Kris Paronto - The Code of the Rangers

LOYALTY

Bear true faith and allegiance to the US Constitution, the Army, your unit and other Soldiers. Bearing true faith and allegiance is a matter of believing in and devoting yourself to something or someone. A loyal Soldier is one who supports the leadership and stands up for fellow Soldiers. By wearing the uniform of the U.S. Army you are expressing your loyalty. And by doing your share, you show your loyalty to your unit.

DUTY

Fulfill your obligations. Doing your duty means more than carrying out your assigned tasks. Duty means being able to accomplish tasks as part of a team. The work of the U.S. Army is a complex combination of missions, tasks and responsibilitiesall in constant motion. Our work entails building one assignment onto another. You fulfill your obligations as a part of your unit every time you resist the temptation to take shortcuts that might undermine the integrity of the final product.

RESPECT

Treat people as they should be treated. In the Soldiers Code, we pledge to treat others with dignity and respect while expecting others to do the same. Respect is what allows us to appreciate the best in other people. Respect is trusting that all people have done their jobs and fulfilled their duty. And self-respect is a vital ingredient with the Army value of respect, which results from knowing you have put forth your best effort. The Army is one team and each of us has something to contribute.

SELFLESS SERVICE

Put the welfare of the nation, the Army and your subordinates before your own. Selfless service is larger than just one person. In serving your country, you are doing your duty loyally without thought of recognition or gain. The basic building block of selfless service is the commitment of each team member to go a little further, endure a little longer, and look a little closer to see how he or she can add to the effort.

HONOR

Live up to Army values. The nations highest military award is The Medal of Honor. This award goes to Soldiers who make honor a matter of daily livingSoldiers who develop the habit of being honorable, and solidify that habit with every value choice they make. Honor is a matter of carrying out, acting, and living the values of respect, duty, loyalty, selfless service, integrity and personal courage in everything you do.

INTEGRITY

Do whats right, legally and morally. Integrity is a quality you develop by adhering to moral principles. It requires that you do and say nothing that deceives others. As your integrity grows, so does the trust others place in you. The more choices you make based on integrity, the more this highly prized value will affect your relationships with family and friends, and, finally, the fundamental acceptance of yourself.

PERSONAL COURAGE

Face fear, danger or adversity (physical or moral). Personal courage has long been associated with our Army. With physical courage, it is a matter of enduring physical duress and at times risking personal safety. Facing moral fear or adversity may be a long, slow process of continuing forward on the right path, especially if taking those actions is not popular with others. You can build your personal courage by daily standing up for and acting upon the things that you know are honorable.

The Army Values, US Army, https://www.army.mil/values/.

B ATTLES EXPOSE HUMAN BEINGS at our best and our worst. It almost goes without saying that the human capacity for destruction, violence, evil, and greed is on full display on any battlefield during war. But those of us who have actually been on the front lines are often blessed to have witnessed acts of profound sacrifice, heroism, and bravery. That is one of the reasons that I believe I have had the best job in the world. I am proud to have served as an Army Ranger and grateful to have spent a good part of my professional life protecting and defending America. It has been an honor to fight in battle for my country, and it is a privilege to bear witness to the sacrifices of American warriors.

People sometimes ask why a person would volunteer to risk his or her own life, over and over again. For me, the answer involves patriotism, love of my country and my fellow man, and gratitude for the blessings of my citizenship. I grew up believing that the United States was the greatest, most powerful nation in the world. Like many Americans, I used to take many of the rights and freedoms established in the Constitution for granted. But once I began deploying, I came to appreciate the comforts of home and to see that the threats to our freedom are real. That is why I am still willing to lay down my life today. It seems to me that a lot of the people who are feeling so grim about the state of our nation today are still taking our rights for granted.

When I tune in to the news these days, it seems like the United States has never been more divided. The criticism changes depending on who is slinging itliberals or conservatives, Republicans or Democrats. But the overall feeling is one of angry pessimism. Political campaigns are negative, Congress is polarized, everyone is watching their own biased news source, and it looks like some peopleand maybe whole nationsare trying to exploit our honest differences and foment dissatisfaction with democracy altogether.

But we arent as divided as the media would have us believe. I have been traveling across the United States for a good part of the past few years, and Ive connected with a lot of people who care about this magnificent country and our future. We have a lot in common. When we unplug from the news, most of us get along just fine, despite our differences. Of course we have problems. Of course the United States has problems. But Americans also have a lot of shared values, and I believe that many of our problems would seem less intractable if more of us would recommit to truly living by a few key, common values.

Army Values

When soldiers enter the Army now, they are taught that there are seven core Army Values: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. Everyone in the Army is supposed to commit the values, and the principles behind them, to memory. To help us do that, the Army even created a mnemonic: LDRSHIP. These principles are the standards that all soldiers are supposed to live by, both on and off duty.