Draft

On the 19th of July I lent my rifle to someone else in the company to use for his M4 qualification. Upon doing this, I left the firing lanes and headed over to the rest of the company with the other soldiers rifle. I set down the rifle and proceeded elsewhere. Because of this, I no longer had accountability of the rifle and later, when asked where my issued rifle was, I could not give a definite answer. This was a mistake that could have had greater consequences if not for it being found. By lending out my rifle to someone else, the individual who used it was unable to zero his rifle, thus rendering the time at the range pointless. The soldier was supposed to zero his rifle so that if the time came where he might receive contact by an enemy, he would be able to effectively fight back. But by letting the soldier use my rifle, his weapon is not zeroed to himself. By doing this, I have endangered him and his fellow soldiers and placed the mission in jeopardy. By not carefully considering the outcome of my actions before committing to them, I have violated several of my Army values. I did not place my duty first; my duty was to prepare for our deployment mission, a part of that mission preparation included making sure all of the company weapons were all zeroed and functional for deployment in case of possible engagement from enemy presence. Honor was another value I violated; giving the soldier my rifle and not telling anyone that I had done so until being found out was dishonest and left a bark mark upon myself and the trust others had for me.