith, our God or our beliefs are the driving force behind who we are and what we will become. In “God, Country, Corps,” we see that this faith has preeminence.
It must. What man truly desires to do, he usually does. To say that we believe one thing while we continuously do another degrades the example we set and undermines our ability to lead. In service to God, we must be committed to stand by those personal convictions we know to be true, proper, and worthy of emulation. These convictions are the bedrock on which we stand. They are the foundation of leadership. We may make decisions based upon an estimate of the situation. But the ethics of those decisions cannot be similarly guided. As a start, we would be hard pressed to find any guidance more godly than the 14 leadership traits and 11 leadership principles (see next page). Baptized by fire, bathed in blood, and resurrected by the memory of every Marine warrior who has given his life in battle or training, those tenets of leadership should live in our hearts perpetually.
If we are to lead and serve, we must understand that we
U.S. MARINE CORPS (J. BECKSTED)
As he marched to his place at the head table between Secretary of the Navy John Dalton and Marine Corps Commandant Carl Mundy, Lieutenant Crum undoubtedly wondered what—in the presence of so much seniority—he would be able to say to his Basic School classmates at their pre-graduation Mess Night. These are the words that he did say, minutes later.
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Proceedings / October 1994
87
Leadership Traits | Principles of Leadership |
>- Integrity >■ Knowledge v Courage >■ Decisiveness v Dependability > Initiative > Tact >- Justice v Enthusiasm >• Bearing >- Endurance >■ Unselfishness >- Loyalty > Judgment | >- Take responsibility for your actions and the actions of your Marines. >• Know yourself and seek self-improvement. >- Set the example. >- Develop your subordinates. ► Ensure that an order is understood, then supervise it and carry it through to completion. >- Know your Marines and look after their welfare. >- Keep everyone informed. >- Set goals you can reach. >- Make sound and timely decisions. >- Know your job. >- Train your unit as a team. |
are not made leaders merely by the rank that adorns our uniform, but rather by the significance of the title we claim —the title of Marine. As a former Commandant stated, “Where there are two Marines, one is in charge.” We are leaders of leaders. Furthermore, we must understand that in our units we should see no hopeless cases, no proverbial ne’er-do-wells. Rather, we should see leadership challenges. We cannot permit those we lead to give up
on themselves. We must lead them to accept responsibility for their condition, their failures, and ultimately their successes. We must make them leaders.
One moment quickly passes into the next . . . this one quickly becomes the last. In essence, all that we have is the here and now. In closing, I ask you to join me in this moment as we rededicate ourselves to this ideal of service. Our profession is not a job. It is a calling—and it must hinge upon an un
selfish dedication to serve. As leaders, let us remember this: “He who would be greatest among you, let him be least.”
Now let us serve.
After service in reconnaissance units, Lieutenant Crum attended the University of Missouri under the Marine Corps Enlisted Commissioning Education Program, graduating in 1993. He recently graduated from The Basic School at Quantico, Virginia, and will serve as an infantry officer.