U.S. Generals Comment on Character
I would place character as the absolutely number one requirement in leadership.
– General J. Lawton Collins
Character is what you are. Reputation is what others think you are. Character is the foundation of successful leadership.
– General Lucian K. Truscott
A man of high character has integrity, he is honest, he is reliable, he is straightforward in dealing with people. He is loyal to his family, his friends, his superiors.
– General William H. Simpson
Dependability, integrity, the characteristic of never knowingly doing anything wrong, that you would never cheat anyone, that you would give everybody a fair deal. Character is sort of an all-inclusive thing. If a man has character everyone has confidence in him.
– General Omar N. Bradley
It is the man of good character that I am going to seek out.
– General Mark W. Clark
General Pershing's fame rests largely upon his personal character ... in his indomitable will for victory....
– General Douglas MacArthur
You are placed by Providence in the post of honor, because it is the post of danger. And while struggling for the noblest objects –– the liberties of your country, the happiness of posterity, and the rights of human nature –– the eyes not only of North America and the whole British Empire, but of all Europe, are upon you. Let us be, therefore, altogether solicitous that no disorderly behavior, nothing unbecoming our characters as Americans; as citizens and Christians, be justly chargeable to us.
– General George Washington's first order to his troops, July 9, 1776
