Esprit de corps

A little over a week ago, my wife and I drove to Parris Island, SC for our son's graduation from Marine boot camp. It was a two day event. Thursday was Family Day. Friday was Graduation Day.

During the three months of boot camp we had only traditional hand-written letters from our son once a week at most. Family Day was the first time since before boot camp we saw our son. We were filled with anticipation and excitement.

Family Day started with a ceremony in the All Weather Training Facility which began with a video that gave us an overview of all our son and the other 700+ recruits did in boot camp. At one point in the presentation the narrator said that one purpose of the training was to create "esprit de corps" among the recruits. Because I am mindful of spirit, as soon as I heard the phrase "esprit de corps" I was aroused and began wondering what exactly "esprit de corps" is. I've heard the phrase many times throughout my life but never looked into it to learn more about it. My investigation began with some on-line dictionaries.

According to the The Free Dictionary esprit de corp is "a common spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause among the members of a group." According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary it is "the common spirit existing in the members of a group and inspiring enthusiasm, devotion, and strong regard for the honor of the group."

Note that both definitions use the words "common spirit" and "group". The idea is that a group can have a single spirit.

Esprit de corps is a French phrase used first in 1780. Esprit is the French word for spirit or breath. Corps is the French word for body. Related words are corporeal, corporation, corpse, Translated literally it is "spirit of the body." The body in esprit de corps is a corporate body, a unified group that acts as a whole.

After the video the Company First Sargent marched out and addressed the crowd. When he finished, the music started, the large hanger-like door at the far end of the building began to rise, and the new Marines marched into the building. There were over seven hundred young men and women grouped into nine platoons. Each platoon marched as one multi-legged and armed body. Its head was the Drill Instructor shouting the orders. Each platoon marched as a segment of the entire multi-platooned company. I could feel the common spirit shared by the entire multi-platooned company.

Our son's platoon halted directly in front us and the thrill of our hearts came out in the applause of our hands and shouts of our voices. We joined the chorus of thousands of other parents, siblings, girlfriends, boyfriends, and others who were clapping and cheering the new Marines.

The day we spent together touring the Recruit Training Depot, shopping and sharing meals was a day spirited with pride, relief, love and joy. Family Day was topped only by Graduation Day where we again watched the new Marines march as a single-spirited body, cheered, loaded up, and drove home.

Today, a week and a day after graduation, my son and I walked with our dog through the woods behind our house. I asked him about esprit de corps and he talked about how no one except another Marine could really understand the connection Marines have. Boot camp is an initiation. It is an initiation into the entire corporate body of the Marines. Boot camp is the crucible of the esprit de corps. It animates and binds together everyone who gets through it into a single-spirited corporate body, the Marine Corps.

The esprit de corps of the Marine Corps is one example of how a group can be animated by a single spirit. Other examples include flocks, packs, herds, schools, sports teams, business corporations, marching bands, symphony orchestras, riotous mobs, and tribes or clans.

That a group can be animated by a single spirit raises some questions:

What is the origin of an esprit de corps? From where does it come?

Does an esprit de corps vary in strength? Can it be weak, moderately strong, or very strong? If so, what determines how weak or strong it is?

What sustains an esprit de corps? How long does it last?

Does the spirit of a corporate body remain even after the corporate body dissipates? For example, if a business corporation goes out of business or an entire tribe of people dies does its spirit live on in any sense at all? If so, what sustains it? If not, where does it go?

If anyone has investigated esprit de corps in depth I am not yet aware of it and would welcome information from my readers.