News from the Top

Deputy Chief of Army
BRIG Barry Vryenhoek

13 March 2007

Value Our Values
Live Our Values

Army’s values are now regularly highlighted in this newspaper. There is a very pointed reason for this as courage, commitment, comradeship and integrity are what differentiate the Army as a world-class institution. Our values are the heart and soul of the Army. They guide our behaviour and thinking, and provide focus and direction.

I had reason to reflect on our values with a group of the Army’s senior leaders before the start of the Senior Officer Adventure Race, which will have finished before this paper is published. The discussion focused on the importance of our values and how as an institution we must live them both collectively and individually. The group observed that society provides a wide range of pressures, which seek to challenge those values and undermine what we hold as important.

The idea of a “values-based organisation” is gaining popularity, as can be detected in reading a wide range of public- and private-sector documentation. However, values are not a new fad for the Army. Our values have been enduring and were around long before “values-based” became “popular”.

Importantly, we see values demonstrated everyday: in the way we care and show commitment for each other in difficult times, in our performance on operations, in the way we support our family both within the Army and the wider community and in the courage of those individuals who come to the aid of the public when they put their own lives at risk. Therefore it seems natural that we must have the courage to challenge those of us who take drugs, steal and assault fellow soldiers, and those of us who don’t live by our values.

To live our values does take courage and commitment, and it is worth reflecting on this as you read about the achievements of units and individuals in this paper.