Introduction
Service in the Marine Corps is a complex process that requires proper training and psychological qualities. At the same time, being part of the Marine Corps is a matter of pride for the person since only some people can pass all the tests set for the future marine soldier. The main task of the USMC is to land and clear enemy defenses in the coastal area, for which the corps has forces and means, such as armored vehicles, artillery, and aviation. Thus, resilience along with institutional values (Honor, Courage, and Commitment) are integral and related parts of the Marine Corps, and the Staff Non-Commissioned Officer acts as a potential releaser.
What is the Marine Corps?
Among other branches of the US Armed Forces, the Marine Corps is one of the smallest in terms of the number of personnel (only the US Coast Guard is second to it). However, at the same time, this department has some of the most trained soldiers at its disposal. This is due to the fact that the combat missions assigned to the Marines are complex and dangerous missions. Accordingly, in order to successfully carry out the obtained objectives, the soldier must be provided with proper training. Preparation includes physical and psychological development due to specially designed programs. These schemes play an important role in the training of resilience as the main quality of the Marine (Bourke & Schott, 2022). Fortitude allows a person to use all their abilities and sometimes exceed them if the situation requires it. In other words, resilience unleashes the full potential of a soldier, including covert abilities.
Key Institutional Values
The Marine Corps’s institutional values include honor, courage, and commitment, which are the most important for successful service. Its connection with resilience is formulated by the fact that these qualities are part of toughness as a general basic quality for a soldier. Due to the high level of resilience, the soldier has the opportunity to prove that one has honor and, moreover, that one cherishes it. Resiliency allows a person to overcome the desire to surrender, which in some situations can cost a soldier not only an honor but also life. In addition, resilience contributes to a better understanding of oneself and realizing what a soldier wants to become during training and service in the Marine Corps. Due to perseverance, the future soldier will not turn off halfway to achieve one’s goal, as happens with many people.
Further, one may notice the connection between resilience and courage since the latter is a consequence of the former. In other words, a person with a high level of resilience has the ability to offset the effects of fear. The soldier can control fear and use it as a weapon, thereby becoming stronger (Mansoor & Murray, 2019). It is known that fear is the result of the instinct of self-preservation and releases a large amount of adrenaline, which is useful in an emergency. However, fear becomes fatal when it turns into panic. Resilience allows one to control the transformation of fear and use adrenaline not as panic but as a charge of energy, strength, and thought process. It formulates the connection between resilience and courage, more precisely, the generation of courage from fortitude.
Commitment is one of the essential qualities for a marine, which, along with resilience, allows one to remember one’s goal. The connection between commitment and perseverance can be traced in their main principles, namely the ability not to betray one’s aim. Even being brave, strong, and prepared, without proper commitment, a soldier will not be able to achieve the main destination. In addition, commitment is a general concept for courage and honor. Having a high level of commitment, a soldier will maintain one’s honor since commitment implies an understanding of the value of honor. Moreover, commitment to one’s business contributes to better control of fear, that is, to a higher level of courage. Finally, commitment will not allow a soldier even to consider such an option as a betrayal, whether it be on the battlefield in relation to a comrade or a betrayal of the motherland as a whole.
The Role of the Staff Non-Commissioned Officer
The staff non-commissioned officer of the Marine Corps is an important part of releasing a soldier’s potential. Competence is a crucial quality of an officer, allowing one to achieve key goals. The officer’s two primary responsibilities are the mission and the welfare of soldiers (Venable, 2019). The staff non-commissioned officer strives to remain technically and tactically professional. One should be aware of one’s role as a non-commissioned officer and fulfill all duties associated with this role. All soldiers are entitled to outstanding leadership, and the non-commissioned officer provides this leadership. One should know his soldiers and always put their needs before one’s own. The non-commissioned officer constantly communicates with his soldiers and never leaves them uninstructed.
The officer is fair and impartial in recommending both rewards and punishments. The non-commissioned officer should be competent to earn the trust and respect of the soldiers, which is possible to perform only with a certain approach. Primarily, it includes the development in the soldiers of resilience, honor, courage, and commitment. The non-commissioned officer acts as a releaser of the skills, strength, and potential of the soldiers as one is in constant contact with them. Moreover, the officer must balance between severity and justice since one should not inspire fear but respect. The non-commissioned officer acts as what a soldier should want to become with support and help, namely stronger, bolder, and more assertive.
The role of an officer in developing the basic qualities of a Marine Corps soldier is that one should be able to recognize virtues in a soldier and make the soldier understand them. In other words, by using a person’s pride by unleashing one’s potential and skill, the officer can achieve the most effective results. Having earned the trust and respect of the soldiers, the staff non-commissioned officer has the opportunity to inspire the necessary ideas and attitudes towards life, service, and comrades. The wrong approach of a non-commissioned officer to a soldier can destroy the potential of an individual and lead to the fact that valuable personnel will be left unused. Moreover, the staff non-commissioned officer must understand all the experiences and psychological portrayals of a soldier in order to choose the right communication strategies. All this makes the role of the staff non-commissioned officer in the development of the basic qualities of a soldier indispensable.
Conclusion
To conclude, the Marine Corps is one of the most difficult but at the same time, valuable and trained departments. A person who passes all the tests in the service and training receives valuable life experience and strength. It allows the Marines to undertake the most dangerous and difficult missions, as well as develop basic qualities such as courage, honor, and strength. Resilience plays an important role for a marine being a key background quality for a soldier. Finally, the staff non-commissioned officer is an essential person for a soldier, being the liberator of potential and skills.
References
Bourke, Joanna, & Schott, Robin. 2022. Resilience: Militaries and Militarization. Springer Nature.
Mansoor, Peter, & Murray, Williamson. 2019. The Culture of Military Organizations. Cambridge University Press.
Venable, Heather. 2019. How the Few Became the Proud: Crafting the Marine Corps Mystique, 1874-1918. Naval Institute Press.