Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf died yesterday, Dec. 27, at the age of 78. These words from an address he gave the Corps of Cadets at West Point shortly after his victory in the Gulf War are a pretty good way to remember him.
To be a 21st-century leader, you must have two things: competence and character.
I’ve met a lot of leaders that were very, very, very competent. But they didn’t have character. For every job they did well in the Army, they sought reward in the form of promotions, in the form of awards and decorations, in the form of getting ahead at the expense of somebody else, in the form of another piece of paper that awarded them another degree. The only reason why they wanted that was because it was a sure road to faster promotion, to somehow get to the top. You see, these were very competent people, but they lacked character…
I’ve seen competent leaders who stood in front of a platoon and saw it as a platoon. But I’ve seen great leaders who stood in front of a platoon and saw it as 44 individuals, each of whom had his hopes, each of whom had his aspirations, each of whom wanted to live, each of whom wanted to do good. So, you must have character. Some great man once said that character is seen only when nobody is watching. It’s not what people do when they are being watched that demonstrates character, it’s what they do when they are not being watched that demonstrates true character. And that’s sort of what it’s all about. To lead in the 21st Century, to take soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, coastguardsmen into battle, you will be required to have both competence and character. You say, “How do I do that?. How do I do that?” The answer is very simple–and I guess this is what I really want to tell you most of all. You are being taught every day at this great institution how to do that. I have a classmate–one of the most ethical and moral people I’ve ever met. I was discussing with him one day what gave him his great character. He said, “Norm, that’s easy. When I went to West Point, I was one of those guys that really believed what they told us up there. And I still do.”
Out there among you are cynics. They are the people who scoff at what you are learning here. They are the people who scoff at hard work. But they don’t know what they are talking about, let me tell you. I can assure you that when the going gets tough and your country needs them, they are not going to be there. They WILL NOT be there. But you will.
Competence with character. That’s what you must have. That’s what you are going to carry with you from West Point. Those of you who really believe what you are learning here. To hell with the cynics. Believe it! Believe it! Believe it! You must believe it if you are going to be a leader of the 21st-century military. You must believe it!