Soldiers, when committed to a task, can't compromise. It's unrelenting devotion to the standards of duty and courage, absolute loyalty to others, not letting the task go until it's been done.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes unwavering commitment and loyalty to a task, reflecting the values of duty and courage.
John Keegan highlights the profound dedication that soldiers embody when they commit to a mission. This unwavering commitment is characterized by a refusal to compromise, showcasing a deep sense of duty and courage that drives them to prioritize loyalty to others and see their tasks through to completion, regardless of the challenges faced.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a military ceremony to honor the dedication of servicemen and women.
Of whatever class or nation, however, all successful participants in the repetitive and unrelenting stress of aerial fighting came eventually to display its characteristic physiognomy: skeletal hands, sharpened noses, tight-drawn cheek bones, the bared teeth of a rictus smile and the fixed, narrowed gaze of men in a state of controlled fear.
Men killing other men really is an extraordinary phenomenon. Why does it happen? And how long has it gone on? And have the motives changed?
The Second World War is the largest single event in human history, fought across six of the world's seven continents and all it oceans. It killed 50 million human beings, left hundreds of millions of others wounded in mind or body and materially devastated much of the heartland of civilization.
You can't get to courage without walking through vulnerability.
Everyone recognizes that Stephen was Spirit-filled when he was performing wonders. Yet, he was just as Spirit-filled when he was being stoned to death.
Never be shamed of being Afrikan
People used to stare at me when I was growing up because I was in a wheelchair, and I hated it. Now they're staring at me because they know me. How amazing is that? It's 'Oh, that's Dylan!' Not, 'Oh, there's a guy in a wheelchair.'
Just a few years ago, at the age of 22, I learned I had an aggressive form of leukemia. I needed intensive chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant to save my life. Back then, my doctors told me that I had a 35 percent chance of surviving my transplant.
I have immense respect for anyone with a physical deformity and the courage and confidence it takes just to go out in the world.
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