Develop Trust by General Eric Shinseki

General Eric Shinseki - Army Chief of Staff

Trust is the glue that holds Soldiers together in combat. We develop trust, essential to our warfighting effectiveness, in our day-in and day-out training. Training for the toughest missions is where we must be successful. Training is where leaders are most on display, where Soldiers are always watching. They are watching to see what examples their leaders set, to see whether their leaders have the right stuff, and watching to see if their leaders really care enough to put it on the line for them. Training is where camaraderie is forged, where warfighting skills are honed, and where trust is instilled and strengthened: Soldier to Soldier; leader to led; and unit to unit. If they know that they are being cared for, our Soldiers will always go that extra mile for their leader. It is a matter of trust. And it has been the human elements of leadership, of courage, of sacrifice, and, most of all, trust – that refusal by one Soldier to break faith with another – that have rallied Soldiers to fight and die for one another.