Think Quote, Year 02, Day 326

Inseparable from the concept of service is the concept of integrity. The citizens of this great Nation place great trust in their military Services. They will continue to judge us by stricter rules than they apply to themselves And they should do that because, ultimately, their security rests with us and the way we perform our duties. The people of this Nation have entrusted their Armed Forces with the most awesome weapons the world has ever seen, but they have also placed the lives of their sons and daughters who serve and the safety of their own families for now and in the future in the hands of the Armed Forces. Don't confuse integrity with infallibility. There's a great tendency to do that. As Gary Cooper said in High Noon, you should 'aim to be high?regarded'; but you should remember that you are also human and fallible. Those who will lead you are also human and fallible. The code of the warrior class has room for fallibility Certainly, the higher up the flagpole you go, the more of your fallible backside will show. There is room for that; but, there is no room for a lack of integrity or for those who place self before duty or self before comrades or self before country. Careerism is the one great sin, and it has no place among you. If you achieve success over the bodies or the careers of your comrades, you have served your nation poorly and you have violated the code of the warrior class. There won't be any tribunal to judge your actions at the height of battle; there are only the hopes of the citizenry who are relying upon your integrity and skill. They may well criticize you later amid the relative calm of victory or defeat. But, there is a crucial moment in crisis or battle when those you lead and the citizens of the Nation can only trust that you are doing what is right. And you develop that concept through integrity.
(GEN John Vessey, Jr.)