Integrity and Leadership
During the Delta Force stress phase of the selection process, our rucksack required weight increased from 45 to 50 pounds and finally to 55 pounds. We ran solo through unforgiving terrain with our rucksack, a weapon, a map, and a compass. We were not allowed to use roads or trails. A few people would attempt to cheat the system and take a road or trail, thinking that they would get by with it. They did not know that cadres were watching.
They were allowed to finish the course, but at the Commanders Board, they would be asked if they had used a road or trail. If they lied, they were immediately removed from the selection process. It was much better to own up to cheating the system than lying about it.
Our moral compass is as important as our real compass. Before anything we attempt in life, it always turns out better to keep our moral compass, in other words, our integrity, as close to the vest as our directional one.
Integrity, our personal character, is one of the foundational cornerstones of leadership.