s the gravest of military responsibilities.
At the same time, however, he recognizes that to fail to take the
indicated action may disclose a lack of the higher qualities of
courage, judgment, initiative, and loyalty (page 9). He will, of
course inform his superior of his action at the first available
opportunity. In the meantime, he has been enabled to act intelligently
and fearlessly because of the existence of a state of mutual
understanding.

Indoctrination. Both the necessary process and the final result of
establishing a state of mutual understanding are sometimes known as
indoctrination.

The word carries the dual meaning of "the act of indoctrinating" and
"the state of being indoctrinated". In common with the word doctrine,
it has its root in the Latin verb which means "to teach". A doctrine,
in its pure meaning, is that which is taught, or set forth for
acceptance or belief.

It does not follow that every doctrine is necessarily sound, nor that
it is founded on conviction reached as the result of intelligent
thought. Nor is the encouragement of a belief, by means of the spread
of a doctrine, necessarily inspired by good motives. The preaching of
doctrine known to be false is frequently encountered in many human
activities. The deliberate spread of false propaganda is an example.
But, whatever the motive and whether the doctrine be sound or false,
the act of indoctrination is intended to shape opinion and thus
influence action.

Manifestly, to be along permanently useful lines, indoctrination flows
from sound philosophy, i.e., is rooted in truth. All teachings, all
opinions that may be advanced, all expressions of viewpoint, i.e., all
doctrine, is therefore to be scrutinized, first from the standpoint of
validity, and then from that of usefulness of application. It is the
responsibility of command to ensure that these conditions are met
before doctrine is pronounced.

Military doctrine, in its broad sense, is a digest of the accepted
beliefs of the military profession. In a narrower sense a military
doctrine may be confined to the views of a single commander on a
specific subject. The object of military doctrine, however, is always
to furnish a basis for mutual understanding to the end that prompt and
harmonious action by subordinate commanders may ensue without the
necessity for referring every problem to superior authority before
taking action (page 15). Doctrine thus provides a basis for action in
pos