this morning i got up considerably earlier than i normally do and was driving to a charity breakfast. on the way i was flipping through the dials and came across the new country station. but instead of playing music, they were playing a recording of the pledge of allegiance, which kind of shocked me and got me to thinking, i can't remember the last time i saw a t.v. station end their broadcast day with the national anthem anymore. they just play infomercials until the next normal broadcast program.
so most of the morning i was thinking about the pledge and about other oaths i've taken. and it's funny how much they mean to me, and how irritated i get when i re-read some of them and see how clearly they state things, but how few people actually follow them. the other thing that was interesting to read was the wikipedia article on the pledge. it's got a neat history.
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all."the oath of enlistment:
I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.the NCO creed:
No one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers. As a Noncommissioned Officer, I realize that I am a member of a time honored corps, which is known as "The Backbone of the Army". I am proud of the Corps of Noncommissioned Officers and will at all times conduct myself so as to bring credit upon the Corps, the Military Service and my country regardless of the situation in which I find myself. I will not use my grade or position to attain pleasure, profit, or personal safety. Competence is my watchword. My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind -- accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my soldiers. I will strive to remain tactically and technically proficient. I am aware of my role as a Noncommissioned Officer. I will fulfill my responsibilities inherent in that role. All soldiers are entitled to outstanding leadership; I will provide that leadership. I know my soldiers and I will always place their needs above my own. I will communicate consistently with my soldiers and never leave them uninformed. I will be fair and impartial when recommending both rewards and punishment.
Officers of my unit will have maximum time to accomplish their duties; they will not have to accomplish mine. I will earn their respect and confidence as well as that of my soldiers. I will be loyal to those with whom I serve; seniors, peers, and subordinates alike. I will exercise initiative by taking appropriate action in the absence of orders. I will not compromise my integrity, nor my moral courage. I will not forget, nor will I allow my comrades to forget that we are professionals, Noncommissioned Officers, leaders!we're a volunteer military force. every enlisted soldier took the oath of enlistment, and yet now that we're at war, quite a few seem to have forgotten that oath. when it was time to sign up for the bonus and the college money, they had no problems getting in line for their piece of the pie. but now that it's time to fulfill their end of the bargain... i'm lucky though. i'm with a great, professional unit. because of how often this unit deploys and the tough training they undergo they weed out alot of the uncommitted. even better, they don't ship their problems off to other units, they try to process them out of the army. for the most part i'm surrounded by professionals with a high level of committment. that makes it a pleasure to head into the unit to do military training most days.
about the only sad part about it, is realizing that while i was at ft. bragg on active duty i should've gone through the special forces selection. i always came up with a reason not to go through some of the more grueling aspects of it, but realizing now, the mentality of those "quiet professionals", i would've been much more satisfied with my active duty experience had i done that.
it's interesting to read in a couple different articles online how many people don't remember the pledge of allegiance, the majority of the national anthem or things like that.
i'm not really going anywhere with any of this. just sharing thoughts from the day.
