John Albert Bond Silent Mentor Essay: Courage, Respect, Integrity, Service and Professionalism

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John Albert Bond commonly known as ‘Chesty’ was born in Sydney, New South Wales on the 15th of December 1929 and he grew up in Willoughby, New South Wales. John Albert Bond served in the Vietnam war as a Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2), his unit during the war was the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam, which was an advisory unit made up of officers and warrant officers to advise the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). He also has ties to the Royal Australian Armoured Corps giving him expert knowledge which allowed him to be an advisor for 2nd Troop 4th Cavalry Regiment Army of the Republic of Vietnam. During the Vietnam War WO2 John Albert Bond was killed in action on the 25th of April 1969 at 0530 during and enemy mortar and ground attack in Quang Tri Province. He was buried in Northern Suburbs Crematorium New South Wales. During his time served WO2 John Albert Bond showed how someone can embody the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) values while serving Australia. At the time of WO2 Bond’s death he was attached to a United States Army Task Force and he was posthumously awarded a US Bronze Star at the age of 39 years old (Awm.gov.au, 2019). The ADFA values are, Courage, Respect, Integrity, Service and Professionalism making the acronym CRISP. And throughout his career he displayed many of the ADFA values as a WO2 in the Australian Army serving in Vietnam. These examples of ADFA values can be used as inspiration to help shape my own leadership style in becoming an officer in the Royal Australian Navy.

The first ADFA value is courage which is described in the cambridge dictionary as “the ability to control your fear in a dangerous or difficult situation” (Dictionary.cambridge.org, 2019) . WO2 John Albert Bond’s story relates to the first ADFA value by him showing courage to do his job while even in an operational combat zone that eventually lead to him being killed in action on ANZAC Day in 1969. The ADFA value of courage can be incorporated into my leadership style is to use WO2 John Albert Bond’s story to use as motivation to do the right thing. This may be to have the moral courage to stand up to my peers when they are acting inappropriately or when I see something happen to not become a bystander. This could also be physical courage to put my life on the line to achieve the mission for the greater good, just like what WO2 John Albert Bond did in 1969. Some challenges that may arise from implementing this is social pressure from others that may disagree with standing up for what is right as well as the bystander effect which is when people are less likely to help in a given situation when other people are present. A way I can overcome this is by having an understanding on what the bystander effect is as well as being able to recognize when the bystander effect is taking effect on other individuals in a given situation so then I can take the appropriate action for the given situation.

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The second ADFA value is respect, the Department of Defence defines respect as “Acknowledging and upholding the rights and dignities of oneself and others.” (Defence.gov.au, 2019). WO2 John Albert Bond was well respected and respectful alike. He was an adviser in the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam which requires respect from the students towards the advisers so they can teach the required knowledge. This also works in reverse as advisers need to respect the students, so that the students feel comfortable in their learning environment. There also needs to be a mutual respect between both parties as they would often go out on dangerous missions together therefore relying on each to do their job and follow commands to ensure a successful mission. The way respect can integrate into my leadership style is to respect that my peers, subordinates and superiors are capable and competent to do their job, as well to respect that they are capable of following and leading respectively. This can be demonstrated at ADFA by respecting my peers in their endeavors as well as respecting that they will pull their fair share of duties and jobs that need to be completed around and for the division. Respect can also be shown towards the chain of command by first respecting their experience and commision, but also respecting that their job can be demanding and that I should be understanding if issues are not being processes quickly as there may be something that I may not know. A challenge that I may face when trying to implement respect into my leadership style is that frustration may overpower my respect for an individual. A way to combat that is to look for the signs that it might be happening and the focus on the right behavior in the right situation.

