The Journey Continues: Building duty, honor and country through West Point speech

On my journey, the best stateside assignment was a tour of duty at the United

States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

My responsibility as a Tactical Officer to a company of 120 cadets included building the values of “duty, honor and country.”

The following annotated speech of four truths was given by me many times:

1. The hard way is the right way. When making decisions and all variables are equal, choose the harder right over the easier wrong.

Doing your duty means more than carrying out your assigned task.

Proverbs 10:9:

“The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.”

2. One cannot have anything both ways in their life. James 1:8: “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

An example,you can’t be both a smoker and a non-smoker. You can’t be married while at home and unmarried when away from home.

3. In life, one can do more than one thing well concurrently.

One can keep themselves physically, mentally and morally sound, all at the same time. James 1:22:

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

4. One cannot prejudge others. This is prejudice.

No one, by only looking at a group, can determine who is the best marksman or the fastest runner.

One should treat all people with dignity and respect.

James 2:8: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well.”

The term, “Service to the Nation” is the high calling of placing others above self.

A soldier’s purpose is to protect life, not take life.

It is a privilege to lead American soldiers.