Integrity between the leader and the led, the led and the leader is the single most important factor in the profession of arms. I simply must have total faith in what you say. It cannot be otherwise where lives are at stake; where victory or defeat occur or where the very fate of the nation rests on trust.
If a leader is not honest, trust is destroyed. But, it gets worse. When you insult subordinates with lies you insult them and denigrate their intellectual ability in that you believe they will be believe. Once that state is reached a unit begins to degrade rapidly.
I had the good fortune to serve under individuals who took this seriously. It did not even have to be mentioned. It was as natural as sunrise.
Over the last third of my career things were no longer so clear. The deception by omission was obvious at the highest levels of DoD. I once told a sympathetic senior: “ I follow orders. But, don’t make me pretend this is true. I know it is not and they know it is not. To pretend otherwise makes liars of us all.”
Eventually the force goes from skeptical to cynical. From a distance the structure looks solid. When you are much closer you can hear and see the termites.
The Corps needs a reset. A recommitment. Love and war are like no other human endeavors. Both rest on integrity and trust. Please correct me if my observations are inaccurate.
I wish that everyone could read Gen Krulaks writing on this. I learned about having integrity from my family, and it really hit home while in the Corps. Learning to be responsible for your actions and doing your best to lead your troops is a way of life. It was important in the Corps and in life.
What an outstanding article! If this, or something exactly like it, isn't taught to - and ingrained in - ALL of our service members, we're sadly remiss. The moral courage that goes hand-in-hand with "integrity" HAS to be the foundation of a nation's strong military.
Here’s the part that really hits home for me. I served under Gen Krulak as a Marine, and everything he laid out about integrity as the foundation of leadership rings true from my time in uniform through my civilian career.
Leaders without integrity don’t just bend rules. they erode trust, hurt morale, and leave lasting damage on the people and organizations they’re supposed to serve. Integrity isn’t flashy or optional; it’s the daily discipline that keeps everything else solid. I’ve seen both sides, and there’s no substitute for it.
Bruce Feiler’s new book, “A Time To Gather: How Rituals Created Us & Can Save Us”, which I learned of just this morning, seems to go hand in hand with General Krulak’s observations regarding Integrity, and it vital importance to us. What events have taken place in our collective lives that have driven home that lesson generation after generation? What rituals can we continue that will auger well for maintaining such high standards of honorable conduct? First, in the field, Officers eat last: never think the troops are unaware of that father-to-son tradition. Mess Nights - a gathering in fitting attire for merriment, but, also, comradeship and remembrance of those who gave all that life can give. Dining In’s - wherein we present ourselves and our mates in a formal setting of refined merriment and solemn reminisces of our lost mates, and faithful duty of families left behind when we deploy. At Homes - either informal or casual - in which the Commanding Officer & mate welcome commanders and staff.
Calls Made & Returned - an occasion to learn and experience professional yet graceful entertainment expected of young officers. Lastly, the Silver Tray, conveniently placed 9by the front door for the “Calling” party to leave their Calling Card(s). These are rituals that identify our Tribe as “Soldiers of the Sea”. They remind us that we are a group set aside from civil society that requires Integrity, Honor, Duty, Loyalty to each other, and that our word is our bond - our handshake our signature. All these attributes we should hold dear - they will never fail us.
During this timeframe a very close friend of mine was serving the Commander MarForPac, Lt Gen Jefferson Davis Howell, he remembers the General personally relating this story to him. Semper Fidelis Hand Salute.
i remember hearing krulak tell the story of the legions back around 2000 on an a.m. talkshow interview (geoff metcalf, iirc). a follow-up question was about how the Corps was the last service to keep their basic training segregated between men and women. krulak said something like, a rumor circulated around capitol hill that if it came to that there would be many usmc generals who would resign. the interviewer asked if that would actually happen. krulak replied it was never put to the test. i always appreciated how marines tend to speak more plainly and stand on principle compared to the other services.
“Pentagon’s Asia command seeks weapons aimed at deterring China - The Japan Times”; https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/05/31/asia-pacific/pentagon-asia-weapons-deter-china/ Interesting article speaking of the search for “new warship-killing bombs, advanced sea mines” and Hypersonic missiles. In addition, the article also ties in the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kit as a low cost option with Torpedo-Like Effect from the Air: It offers an affordable way to achieve seaworthy "kills" from the air, which rivals the destructive capability of heavy-weight submarine torpedoes but at a fraction of the cost…a complete Quicksink munition is vastly cheaper, allowing the U.S. to field anti-ship capabilities at a much higher scale…with Aircraft Compatibility: Stealth and tactical aircraft like the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, F-35, and F-15 can deploy large numbers of these bombs per sortie, creating an immense volume of potential anti-ship strikes.” (and let’s add in the none stealth P-8s for good measure). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Direct_Attack_Munition
I noticed there is the no mention of FD2030 and land based anti-ship missiles like NMESIS in this article. If the Commandant wanted an anti-ship missile he should have called for an AIR LAUNCHED missile vs land based. He knew the F-35B was coming and Marine Corps should have also submitted the requirement for a ship killing missile for our latest and newest aircraft.
If the Commandant went with an air launched anti-ship missile, he could have asked for additional F-35Bs with enough ground support equipment to run multiple FRAPs for distributed operations.
At this point the analogy that pops into my old and tired mind is; FD2030 is like the song “No Name City” from the musical “Paint Your Wagon” … and CP is the preacher singing “I don’t like it here” to the Commandant.
Integrity between the leader and the led, the led and the leader is the single most important factor in the profession of arms. I simply must have total faith in what you say. It cannot be otherwise where lives are at stake; where victory or defeat occur or where the very fate of the nation rests on trust.
