By now I suspect many of you have heard that General Douglas MacArthur’s call to the Corps of cadets in 1962 has been banished from the United States Military Academies (USMA) mission statement and exchanged for the more amorphous phase “Army values.”
The new mission statement, according to a news release from the academy, is: “To build, educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets to be commissioned leaders of character committed to the Army Values and ready for a lifetime of professional excellence and service to the Army and Nation.”
In a message to “West Point Teammates,” the Superintendent of the USMA “Supe” Gilland addressed the reason for the change. “Duty, Honor, Country is foundational to the United States Military Academy’s culture and will always remain our motto,” he wrote. “It defines who we are as an institution and as graduates of West Point.”
Gilland went on to recount that the academy had engaged in an 18-month review of its purpose and strategy, working with West Point leaders and stakeholders. It then recommended the mission statement change to the Army’s top leadership. He noted that both Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George approved the change. Gilland argued that Army values “include Duty and Honor and Country.”
Although not a graduate of West Point but a thirty-four-year member of the Profession of Arms and a graduate of the United States Army War College, I find this quite disturbing for a number of reasons. All of the branches our military, be they the Army, The Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Air Force are built on bedrock ideals that stand the test of time and serve as their north star, especially during armed combat. The Marine Corps whose motto “Semper Fidelis” Always Faithful has never wavered from its roots and consequently has not experienced the recruiting issues some of our more progressive military service are suffering from today.
Duty, Honor, Country | Douglas MacArthur | May 12, 1962 | West Point – YouTube
Today I went back and listened to GEN MacArthur’s entire speech given in 1962 and it is indeed prophetic. It was if he could see the handwriting on the wall. “ Duty, honor, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. …The unbelievers will say they are but words, but a slogan, but a flamboyant phrase. Every pedant, every demagogue, every cynic, every hypocrite, every troublemaker, and I am sorry to say, some others of an entirely different character, will try to downgrade them even to the extent of mockery and ridicule.”
In addition, in this farewell speech to the Corps of Cadets MacArthur prophetically warned us to be wary of the expansion of the Federal bureaucracy, our nation’s ever-increasing debt, and many of the other issues that are currently thwarting our leadership of the free world. I suspect while fighting against the Chinese in Korea he saw the eventual rise of the Peoples Republic of China and its goal of world hegemony.
So yes, GEN MacArthur you were correct over sixty years ago. We appear to now be a nation that unfortunately reviles its past and has lost its way and is on the precipice of decline. Perhaps we should have listened to your wisdom and clairvoyance more intently on The Plain of West Point.
2 comments
“ONE ERROR COMMODORE!” — Roger All Sir and thank you for your input and insight !
I agree with your writing except for one error regarding China’s goal of world dominance,
1) I think it is a fair statement to say that no country has pursued and developed the military hardware that would be required for world hegemony to anywhere near the extent the USA has since WW 2. Aircraft carriers to project world dominance, ICBM’s, missile defense systems, overall military build up, military budgets exponentially that of our adversaries, overselling our adversaries military capability to a naive public, and much more.
2) As I have argued in the past, our adversaries value their form of government halfway around the globe, and have no choice but to increase their military build up in response to the USA’s massive build up.
3) China seeking to dominate the USA? What a joke. 😂 The US government led by its own evil based, greed based, dysfunctional, lazy, ignorant, unqualified government, has freely GIVEN China what it has now. China hasn’t had to take anything. 😂 Basically, the USA for over 30 years has traded it world domination for cheap, Chinese labor. And, no doubt a boatload of PAC and campaign loot via K St. and special interest.
4) Remember, in a Republic, the government is a reflection of its people. However, with the mainstream media now controlled by government, (unconstitutional) and government using their control of that media as their disinformation machine, free elections are virtually worthless as people are voting based on disinformation fed them by those who want to stay in power.
5) Today’s media is implying/saying that the re-election of Putin in Russia was rigged. Well, did not Donald John Trump say the same thing in 2020 about our presidential election? So, how does that work? How can you fault Russia for their election “process” when according to a former president, D J Trump, we do the same thing in the USA? Rigged elections! 😂😂😂😂
6) Meanwhile, in Ukraine, where we the USA, have sent over $100 BILLION dollars in cash and military equipment, with zero accountability, they have NO free elections. Ukraine elections were scheduled this spring. Poof, gone! 😂😂😂😂 Rigged or otherwise! 😂😂😂😂😂 Why not? Well, because Zelensky would lose any free election and likely be jailed and executed! I’m quite sure Biden has a plane waiting to get Zelensky out when the time comes, along with all the loot he can steal, ASAP, and take him to Florida or California where he can live a life of luxury.
7) Meanwhile, this morning the mainstream media shows babies and children in Gaza with limbs blown off by US bombs and equipment supplied/financed via USA taxpayer loot. Why? Because Netanyahu is incompetent in not having troops on the Gaza border 24/7, 365. He is not a man of God according to the media I have available.
8) Basically, the anti-abortion crowd fully supports the killing of babies by bombs and bullets. How’s that work? Scripture please!
9) So, there you have it