I will give to the selfless performance of my duties and my mission the best that effort, thought, and dedication can provide.
To this end, I will not only seek continually to improve my knowledge and practice my profession, but also I will exercise the authority entrusted to me by the President and the Congress with fairness, justice, patience, and restraint, respecting the dignity and human rights of others and devoting myself to the welfare of those placed under my command.
In justifying and fulfilling the trust placed in me, I will conduct my private life as well as my public service so as to be free from both impropriety and the appearance of impropriety, acting with candor and integrity to earn the unquestioning trust of my fellow solders - juniors, seniors, and associates - and employing my rank and position not to serve myself but to serve my country and my unit.
By practicing physical and moral courage, I will endeavor to inspire these qualities in others by my example. In all my actions I will put loyalty to the highest moral principles and the United States of America above loyalty to organizations, persons, and my personal interest.
This creed was suggested by the U.S. Army War College Study on Military Professionalism (1970) to the Army Chief of Staff.
