Stewardship, the Cornerstone of the Army Profession

Stewardship: The Cornerstone of the Army Profession

Stewardship: The Cornerstone of the Army Profession

Written in June of 2015, the Army Doctrine Reference Publication 1 (ADRP-1), entitled “The Army Profession”, outlines all the most essential characteristics of the United States Army. Every chapter identifies and describes one aspect of the Army as a profession that is vital to the success of any leader in the United States Army. However, there is one characteristic whose importance for a Captain in the United States Army stands above all others: Stewardship. Chapter six of ADRP-1, which discusses Stewardship of the Army profession, is the most important chapter in respect to the duty positions and responsibilities of a Captain in the United States Army because it establishes the framework for the relationship between the United States Army and the American people, illuminates the role of Army leaders as stewards, and most importantly describes the role each Army leader has in ensuring the continuation of the Army profession well into the distant future.  

Civil Military Relations

        The primary reason that chapter six, Stewardship of the Army Profession, is the most important chapter of ADRP-1, in respect to the duties and responsibilities of an Army Captain, is that it outlines the most significant relationship that exists in the United States Military, the Civil-Military relationship. This relationship, between the Army and the American people, is so significant because all “final decisions and responsibility for national strategy and policy, and for the organization and resourcing of the Army rest with civilian authority” (ADRP-1, 2015, pg. 6-3).  Army leaders fulfill their side of the Civil-Military relationship by serving as advisors and providing their expertise to the civilian authorities tasked with the decision making. This relationship is fundamental to the success of not just the Army but more importantly the entire United States. The fact that the conditions for effective Civil-Military Relations are covered under chapter 6 of ADRP-1 are part of what make the subject matter, stewardship of the profession, so important.

Army Leaders as Stewards

The second reason that chapter six of ADRP-1 is the most important for Army Captains is that it outlines the role of Army leaders as stewards of the profession.  This role is existentially critical to the identity of the Army as a profession because “all true professions police their members and create their own professional development programs” (ADRP-1, 2015, pg. 6-2). Simply put, if Army leaders were to discontinue their role as stewards of the profession, the Army itself would cease to be a profession.  Moreover, the stewardship role is especially notable with regards to the duties and responsibilities of an Army Captain. In the United States Army, the rank of Captain is the lowest rank at which an individual outranks other officers, and as such is the first time an officer is expected to lead and develop subordinate officers as well as to hold those same subordinate officers accountable for their actions.  This means that as an Army Captain the role as a steward of the Army profession is both a necessity and has remarkable implications for the future of the Army.