The third ADFA value is integrity which is defined as by the Royal Australian Navy as “Integrity is the display of truth, honesty and fairness that gains respect and trust from others.”(Royal Australian Navy, 2019). WO2 John Albert Bond would have had to have shown integrity while he was posted to Australian Army Training Team Vietnam, this is because as an adviser it is vital to have the respect and trust from others that you are there for the greater good. This is made even more important when in a real time war situation that can have disastrous consequences such as death. Integrity also plays a vital part in teamwork which WO2 John Albert Bond demonstrated as he would often work in teams with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Integrity can incorporated into my leadership style by being true to myself as well as being honest to my fellow peers, subordinates and superiors alike. This will intern allow me to gain the respect from them, this will me to gain their will consent to be able to achieve the mission at hand thus doing my part as an officer and team player in the Royal Australian Navy. Having integrity also can link back to having courage in a given situation. Being integral and true to oneself can take a lot of courage if in a certain situation standing up for what is right even though the persons present may not be. One challenge that I may face during my time at ADFA is being caught up with the crowd or being a bystander and not doing the right thing when a situation is happening that goes against my values and the Australian Defence Force’s values as well.

The second last ADFA value is service which is defined as “Serving the interests and wellbeing of others and placing these ahead of self interest”(Defence.gov.au, 2019). WO2 John Albert Bond paid the ultimate price while serving in Vietnam by being killed in action during an enemy mortar attack. WO2 John Albert Bond on the orders of the Government of Australia gave his life serving in the interests of others and well and truly placing others ahead of himself. A way I can value his sacrifice and honour the service that he has given is to do my best as Midshipman in the Australian Defence Force and to be thankful for WO2 John Albert Bond’s sacrifice as well as any other service men and women that have given their life for Australia. The value of service is vital for every member in the Australian Defence Force and is a vital part of my leadership style as it provides the framework of why I joined the Australian Defence Force hence it effects my leadership style and how I conduct myself as an Officer. A challenge that might arise during my time in the Australian Defence Force is when times are tough whether it is on operations, training courses or postings. These are examples of how my service value can be tested and the best way to overcome this is to remember why I joined and to remember those that have come before to make Australia as it is today. Another way to overcome this is to think of the people I am protecting for giving my service such as my friends and family.

The final ADFA value is professionalism and on the Defence ADFA Value website it is described as “Working both individually and as part of a team to achieve mastery in the Profession of Arms.”(Defence.gov.au, 2019). Professionalism was displayed and embodied by WO2 John Albert Bond, this is proven as he was selected to be apart of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam which only consisted of experienced officers and warrant officers in their field. WO2 John Albert Bond was awarded a US Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam (Awm.gov.au, 2019). The US Bronze Star is awarded for someone that has distinguished him or herself from his or her peers in a combat zone (The Balance Careers, 2019). To be awarded this medal WO2 John Albert Bond would have to have shown the ADFA value of professionalism. Professionalism is a key part of my leadership style as it gives the structure for how to conduct yourself as an officer in the Australian Defence Force. This ranges from the small things like uniform to the big things like leading a mission on operations. A challenge with upholding professionalism is not letting the standards slip and getting complacent with ones job requirements and duties. This also applies to ADFA with upholding academic requirements and military study requirements.

WO2 John Albert Bond’s career showed many different ways different ADFA values can be implemented throughout one’s service in the Australian Defence Force. WO2 John Albert Bond showed courage by serving his country in a combat zone on the request of the government. He showed that he was respected and respectful as an advisor for the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam. He showed that has integrity by working in teams for the Army of the Republic of Vietnam on operations which require integrity to be effective. The fourth ADFA value he showed was service where he paid the ultimate price by giving his life while deployed in Vietnam, this is the ultimate way to demonstrate service to one’s country. And finally he showed professionalism when he was an advisor for the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam, where he was awarded the US Bronze Star for his distinguished service in a combat zone. WO2 John Albert Bond’s story has shown how the ADFA values can be implemented in one’s leadership style. The ADFA values Courage, Respect, Integrity, Service and Professionalism or CRISP build the framework for leadership coming through the Australian Defence Force, thus they are adopted by the Australian Defence Force Academy to build and grow Australia’s future officers to protect its borders. WO2 John Albert Bond sadly died on the 25th of April 1969 during and enemy mortar attack but during his career he highlighted the ADFA values and ways they can implemented.

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