Commonwealth Policy Center

The nation’s premier military academy, West Point, recently announced a new mission statement. Instead of commissioning leaders who are “committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country” (their old statement), they’re now committed simply to “Army Values.” What does that even mean?  One Army Ranger veteran said, “‘Values’ are subjective cultural preferences that, for the Army, while important concepts, were the product of corporate consulting and endless bureaucratic revision.” The change may appear minor but it’s a big departure from the transcendent values of duty, honor, and country that General Douglas McArthur first instilled into his cadets. And as army values become a product of consultants and bend to the whims of popular culture, they will fail to shape the leaders who are supposed to defend our nation.