The Importance of Accountability and Communication

The United State Army requires that all personnel and soldiers are accountable for themselves, their equipment and at times their fellow soldiers. AR 710-2 and AR 735-5 contain Army policy for property accountability and responsibility. In the military, what does accountability mean? Accountability and communication is important in the U.S. military because it allows your chain of command and unit commanders to know where you are at that moment. Accountability refers to the obligation of an individual to report formally to his superior for the proper discharge of his responsibility. It means showing up on time, and symbolizes responsibility. Both responsibility and accountability differ from authority in the respect authority can be delegated, while both accountability and responsibility are universal and cannot be. First formation is especially important because your superiors can report to their First Sergeants and Sergeant Major how many soldiers are prepared to train and how many are tasked out. Those that are unable to be accountable are the ones that jeopardize the combat readiness of any unit. No matter what the assignment is at hand, it is the soldier responsibility to do it and do it right or to the best of their ability. When soldiers fail to show up for PT or first formation on time, it also means they fail a small part of their mission and must be held liable for their failure. Even the smallest of mistakes can get us or our battle buddies killed overseas, so it’s better to given corrective action to correct the small mistakes now. Doing the job correctly and ensuring others do it as well and do it safely are all part of accountability in the military as one does not have to experience combat to understand that just being in the military is inherently dangerous given the types of equipment and weapons that are used to train and deploy with. As an example any live weapons range you go to part of the safety brief is “everyone here is a range safety”...