Modern Nco: Maintaining a Marine's Heritage

Since the Marine Corps’ beginnings, non-commissioned officers (NCOs) have played an important role in the many successes in the Corps and in the United States. Obviously, the modern NCO today might be a bit different than when the Marine Corps was first established on November 10, 1775, but they uphold and are the complete embodiment of the Corp’s history and traditions in values of honor, courage, and the commitment to the NCO creed. Honor guides the Marines to exemplify the ultimate in ethical and moral behavior, and to respect others as well as themselves. In the Marine Corps, practically every custom, both written and unwritten, has stemmed from the conduct of past Marines. It is only appropriate that our Marines today recognize this and dutifully portray this in their everyday as well as in combat. On every battlefield that our country has been on since the founding of the Corps, Marines have been there to defeat all enemies, both foreign and domestic. Within these battlefields, there have been NCOs that have fought, led, and died in combat—to complete their mission and to protect their fellow Marines fighting alongside them. An NCO must always keep in mind mission accomplishment and the welfare of their men and woman. This needs to be displayed in the workplace as well. It is the responsibility of NCOs to make sure that their junior marines know what it is to honorably be “a Marine”. This means that their conduct as a Marine is to be carried on to an NCOs civilian side as well.
Having courage doesn’t mean that you can’t be scared; it means you push forward in the midst of fear. Along with carrying the honor of being a Marine, modern NCOs carry the courage one needs to be successful in both combat and as a civilian. There have been many in the corps who have displayed courageous acts. It is the duty of an NCO, as well as all Marines, to have the courage, that inner strength to do what it right and adhere to a higher standard of conduct, and to make tough