The Warrior Tradition

The tradition of the warrior is inextricably linked to the history of human beings.  From the moment humans formed into bands a warrior class emerged to protect their homes and loved ones, as well as to express their highest and most cherished values.  We’re heir to that first human who stood in harm’s way thousands of years ago and expressed the warrior virtues of courage, honor, commitment, impeccability, integrity, selflessness, and service in defense of their community.  The connection between that warrior 500,000 years ago who threw a spear to protect his family from marauding bands and the twenty-first century Marine marksman, endures in our genes and the embodiment of our deepest values.  In our oral and written traditions the Greek’s Mars, Ares from the Romans, Christianity’s St. James and St. George, the African’s Ogu, Hinduism’s Krishna and Arjuna, Islam’s Mohammed, Judaism’s Joshua at the Battle of Jerico, and the sword-bearing Manjusuri of the Buddhists represent the proud warrior lineage that exists among all people throughout history. Warrior virtues are fundamental human virtues that transcend race, creed, religion, or color. 
But as we enter the 21st century the dignity and power of the warrior tradition is being challenged on two fronts.  First, with the advent of technology the computer/nuclear battlefield has left some to question the need for developing the individual Marine Warrior.  Proponents of technology argue that robots, automatons, androids, and the computerized manipulation of information will be the deciding factors in the battlefield of the future.  They further claim that investing in the research and development of technological solutions should be a priority above all else, including individual and team performance.  While we agree it is necessary for America to keep the edge in the area of technology, we also say it is a grave mistake to prioritize technological concerns over human education and values.  If we fall into the misguided thinking that technology will save us we will become robotic ourselves and forget that the human body, mind and spirit are our greatest resources. The warrior has always developed and mastered weapons to help him complete his mission, but the power was never in the weapons but in the warrior who directed them.  In fact, the need for the individual warrior to be grounded in ethical and moral values, as well as an embodied self-mastery, is even more critical today as the
accelerated advances in technology require a higher degree of responsibility from those who engage in the modern battlefield.
Second, the warrior ideal has recently been popularized by the mass media.  Everyone has staked a claim on warriorhood, from the crystal-fondling adult “transformation” set, to the street bully earning his gang stripes.  Popular images of warriorhood range from comic book and movie fantasies of invincibility and superhuman fighting powers to pacifists suffering in silent vigils for world peace. Warriorship has great press, precisely because it suggests kicking ass in a physical, moral, and socially conscious way, though most people don’t have a sense of what that means.  The contemporary invocation of the warrior archetype trivializes the rigor and discipline required to realize a level of self-mastery necessary to truly embody warrior virtues. To understand the phenomenon of the warrior one must inquire into something more profound than throwing fancy kicks, running through the woods in mock combat, or the quick fix of a weekend workshop.  The philosopher William James wrote, “Ancestral evolution has made us all warriors.”  But saying you’re a warrior doesn’t make you one.  The Marine Warrior of today must be physically, mentally, and spiritually fit.  This requires a rigor and discipline in all aspects of our life.
Furthermore, the recent addition of Operations Other Than War (OOTW) have added a new demand on the modern warrior.  A Marine rifle team must be prepared to engage in a police action, serve in a humanitarian role, evacuate hostages from an embassy, and engage in a firefight in a short period of time.  This calls for a mindset that is flexible, agile, and can move with boldly with varying degrees of intensity.
The foundation of the warrior is the unification of Body/Mind/Spirit.  These are like the stars that form a constellation in the sky.  Remove one and the constellation no longer exists.  The unity-Body/Mind/Spirit- is larger than the sum of any of its parts.  A warrior is one who lives in integrity with these parts.  The impeccability of this unification is how the warrior is known.  If one part is dominant to the diminishment of another the imbalance throws one out of integrity.  If someone simply says the right words without the physical training he will appear pretentious and unable to walk his talk.  At the same time if someone is highly skillful but does not act from a set of values he will appear superficial and unable to make the hard ethical and moral decisions. The warrior is constantly aligning himself to this unity.  If any one part begins to
move out balance with the others he is self-correcting and trues back to the unity. Acting out of the unification of Body/Mind/Spirit the warrior’s mission is to defend, protect and live the values he serves.

Body:  To be able to fulfill the mission the warrior must be physically fit.  This means being strong, agile, flexible, coordinated, and having endurance.
Mind:  To be able to fulfill the mission the warrior must be able to concentrate, release negative thinking, calm and settle his emotions, think through difficult situations, and visualize positive results.
Spirit:  To be able to fulfill the mission the warrior must have a code that he lives by and will stake his life on.  Warrior traditions throughout history, from the Samurai of Japan to the Knights of the Round Table to the Sun Dancers of the Native Americans have all lived by a code of conduct, a warrior’s creed.  This requires reflecting on, thinking through, publicly declaring, and embodying the values he deems most important.

To form this unity of Body/Mind/Spirit requires discipline and rigorous training.  It is not an academic exercise.  It is possible to train and live this unity in uniform, at home, in public, in the field, or attending to domestic responsibilities.  The warrior’s commitment is 24 hours a day seven days a week. The warrior acknowledges his limitations and is vigilant in keeping a balance between Body, Mind, and Spirit. Centered in this unity the warrior is capable of decisive, powerful physical interventions in a morally responsible way. There is a historical precedent, and thus a future possibility, of a warrior who lives both in the dignity of restraint and the power of decisive action.