The Armed Forces Officer

The Armed Forces Officer is a manual on leadership prepared for use by the Department of Army, the Department of Navy, and the Department of Air Force. The contents list a chapter called The Meaning of Your Commission. The manual says that there persists in many military officers a defensive attitude toward their own profession.

The manual says of a minority of officers that they are a barnacle on the hull of an otherwise staunch vessel. The manual says that it is necessary, in the conduct of operations, that the mind remain plastic and impressionable, and it cites the injunction of the Apostle Paul, 'Let all things be done decently and in order.' General Eisenhower is quoted as saying that the commander's success will be measured more by his ability to lead than by his adherence to fixed notions. The manual says the average officer, looking back, would say not that he was happiest where the nature of the task best suited his hand, but happiest where his relations with his superiors gave him the greatest sense of accomplishment.