Why do soldiers fight? Why do they risk everything?
“In the most basic sense, they do it for their fellow soldiers,” Lt. Gen. Robert L. Van Antwerp said, noting the high-level of patriotism he has seen in soldiers since Sept. 11, 2001.
“In Accessions Command, we brought new soldiers into the Army. The Army has to recruit about 175,000 soldiers every year to maintain the strength. What is remarkable is that our young people have responded to the call knowing they’re going to deploy,” Van Antwerp explained. Prior to commanding the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Van Antwerp led United States Army Accessions Command, which is responsible for recruiting and training soldiers.
“Our obligation to these volunteers is to provide them the best training and equipment possible.”
Getting it right means conducting drills in body armor and convoy live-fire training. It also means shifting away from a confrontational, adversarial drill sergeant mentality to a leader, mentor, and trainer role model. And that means: AURA, an easy-to-remember leadership principle for making the “Army Strong.”
“You would know one of our soldiers because there’s a special AURA about them. The letters mean something. The A means they know that they’re accepted into the unit,” Van Antwerp said.
“The U means they’re understood. They’re treated like people. We know their names. We know that they have a family. We know what they like to do for recreation. A good unit leader knows that about his people,” Van Antwerp continued.
Getting to know them helps soldiers understand that they are cared for and are not just a number. Van Antwerp noted that Jesus’ model of leadership was one that called people by name.
“The R, we recognize them for what they did well, very specifically,” he explained. A leader’s job was to identify things they did well and correct mistakes.
“If you’re doing recognition to correction about five to one, you’re getting it about the right way. The final letter is the A, appreciation. Our soldiers need to know that we appreciate them. I am grateful that they would volunteer to come into this army during a time of war.”
Through great training and AURA acceptance, understanding, recognition, and appreciation we can change volunteers into soldiers.
Strengthen my desire to truly get to know the people in my circle of influence: To accept, understand, recognize, and appreciate them.
“The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” (John 10:3)