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"The preeminent military task, and what separates [the military profession] from all other occupations, is that soldiers are routinely prepared to kill . . . in addition to killing and preparing to kill, the soldier has two other principal duties . . . some soldiers die and, when they are not dying, they must be preparing to die."
- James H. Toner
THE WORDS, "to kill and die" are as central to the profession of arms as "to serve and protect" are to the law enforcement profession, or "equal justice under the law" are to the legal profession. The life and death nature of what we do as soldiers is what draws us together and creates the unique cohesion of the bands of brothers that Shakespeare and Steven Ambrose wrote about, which simply do not exist anywhere outside military experience. Skill, trust, shared sacrifice, and even fear bind warriors together so tightly that they are capable of acts of courage that rival those of a mother protecting her children. At the core of the willingness to kill and die for one another is trust bound up in shared sacrifices. When we examine the key attributes of our profession, we can never lose sight of this underlying truth, because it sets us apart from all others.
Ramadi
As a brigade combat team (BCT) commander in Ramadi from 2006 to early 2007, I had the opportunity to witness what James Toner called "the preeminent military task" on a scale and frequency that I hope never to repeat. After command, I served on the Joint staff. One morning, I was running past the Iwo Jima Memorial and for the first time really thought about the words engraved on the pedestal, "uncommon valor was a common virtue." I almost stopped in my tracks when I realized that I had also experienced something like that.
In Ramadi, Soldiers, Marines, and Navy SEALs fought and died for their buddies, their leaders, and their subordinates. In the midst of it all, I became almost numb to the routine courage and sacrifice occurring every day. Many of these acts went unrecognized at the time, but not all. In just a few days, one battalion earned a Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), three Silver Stars,...