Article used by permission from
Hooah4Health.com
"CO2" stands for
"Consideration of Others." It is a program designed to educate
us while effectively building group teamwork and reinforcing
the Army's Values. To do this, small groups (ideally about 12
people) meet every three months for a 2-hour discussion led by
a facilitator. These are "discussions" rather than "lectures"
because we all retain information much more effectively if we
talk about something rather than just listen. Talking together
about a topic encourages active participation, and this
process builds teamwork. Lecturing can get information across,
but does almost nothing to promote teamwork.
"Consideration of Others" is defined as:
"Those actions that indicate a sensitivity to
and regard for the feelings and needs of others and an
awareness of the impact of one’s own behavior on them; being
supportive of and fair with others."
A military unit must excel as an organization in order to
successfully accomplish its mission. As the difficulty of the
mission increases, so does the need for excellence in a unit's
organizational character. In the Army, we use the term
"unit cohesion" to describe organizational character.
This term has a great deal of value, not the least of which is
its acceptance by a wide range of Army authorities as a common
term of reference to use when discussing issues relating to
how soldiers operate and fight as a team.
The exact term we use is not critically important. What is
critically important is that our soldiers live and work in the
type of organization which allows them to excel and give their
total commitment to the unit's mission; to exhibit in practice
the "selfless service" we value as American soldiers.
Consideration of Others is a tool, which focuses on
the vital linkage between the individual soldier and his or
her role as a member of a military team.
The Department of the Army requires CO2 training. Click
here to read or download the Department of the Army's Consideration
for Others Handbook.
