The Royal Navy states its values as commitment, courage, discipline, respect, integrity, and loyalty, while the US Navy uses honor, courage, and commitment. Such formulas turn an otherwise amorphous culture into standards that leaders can teach and personnel can invoke. The US Navy adopted its current trio in 1992 after the Tailhook scandal exposed failures in conduct and accountability. It drew on Marine Corps language and replaced the Navy's earlier emphasis on professionalism, integrity, and tradition. The change shows that a service can rewrite its stated values when institutional failure makes inherited language inadequate.
Notable Point · 35:19-37:21
How the Tailhook scandal reshaped US Navy core values
Royal Navy and US Navy value statements show institutions making culture explicit, with the US formulation changing after the 1991 Tailhook scandal.