¶ … Marines build leaders that last. By preparing soldiers that are ready and able to enter into any combative situation, soldiers are not only skilled in ways of warfare, but in ways of leadership as well. This is no mistake -- by establishing a set of core values and leadership skills, the Marines are prepared for almost anything. By integrating important values with distinctive leadership skills, the Marines are one institution that develops successful leaders. This paper will examine how intense training, challenges, responsibility, mentoring, and accepting failure as experience creates model leaders in Marines.
The Marine Corps Core Values are honor, courage, and commitment. (Marines) Simply put, "the qualities of maturity, dedication, trust and dependability commit Marines to act responsibly, to be accountable for their actions, and to fulfill their obligations" (Marines). These core values are just the stepping stones to what obligations lay ahead for each Marine.
Awaiting each new recruit is the Marine Corp Officer Program. David Freedman, says that the Marines Corp Officer Program is one of the finest corporate leadership schools in the world. The military provides some of the best preparation for developing great leaders, and according to Sgt. Wallace T. Nelson, the Marines are an even different breed because of how they are trained and led. Nelson says that Officer Candidate School showed him ways to "lead and train Marines in a practical manner and apply this training to combat" (Nelson).
In fact, a junior Marine's first experience is the "unique hell" known as the Officer Candidate School, according to Freedman. (Freedman, Inc.) The school brings leadership to the front by subjecting young Marines to a series of "brainteasers," which include, among other things, intense "hands-on problems" (Freedman, Inc.). For example, one exercise challenges soldiers told to get a wounded comrade across a mined artificial stream with only a rope and boards. Another exercise is requires the soldiers to scale over a seemingly unscalable tall wall. While these challenges are taking place, instructors watch from catwalks above the soldiers and observe which soldiers take the lead as well as which ones recognize a plan is failing and shifts to a new plan. This technique, according to Freedman, weeds out 75% of the soldiers when it comes to determining who has the best leadership skills. (Freedman, Inc.). The soldiers who make it move on to Basic School, which "unabashedly favors breeding generic, high-speed, chaos-proof leadership over imparting specific skills" (Freedman, Inc.). According to Robert Lee, a Marine second lieutenant, "What the world needs is someone who can grasp the workings of an entire organization, understand people, and motivate them (Freedman, Inc.)." The Marines employ such capabilities into soldiers who, in turn, develop and train for difficult situations.
In addition to intense training, challenge is an essential factor in developing…
