“I’d better be careful, and be sure to do the right thing.”
“I guess we need a code of ethics.”
“Only 25% of us will ever get augmented?”
“What can I do to better my chances °f ending up at the top of the spread?”
“I didn't make the school/command selection list—I’m dead.”
Sound familiar? Concerned comments such as these are being expressed daily throughout the officer corps. These statements point toward a dangerous trend: a tendency for Marines to put self before the Corps.
The officers serving in today’s Marine Corps will determine exactly what is going to happen to the Corps of tomorrow. That, in itself, is a difficult, yet exciting challenge, but for our young officers to share in this challenge, they must feel that they are part of the determining process. Furthermore, they must be led to that point. How well are the senior officers doing on this account? 1 believe that they can do better, because I do not see a lot of junior officers excited about anything—except trying to get augmented. I recommend every second lieutenant be made a reservist. The Corps could keep the best beyond their initial obligation and offer selected majors the opportunity to augment.
Direction of the Corps comes from the top down, but one man cannot do it all by himself—the Commandant needs our help. Somewhere below the Commandant’s level, the members of the senior officer corps had better stop worrying about how they are doing (with regard to their superiors’ opinions and their own career paths) and start making an honest, intelligent, and unselfish contribution to the direction of the Corps. This will require courage and sacrifice, but if it is not accomplished soon, the Corps’ focus—its very existence—could be in jeopardy.
When I see an officer who is confused about what is morally and ethically right or wrong in a particular situation, I cringe. The Corps cannot simply mandate a code of ethics for its members. Every Marine—including the Commandant—has a leader. The most important thing leaders can do for their Marines is to instill and maintain a sense of moral and ethical values by being a role model to them—lead by example. Leaders do this by always setting the example for their subordinates, both professionally and personally, on and off duty. If Marine leaders cannot or will not consistently and conscientiously lead by example, then they should seek employment elsewhere.
The “be careful” syndrome—which has become the norm for any Marine officer who is concerned about just where he or she will end up being rated on “General Value to the Service” in fitness reports—is one of the most damaging character influences that the Corps has instituted in the last 25 years. The thought, “Where will I end up?” permeates virtually every aspect of a Marine officer’s thinking and fosters values and attitudes that are constantly influenced by “the spread.” The result has been that Marine officers are learning to become more cautious, calculating, careful, and self-serving.
Before the Corps adopted the requirement to rate numerically all Marines marked “Outstanding” in “General Value to the Service” on fitness reports, reporting seniors were less likely to rate all subordinates of equal rank as outstanding. In most cases, the Corps managed to promote those who were most deserving, yet somehow the system was just not quite precise enough for selection boards. Before this change in the mid-1980s, an officer’s professional reputation carried more weight in determining selection for promotion or school. Now, as one senior Marine commented, “All you have to do is turn over the fitness report.” The system has evolved into a “whom do you non-select first” process.
It is time for the Commandant to take a hard look at what the rating system is doing to the officer corps. The “sight-and-sign” policy was a move in the right direction, but more needs to be done—i.e., a return to the system as it existed prior to the mid-1980s.
Concern over school and command selection is now part of doing business for senior Marine officers. There are plenty more staff assignments, both in and out of the Corps, for officers at the next higher grade (or grades) than there are school seats and commands. It may be disappointing not to be selected for school or command, but the Corps always will need competent staff officers to fill assignments that should be both challenging and rewarding— as long as promotion boards pick equitably from command and staff billet holders.
Nobody whom I have met joined the Corps initially for a secure job; they joined to be a member of the world’s finest team. For the young enlisted Marine or junior officer, joining the Corps is one of their first real, long-term commitments. These Marines deserve the best their senior Marines are capable of giving. As a result of sound leadership that encourages straightforward feedback, those who choose not to stay in the Corps should be capable of making a contribution to our society after they leave. Those who choose to remain do so out of a deeper commitment, which becomes a calling—not a career—where the needs and wants of the individual become secondary to the institution’s.
If Marines are unable or unwilling to influence positively the direction of the Corps; if Marines are no longer excited about the prospects of the Corps’ future; or if Marines are no longer “sure” about what is going to happen to the Corps (i.e., happen to them), then it is time for Marines to look within themselves and do something about it now.
Lieutenant Colonel Crittenden is Managing Editor of the Marine Corps Gazette.