TRADOC Pam 525-3-7-01 - TRADOC - U.S. Army

TRADOC Pam 525-3-7-01The key issue of importance is the contribution of the Soldier’s morale to his motivation bothto serve in the military and more importantly to fight or to participate in other contingencyoperations, and to building cohesive units. In other armies, the concept of morale is so importantthat it is included in their list of war principles. Morale is vulnerable to rapid changes andtherefore must be nurtured and protected.Surprisingly, authors wrote little on morale until the 1980’s. An exception is John Baynes’classic account of the 2 nd Scottish Rifles in World War I. Baynes concluded that morale was thesingle most important factor in war and asserted that:High morale is the most important quality of a soldier. It is a quality of mind andspirit which combines courage, self discipline, and endurance. It . . . is easilyrecognizable. In time of peace good morale is developed by sound training andthe fostering of esprit de corps. In time of war it manifests itself in the soldier’sabsolute determination to do his duty to the best of his ability under anycircumstances. At its peak, it is seen as an individual’s readiness to accept his fatewillingly even to the point of death, and to refuse all roads that lead to safety at theprice of conscience. 64The description above has historical resonance. In his classic work Defeat into Victory, FieldMarshall William Slim who commanded British forces in Burma during World War II, definedmorale in similar terms, “morale is a state of mind. It is that intangible force which will move awhole group of men to give their last ounce to achieve something, without counting the cost tothem; that makes them feel they are part of something greater than themselves.” 65 Tasked withrebuilding a broken army and defeating the Japanese in the theater of war with arguably thelowest priority and greatest terrain and weather obstacles, Slim made the task of raising moraleone of his top priorities.The determinants of morale are difficult to measure. These determinants appear inelementary form in figure 3-1. They are both individual and group related, reflecting theirinterdependence with unit cohesion and esprit de corps. Collectively, these factors affect theSoldier’s combat motivation and fighting spirit by instilling a sense of purpose, confidence, hope,and optimism. However, it is not a linear relationship of inputs equaling outputs as the figureimplies. Because of their interdependency, each affects the other in shifting patterns ofcorrelation between factors and other variables. 6661