Any NCO can read the creed but do they live by it.

I have found that the great ones live by it, the good ones work on it, and the slugs never saw it.

I know, I'm an officer and shouldn't be commenting on an NCO creed thread....

However, I was an NCO before I switched to the dark side. I tried every day to live by that creed, and I still do in the civilian world when it applies. Every day, I try to keep the accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my people in my mind. That will never change.

As an officer, I expected NCOs to live by that same creed as much as possible. After my commission, I also asked my First Sergeant in my first company to take me aside and remind me of an NCOs role and an Officers role any time I crossed back into NCO business.

Creeds like this are important in that they give Officers, NCOs, and soldiers something to strive for.

Very true ... unless you take things like this to heart and actually practice them, they are just words on a piece of paper.