American Mercenary is over at his house discussing the "art of war". Its worth a read and you can check it out here. Something he said however irked me a bit. Check this out...
At the boots on the ground level, the Army is very much a vocation. Privates, Sergeants, through Captains are vocational workers. Sometimes at the doctrinal level you'll find Captains who are doctrine writers, so that is the "transition rank" where you expect to see Officers start to work as "theoretical professionals" and not "vocational workers."Hmm.
To illustrate this point, in the medical field you have obvious vocational workers such as nurses aides, biomedical technicians, lab workers, and dental assistants. You also have obvious professional workers such as R.N.s, P.A., D.O., and M.D.s who have a much higher educational requirement, professional review boards, and all the other trappings of a "profession" instead of a "vocation."
I AM POSITIVE that AM did not mean to denigrate the service of those that are serving there country. But to list their work as a vocation and not a profession rubs me the wrong way.
What follows are the characteristics of a profession by Bob Kizlik via Adprima.com
I. Professions are occupationally related social institutions established and maintained as a means of providing essential services to the individual and the society.A LCpl in the Marine Corps has met all the hallmarks of a professional. The same applies to all the services. Standards must be met, hopefully exceeded and if they are not then those individuals are expelled from the profession. Different from civilian professions, personal conduct is also factored into the equation and even seemingly minor infractions like Marijuana use can result in being expelled.
2. Each profession is concerned with an identified area of need or function (for example, maintenance of physical and emotional health, preservation of rights and freedom, enhancing the opportunity to learn).
3. The profession collectively, and the professional individually, possesses a body of knowledge and a repertoire of behaviors and skills (professional culture) needed in the practice of the profession; such knowledge, behavior, and skills normally are not possessed by the nonprofessional.
4. Members of the profession are involved in decision making in the service of the client. These decisions are made in accordance with the most valid knowledge available, against a background of principles and theories, and within the context of possible impact on other related conditions or decisions.
5. The profession is based on one or more undergirding disciplines from which it builds its own applied knowledge and skills.
6. The profession is organized into one or more professional associations, which, within broad limits of social accountability, are granted autonomy in control of the actual work of the profession and the conditions that surround it (admissions, educational standards, examination and licensing, career line, ethical and performance standards, professional discipline).
7. The profession has agreed-upon performance standards for admission to the profession and for continuance within it.
8. Preparation for and induction into the profession is provided through a protracted preparation program, usually in a professional school on a college or university campus.
9. There is a high level of public trust and confidence in the profession and in individual practitioners, based upon the profession's demonstrated capacity to provide service markedly beyond that which would otherwise be available.
10. Individual practitioners are characterized by a strong service motivation and lifetime commitment to competence.
11. Authority to practice in any individual case derives from the client or the employing organization; accountability for the competence of professional practice within the particular case is to the profession itself.
12. There is relative freedom from direct on-the-job supervision and from direct public evaluation of the individual practitioner. The professional accepts responsibility in the name of his or her profession and is accountable through his or her profession to the society.
Service in the military (especially the Marine Corps) is a profession of arms. We should not forget that.
