The Warrior’s Character: Leadership Wisdom From West Point’s Cadet Prayer

CONCLUSION

DON M. SNIDER

Since the Army was professionalized in the early 1900s, debates have raged within the Academy and the larger Army as to which is more important in military leaders, their character or their competence. Similar debates appear episodically across America as the moral failure of major leaders in the private and public sectors comes to light. Simply stated, the theme of this book is that in leadership of all kinds, the moral character of the leader is most determinative of any success.

In 1924 when Clayton Wheat, the USMA Chaplain from 1918-1924, wrote the Cadet Prayer, he “attempted to compose a petition that would set forth in simple phrases the aspirations of young men who earnestly desired to realize in their own lives ...