If a leader is not honest, trust is destroyed. But, it gets worse. When you insult subordinates with lies you insult them and denigrate their intellectual ability in that you believe they will be believe. Once that state is reached a unit begins to degrade rapidly.
I had the good fortune to serve under individuals who took this seriously. It did not even have to be mentioned. It was as natural as sunrise.
Over the last third of my career things were no longer so clear. The deception by omission was obvious at the highest levels of DoD. I once told a sympathetic senior: “ I follow orders. But, don’t make me pretend this is true. I know it is not and they know it is not. To pretend otherwise makes liars of us all.”
Eventually the force goes from skeptical to cynical. From a distance the structure looks solid. When you are much closer you can hear and see the termites.
The Corps needs a reset. A recommitment. Love and war are like no other human endeavors. Both rest on integrity and trust. Please correct me if my observations are inaccurate.
Amen 🙏 Semper Fi sir 🙏
I wish that everyone could read Gen Krulaks writing on this. I learned about having integrity from my family, and it really hit home while in the Corps. Learning to be responsible for your actions and doing your best to lead your troops is a way of life. It was important in the Corps and in life.
What an outstanding article! If this, or something exactly like it, isn't taught to - and ingrained in - ALL of our service members, we're sadly remiss. The moral courage that goes hand-in-hand with "integrity" HAS to be the foundation of a nation's strong military.
Here’s the part that really hits home for me. I served under Gen Krulak as a Marine, and everything he laid out about integrity as the foundation of leadership rings true from my time in uniform through my civilian career.
Leaders without integrity don’t just bend rules. they erode trust, hurt morale, and leave lasting damage on the people and organizations they’re supposed to serve. Integrity isn’t flashy or optional; it’s the daily discipline that keeps everything else solid. I’ve seen both sides, and there’s no substitute for it.
Bruce Feiler’s new book, “A Time To Gather: How Rituals Created Us & Can Save Us”, which I learned of just this morning, seems to go hand in hand with General Krulak’s observations regarding Integrity, and it vital importance to us. What events have taken place in our collective lives that have driven home that lesson generation after generation? What rituals can we continue that will auger well for maintaining such high standards of honorable conduct? First, in the field, Officers eat last: never think the troops are unaware of that father-to-son tradition. Mess Nights - a gathering in fitting attire for merriment, but, also, comradeship and remembrance of those who gave all that life can give. Dining In’s - wherein we present ourselves and our mates in a formal setting of refined merriment and solemn reminisces of our lost mates, and faithful duty of families left behind when we deploy. At Homes - either informal or casual - in which the Commanding Officer & mate welcome commanders and staff.
Calls Made & Returned - an occasion to learn and experience professional yet graceful entertainment expected of young officers. Lastly, the Silver Tray, conveniently placed 9by the front door for the “Calling” party to leave their Calling Card(s). These are rituals that identify our Tribe as “Soldiers of the Sea”. They remind us that we are a group set aside from civil society that requires Integrity, Honor, Duty, Loyalty to each other, and that our word is our bond - our handshake our signature. All these attributes we should hold dear - they will never fail us.
Semper Fidelis!
General Krulak's keen insight and wisdom is sorely missed in this modern US Marine Corps!
During this timeframe a very close friend of mine was serving the Commander MarForPac, Lt Gen Jefferson Davis Howell, he remembers the General personally relating this story to him. Semper Fidelis Hand Salute.
i remember hearing krulak tell the story of the legions back around 2000 on an a.m. talkshow interview (geoff metcalf, iirc). a follow-up question was about how the Corps was the last service to keep their basic training segregated between men and women. krulak said something like, a rumor circulated around capitol hill that if it came to that there would be many usmc generals who would resign. the interviewer asked if that would actually happen. krulak replied it was never put to the test. i always appreciated how marines tend to speak more plainly and stand on principle compared to the other services.
“No Name City” and I don’t like it here.
“Pentagon’s Asia command seeks weapons aimed at deterring China - The Japan Times”; https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/05/31/asia-pacific/pentagon-asia-weapons-deter-china/ Interesting article speaking of the search for “new warship-killing bombs, advanced sea mines” and Hypersonic missiles. In addition, the article also ties in the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kit as a low cost option with Torpedo-Like Effect from the Air: It offers an affordable way to achieve seaworthy "kills" from the air, which rivals the destructive capability of heavy-weight submarine torpedoes but at a fraction of the cost…a complete Quicksink munition is vastly cheaper, allowing the U.S. to field anti-ship capabilities at a much higher scale…with Aircraft Compatibility: Stealth and tactical aircraft like the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, F-35, and F-15 can deploy large numbers of these bombs per sortie, creating an immense volume of potential anti-ship strikes.” (and let’s add in the none stealth P-8s for good measure). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Direct_Attack_Munition
I noticed there is the no mention of FD2030 and land based anti-ship missiles like NMESIS in this article. If the Commandant wanted an anti-ship missile he should have called for an AIR LAUNCHED missile vs land based. He knew the F-35B was coming and Marine Corps should have also submitted the requirement for a ship killing missile for our latest and newest aircraft.
If the Commandant went with an air launched anti-ship missile, he could have asked for additional F-35Bs with enough ground support equipment to run multiple FRAPs for distributed operations.
At this point the analogy that pops into my old and tired mind is; FD2030 is like the song “No Name City” from the musical “Paint Your Wagon” … and CP is the preacher singing “I don’t like it here” to the Commandant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9AwEE0YY4o
S/F