Hard jobs and good ambition: US Army generals and the rhetoric of modesty

This article examines the accounts given by U.S. Army general officers expl aining their success. Based on interviews with sixty-two generals, I descri be the ways in which these officers-whose profession renounces careerism an d self-aggrandizement-fashion explanations of their success land the succes s of their colleagues) as being due to selfless service. Even as they have reached the zenith of success in their field; these men and women are not f ree to admit to personal ambition or to a desire for promotion. Their accou nts of their success emphasize their good fortune hard work, and love of th e service. Eschewing personal ambition, they cite as their primary responsi bility the well-being of the soldiers under their command. When asked direc tly about their extraordinarily successful careers, they almost uniformly a cknowledge their willingness to accept the "hard jobs" the organization has asked them to assume. When asked about ambition, they routinely distinguis h between good and bad ambition, a distinction that aligns almost perfectly with that between unit and self. Although they are warriors, specialists i n the art of war, this is a group that is also practiced in modesty.