Today’s class discussion was about professionalism and when it occurs in the army. There was a bit of talk amongst the classmates as we tried to flesh out the instant that that happens for Soldiers. Lawyers pass the bar, doctors become board certified, and computer programmers are awarded certificates upon passing exams that reflect their proficiency in a certain area of expertise, but when does a Soldier become a professional, or start to think of themselves as a professional? According to our instructor for this day’s discussion, enlisted Soldiers are thought of as professionals when they begin pursuing their military education at the NCO level, and for officers it happens upon completion of their branch specific basic course.

I’m not surprised that there’s an army definition for when professionalism begins. And I can see why these two benchmarks for education and training (enlisted and officer) are used as the metric for when professionalism begins. But in my own opinion, I believe that moment a Soldier becomes a professional is a unique moment of self-awareness.

I always tell everyone that my first four years in the army were just like high school. I fulfilled my responsibilities (work instead of school), kept my room clean, stayed out of trouble, and I got my allowance every two weeks. It was simple and I was happy with that routine. But at the end of my four years, I was dissatisfied with the army and was planning on separating once my enlistment was up. As I was outprocessing the In-Service Recruiter offered me a bonus to enlist in a Reserve unit that was near my hometown. Because my life as a single soldier had been free of responsibility and obligation, I hadn’t saved any money. So I enlisted to take the bonus so I could buy a car and use the Reserve paycheck to cover my auto insurance.

And that worked out pretty well for awhile. I got a fairly menial retail job, did my drills, and enjoyed being back with my family and friends.  But then my supervisors pushed me to attend the Primary Leadership Development Course (now the Warrior Leader Course). I passed the course and was promoted to Sergeant within a short amount of time. The first drill after I was promoted I arrived early and was walking into the Reserve Center. I passed First Sergeant Ellis, who had been one of my section supervisors before he had gotten promoted and he said to me, “Good morning, Sergeant Champlin.”

I returned the greeting and smiled as I heard my new rank being used by one of my compatriots.

“That sounded pretty good, didn’t it?” he asked me. I couldn’t deny that. Sergeant Champlin sounded much better than Specialist Champlin.

“But how does Staff Sergeant Champlin sound?”

That moment right there was when I started to think of myself as a professional Soldier. That was when I began to think about advancing through the ranks, the amount of work, dedication, and sacrifice it would require, and what my duties and obligations to the unit and my fellow Soldiers would become as I took more and more responsibility upon myself. Up until that point, though I had worn a uniform for several years and referred to myself as a professional Soldier, I hadn’t owned what that meant.

In today’s volunteer army there’s a variety of reasons why people join. And it isn’t always about defending the nation and fighting our enemies. The reasons can be to pay off bills, to restart an income, to gain medical benefits for family members, or any number of things. We welcome all of these people into our institution, we accept them, and we teach them our ways. Some will stay only as long as they have to, and that is fine. Others will choose to stay longer. And though the army can define when professionalism starts, it doesn’t really begin until the Soldier understands what it means to be a professional Soldiers and incorporates that into their belief system.

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.