One of the things which has consistently impressed me the most in military leadership is the ability to have the integrity to take a standard seriously and to hold it. If the military were a plant, integrity would be the cell walls that give it structure and strength. Take that away, and there's nothing.

Honor counts for something.

It counts for everything.

Without a counterbalance it has no meaning. One who has honor needs no penalty to oppose, but one who lacks it most definitely needs the other side of the coin, and failure to apply it obliterates the meaning. Lip service is mindless and without meaning. Accountability gives meaning. Those who have honor and integrity understand this all too well and rise to the occasion. Those who lack the honor and integrity to do what they ought tend to whine that they've been "screwed."

Such comments say more about the speaker than the person holding them accountable.