Troop Welfare and Leadership

1.      What is welfare? Welfare refers to a broad discourse which may hold certain implications regarding the provision of a minimal level of well-being and social support for all citizens. In most developed countries, welfare is largely provided by the government, in addition to charities, informal social groups, religious groups, and inter-governmental organizations. In the end, this term replaces "charity" as it was known for thousands of years, being the voluntary act of providing for those who temporarily or permanently could not provide for themselves. So troop welfare is the provision of training and administrative (both soldiers and their families) requirement to the soldiers’ well-being in the forces.

2.      In the armed forces, soldiers are indoctrinated into a particular philosophy. One of the most popular books, with over 10 million copies sold, is The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People; by Stephen R. Covey, and because of its popularity US Marine Corps (USMC) uses this book of personal leadership as the civilian standard for comparison. It may shatter many stereotypes about the military to know that Covey's philosophy -- one millions of civilians aspire to -- has many similarities with the USMCs' philosophy. Both philosophies are character-based. Covey calls it the "Character Ethic" and explains, "The Character Ethic is based on the fundamental idea that there are principles that govern human effectiveness -- natural laws in the human dimension that are just as real, just as unchanging and unarguably 'there' as laws such as gravity are in the physical dimension."

3.      By comparing Covey's habits with the USMC system, one can see that the two philosophies are not altogether different:

a)      Covey Habit 4: Think win/win
Marine Corps Equivalent: Mission accomplishment and troop welfare.

b)      Covey Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood:
Marine Corps Equivalent: Ensure assigned tasks are understood, supervised and accomplished, and know your troops and look after their welfare

4.      The difference in the two philosophies is the prioritization of the leadership objectives. Where Steven Covey says, "win/win or no deal," the USMC says, "win/win if possible, but at all costs accomplish the mission." This is the way military leads men. Firstly think of the mission then think of welfare. With more elaboration the military of a democratic country achieves the goals of the people and in return they give the required benefits. From these benefits the leadership should provide the welfare of the men.