Accountability

One of the first things I learned upon entering the proud United States Army was to be at the right place, at the right time, in the right uniform, with the right attitude. No Soldier can go wrong as long as they stick to those guidelines. That said, there are Soldiers that do happen to slip up and find that they are not at the right place at the right time. Those people are most commonly known as ‘’no shows”. What do I mean by “no shows”? “No shows” are the Soldiers that fail to show up at their appointment at the time they were designated to be there. It is important to maintain that appointment. There are consequences to those that fail to arrive to their appointment. For example, a Soldier that misses an appointment could be given a negative counseling statement and then given an assignment, such as a 3000 word essay on the importance of keeping an appointment. Having a negative counseling isn’t the best thing, but it’s a way to let you know when you’re not doing the proper thing and correcting you before it becomes a habit. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad Soldier, its letting you know you stepped too far to the left and guiding you back on the right track. It’s up to the Soldier to take the advice positively and correcting themselves, or negatively and start to cause problems. Regardless, good soldier or bad soldier, DO NOT MISS YOUR APPOINMENTS!!!! It it very important to keep your appointment.

The importance of keeping your appointment is summarized in one sentence; Article 86 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. This article is plainly put as, “be at your place of duty”. Being at your place of duty means to be where you are suppose to be. Soldiers have a place of duty from morning formation before PT until the Close Of Business at the end of their duty day. From in between those times, it is a Soldiers responsibility to be at their place of duty; but by not doing so, they are not following Article 86. Being at your right place of duty isn’t just for...