"You salute the rank, not the man..."

The last blog post addressed "courage" as one of the three Navy core values.  Today, I would like to talk about "honor."  The word "honor" is defined in many different ways.  As a noun, honor can be used interchangeably with the words, "privilege," "esteem," or "respect."  As a verb, to honor someone means "to hold them in high regard or respect" or "to keep a pledge, agreement, or promise."  For example, in the Judeo-Christian tradition, one of the Ten Commandments is to "Honor your mother and father."  In this usage, we are asked to hold our parents in high regard or respect.  The final sentence of the U.S. Declaration of Independence states, "...And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."  Here we see the use of the term (as a noun)as "privilege" or "respect."  Finally, the Boy Scout Oath (some of my happiest memories as a young boy were during Scouting) begins with the words, "On my Honor..." - here we see the word (as a noun) as a "promise."

When I think of the meaning of the word "honor," I am often reminded of the "Honor Code" used by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point: A cadet will not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do."  The West Point Honor Code has been used (even if modified slightly) by other military academies, including the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the Virginia Military Institute, as well as both private and public colleges (Harvard, Princeton, and Texas A&M to name a few).  It is elegant in its simplicity - I will not lie, I will not cheat, I will not steal.  Beyond that, I will not tolerate those who do.  It is the ultimate in 200% accountability - I am accountable for not only my own actions, but also for those actions of my colleagues.

Honor also means "integrity."  You stand up for what is good and what is just.  Shortly after the recent U.S. Presidential election, the campus leadership at the University of Notre Dame held an interfaith prayer service.  The video is short (the service lasted approximately 11 minutes), but the most powerful thing that I heard from the video was something that Father John Jenkins, the University of Notre Dame President said in his remarks.  He told a brief, but poignant story about Father Ted Hesburgh (long-time President who recently died this past year).  It seems that a Jewish student at the college had been harassed by two other Notre Dame students to the point where he decided to leave the University.  Father Hesburgh brought the two students who had harassed the Jewish student in to his office and gave them this message:  Leave campus and go to the Jewish student's home and convince him to return to the University of Notre Dame.  If you can't convince him to return, you are not welcome back either.  The two students convinced the young man to come back, and the three graduated together.  Father Jenkins said, "That is Notre Dame.  Either we walk together in mutual support, or we do not walk at all.  Either we are all Notre Dame, or none of us are."  That, to me, is integrity.  That, to me is honor.

Finally, in these difficult times, I think it bears well to remember a scene from the HBO television mini-series, "Band of Brothers" (one of my favorites!).  In the scene, which I believe is from the final episode (or pretty close to the end), Major Dick Winters is sitting in his jeep when Captain Sobel walks by him.  In one of the early episodes, Captain Sobel was relieved of his command (he wasn't a very good leader) and the company command is instead given to Winters.  Obviously, Captain Sobel doesn't like Major Winters very much.  Major Winters was a great leader who truly lived and led by the core values, courage, honor, and commitment.  He deserved to be honored.  He deserved respect.  Regardless, instead of saluting Major Winters, Captain Sobel looks the other way ("if he doesn't see him, he doesn't have to salute him").  Major Winters stops him and says, "You salute the rank, not the man."."  In other words, even if you can't respect the individual, you must respect and honor the office.