This paper discusses respect and core values and includes a personal apology from the writer for disrespecting his Staff Sergeant.
Of the core values represented in the seven Core Army Values, respect is the one that I think is of the utmost importance, in that embodied in that one value is the formula for success in all the others. It is defined as treating others as we with to be treated - to treat others "with dignity and respect while expecting others to do the same." It's that quality that allows us to exceed our greatest expectations; to function cohesively as a unit for all its diversity - all its different creeds and races, genders and religions - respect is the glue that holds our military institution together in times of war and of peace: at home and abroad. In foreign lands, it's the tie that binds us against a common foe; and domestically, it's the root of the idealism at work at the foundation of our country and its continued greatness in the world. We can only do as much good as respect allows us to do. We respect one another, and we respect the people that we serve, and we respect the foes that we combat in the name of freedom. Respect, for me, is a vital piece of the puzzle for a working soldier. It is for that reason that I so sincerely wish to extend my apologies for disrespecting my Staff Sergeant during Army Specialist Training and to articulate in this written apology all that I understand of Respect and the ways in which disrespecting my mentor and superior officer demeans me, my service, and ultimately my army and the country that I love. I am ashamed that I did not uphold this key core value because I do understand the degree to which it bolsters the integrity of our institution while making possible all of the things that it does at home and abroad. I'm mortified by my actions as well because as this