Enlisting in the United States Air Force differs from beginning a civilian career. It is often a young adult’s first step towards answering a call to national service. From the start of basic training, the Air Force core values of Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do represent a common set of shared traits to emulate. Yet without internalizing their meaning and acting upon them, these values remain mere words. For noncommissioned officers, cultivating the warrior ethos means translating the Air Force core values into disciplined daily actions that elevate the individual and the team, even when those roles are far from the front lines.
The Air Force and Department of Defense leadership has recently urged a renewed focus on the warrior ethos within the Armed Services. In Pressfield’s “The Warrior Ethos”—a history of ancient and modern warriors—he writes that the greatest challenge is being oneself and that the transition from discipline imposed by a chain of command to self-discipline of one’s mind and actions is the embodiment of the warrior ethos. Having a warrior ethos is the point at which an Airman internalizes the Air Force core values and actively applies their ideals to their everyday life. This requires a service member to fully embrace the responsibilities of military service regardless of their Air Force specialty code.
In the “The Karate Kid” remake, Jackie Chan’s character states, “Kung Fu lives in everything we do. It lives in how we put on a jacket and how we take off a jacket. It lives in how we treat people. Everything is Kung Fu.” In the same way, everything within the military draws on the military ethos, whether it is an Airman fixing a broken jet, a cyber professional defending military networks, or an intelligence analyst supporting mission planning. Once Airmen internalize what it means to have a warrior ethos, they can use the core values to take proactive action to develop their own ethos and those around them.
The first core value, Integrity First, goes beyond always telling the truth. NCOs must lead with integrity in all actions, especially during stressful situations. Airmen are always watching, and they will develop their understanding of what is permissible based on their leaders’ actions. When things go wrong, honesty and accountability matter most. Every decision has consequences and remaining honest and faithful in all dealings delivers the clear message that a warrior is honorable, and his word is sacred. Integrity is crucial for Airmen to develop into warriors; the authorities imbued in military service hold sway over life and death, and making the wrong decision could lead to the death of one’s comrades. Airmen who exude integrity in stressful situations build the foundations required for the selfless service intrinsic in the warrior ethos.
The second core value, Service Before Self, relates to an unwavering willingness to put the mission and teams first. Like the Spartans at Thermopylae, a warrior’s willingness to put one’s life on the line develops over time. Warriors do not require rifles and spears at their backs to march forward into danger. Moreover, warriors advance as a cohesive team; the Spartans punished the loss of a shield but not the spear, “Because helmet and spear are carried for the protection of self alone, but the shield protects every man of the line.”
The greatest challenges we seek to overcome throughout the competition-to-conflict continuum rely on teams. Prioritizing the team’s goals over the individuals results in teams that can meet and challenge, no matter how difficult, and win. Gaining a sense of collective responsibility sets the stage for Airmen to hone their craft in the pursuit of excellence.
Over 2500 years ago Archilochus observed, “We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training”. In the same manner, the final core value, Excellence in All We Do, is tied directly to the ability of warriors to master their craft. An Airman’s weapon is not necessarily always a rifle; it could be a wrench, a keyboard, or a vehicle. Raising the technical standards beyond the minimums for upgrade training before crisis is integral to success in the unknowns of conflict. This deep competence can be gained by fostering a life-long learning mindset; NCOs must seek out training opportunities, study the tactics and lessons learned from previous conflicts, and create scenarios and practice them outside of formal wing or higher echelon exercises.
Every task a member of the military does is another opportunity to improve their skill directly translating into combat effectiveness. In times of danger, deep technical mastery will allow servicemembers to counter the instinct of self-preservation and accomplish the mission because something made routine becomes second nature regardless of the circumstances.
NCOs are the secret ingredient to making the U.S. military the greatest in the world. While cultivating a warrior ethos can feel challenging, junior Airmen today are motivated and smart. It is the responsibility of senior NCOs and NCOs to reinforce what the warrior ethos means and how to embody it. Leverage Airmen’s Time to start difficult conversations with subordinates about why the core values matter and their relationship to the warrior ethos.
As the United States enters a heightened era of uncertainty and potential conflict, sacrifices will be inevitable, but our ability to cultivate and embody the warrior ethos will shape whether those sacrifices are endured with purpose or magnified by unpreparedness, both for our teams and the nation we serve.