There are many reasons why the military should be considered a profession. The army trains and certifies its members, ensures the continuous development of its personnel and has many professions within it. Just like doctors and lawyers, the military requires every member to complete training and certification. The Army focuses on developing its personnel to maintain skills important to the profession. Besides the profession itself, the military has many other professions. The United States Army continues to maintain and advance the profession through study and intellectual development. The military is making great strides to ensure its members are fully trained professionals. All professions, such as accounting and psychology, are certified and controlled by a governing body familiar with that field, such as a state bar or state psychological association. The same is true within the Army, as members must fulfill the requirements set by their respective branch. Similar to nursing, each rank requires a certain level of specialized training and certification. Officers and enlisted personnel will spend years in their field completing various levels of education in order to become experts. The Army places immense importance on developing leaders to sustain the profession. As General Dempsey states in his white paper, “leader development is an investment.” necessary to sustain the military as a profession and is a key source of combat power. Leadership involves the repetitive exercise of discretionary judgments, all of a highly moral nature, and represents the essential function of the Army's professional military art, whether leading a patrol in combat or making a decision major policy or budget at the Pentagon. ..... middle of paper ......n. Other professions within the Army will expand as needs evolve, but they will all remain an important component. For the Army to be successful in the future, it must require study and intellectual development, which sustains it as a profession. Works Cited Cavanaugh, MAJ Matthew. “The decline of the profession of arms”. Foreignpolicy.com. January 8, 2014. http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/01/08/the_decay_of_the_profession_of_arms (accessed February 16, 2014). Chae, Chang Kyu. “The Effect of Graduate Education on Promotion of U.S. Army Field Officers by Career Field.” March 2008. www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA479772 (accessed February 16, 2014). Dempsey, GEN Martin E. “The Profession of Arms.” December 8, 2010. http://www.benning.army.mil/armor/content/PDF/Profession%20of20Arms%20White%20Paper%208%20Dec2010.pdf (accessed February 16, 2014).