90th MW command chief defines warrior ethos

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Tammy S.S. Elliott
  • 90th Missile Wing command chief
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo --  Air Force Space Command dedicated the entire past year to examining and honoring the bedrock of military success: leadership. Each month within the year of leadership provided a focus for critical facets, such as discipline, character and heritage. We are wrapping up the year with the subject of warrior ethos. 

How would you describe warrior ethos? Like our uniform, our creed and our core values, commonality in our service, from the way we look to what we believe, is crucial.
I'd like to share my view of warrior ethos and hopefully give a definition that will reveal a common thread for us all. 

Years ago, before I enlisted in the Air Force, I stumbled across a passage so powerful to me I adopted it immediately and have referred to it many times over the years. When considering what to say about warrior ethos, this passage immediately came to mind. I'd like to share it with you.

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degrade state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
 --John Stuart Mill

Our charge is to provide the moral and patriotic front, demonstrating our nation as an entity with a belief system that is, when necessary, worth fighting for. Your warrior ethos is your fortitude to provide strength, regardless of personal opinion, apprehension or judgment. 

Every citizen of our nation bears the right to vote for our country's leadership, the right to disagree with that leadership and even the right to demonstrate against wars and conflicts to which our president and Congress commit our forces. 

Our role is to square our jaw, defend the rights of every American, while still engaging in war. Why? Because we signed on the dotted line stating our belief that there is something for which we are willing to fight. 

The Soldier's Creed is also referred to as the warrior ethos statement: I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade. 

Sound familiar? We state our identical commitment in the Airman's Creed declaring our mission to fly, fight and win. We will never leave an Airman behind, never falter and never fail. Your warrior ethos is intact. 

Every time you put on your uniform you reaffirm your commitment to something worth fighting for, and you declare your duty to do so every time you state the creed. Next time you ponder warrior ethos, look in the mirror, and it will be looking back at you.