The Oath

For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack. -Rudyard Kipling

The individual must be strong, and they must carry their own weight. When they do that, they make the team stronger."I ______ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;"I...meaning the individual takes a personal responsibility to support and defend the Constitution of the United States...strange how many veterans leave the service with a deep appreciation for the Constitution and protection of the Republic. It's almost like supporting and defending against any who would remove the guarantees to our rights, was very deep and personal to that individual...(that's called sarcasm folks)."that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;"I will trust and be loyal to that Constitution. No other country, no organization will supplant my support for the Constitution. There is that personal ownership of the oath again. It's not as long as my brothers in arms do it, or my dad does it, or my sister's brother's cousin's uncle does it. It means I, the individual have this responsibility."and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me,"I will put aside my selfishness, I will put away my pride and take orders from those entrusted to lead me. We may not always like it, and the guy above us may be a blithering idiot, but as long as his/her orders are lawful, we put aside the self and trust in something larger than ourselves.according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."Again, you gotta put yourself to the side. You may not see things as fair, life isn't fair. These are the rules and nobody forced you to sign up (or maybe a judge did, maybe it was good for you). Not everyone may be a believer in God, but the point is that everything you've said, you take seriously. It is not an oath to be taken lightly.Many of us "old, grizzled" vets, we may look back and chuckle because it's not cool to be nostalgic or we think we know better...but we'll bet somewhere, deep down inside you think back to the moment that you really took ownership of that oath.