Integrity demands that one always act according to personal and professional principles. It means being morally complete and behaviorally upright. As contrasted with honor, integrity signifies a character manifested by consistency in action. A leader of integrity always acts according to principles to which he or she is committed. Soldiers of integrity possess high personal moral standards and are honest in word and deed. They show an uncompromising adherence to moral principles; they do the right thing not because it is convenient or because they have no choice. They do right because they have a choice and choose well.

Integrity requires three steps:
• Discerning what is right from what is wrong.
• Acting on what you have discerned, even at personal cost.
• Saying openly that you are acting on your understanding of right from wrong.

The point of having integrity as a value is to ensure personal values are consistent with Army values. Leaders should be ready to answer for how they act, not to defend themselves, but to show others what it means to know, do and say what is legally and morally correct.

Man was created with the innate ability to know right from wrong. Paul wrote in Romans 1:20-23, “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.”

As believers we have the power through the Holy Spirit to do what is right. Before salvation, we had no power of sin. Now that Christ has redeemed us, we have the ability to do what God requires of us regardless of who is watching. The world is looking for something genuine in which to believe. We can give them hope by living up to the integrity that God demands of us a followers of Christ.