Punctuality Punctuality is a very important part of military life for several reasons. one reason is that if someone is late for a patrol or convoy that patrol or convoy might haveto leave without that person. Another reason is because it will make whoever your relieving have to stay at work for longer than they are supposed to, tired and sluggish because of that fact, giving a high chance that whatever work that person does would be sub par and not up to standards because of lack of sleep.
Punctuality also shows your chain of command that you are serious about your job and are ready and motivated to do said job to the best of your ability. Being late to a convoy could lead to dire consequences. not to you but to your battle buddies you let down by not showing up. while they are on patrol, or convoying to another area, something could happen that could either need your expertise and training or they could just need another soldier to keep watch of their area.
The patrol you were supposed to be on could be ambushed and your weapon, your eyes and your training could be what makes the difference between your patrol losing soldiers or not. if you had been there your patrol could have seen the ambush with the extra set of eyes watching, or taken out the enemy with the extra soldier carrying a weapon he/she was trained to use. being late could be what makes you lose battle buddies that could have survived if you were there to help.
On a convoy it could have been your eyes that notices the strange object in the road or the slight discoloration, or disturbed earth of the road ahead of you that could have prevented your convoy from running into an IED. Being late could also hinder your battle buddies at work. you being late makes your battle buddy who you are supposed to relieve stay later than he/she is supposed to, meaning that said person loses sleep time. If this keeps occurring and they keep losing sleep time then they will start to show up to work still tired and worn out.
Being tired could lead your battle buddy to making mistakes that normally he/she wouldn’t make. Said soldiers professionalism and work ethic would start to slip due to lack of sleep because you couldnt keep to a schedule that was set by your NCO’s. It would be your fault that your battle can’t perform his duties to the best of his ability. Your battle buddies credability could also start to slip in the eyes of your chain of command because of lack of motivation or professionalism at work. Being Punctual shows your chain of command that you are dependable. hey can count on you to follow orders and be where you are supposed to be at the right place at the right time. Doing this lead to them trusting you with a little more responsibility as time goes on. being late however shows them that you can not be relied on to do anything if you cant even be somewhere on time. being on time is the easiest thing to do in the military andif you cant even do that how is your chain of command supposed to trust you with anything else? Being punctual also shows your chain of command that you have the discipline to be somewhere when you are supposed to.
Having the discipline to follow orders shows them as you spend more time in the military that just maybe your ready for that next promotion or to be put in to go to the board so you can become an NCO yourself. On the other hand not being punctual shows them that you have no discipline, which makes them have to limit the things you are allowed to do even when your off duty for the day because if they cant trust you to be disciplined around them, how can they trust you to be disciplined when your not around them.
They have to resort to confining you to your room, giving you extra duty and or taking away any distractions you may have until you can show that you are disciplined enough to have these luxuries Being at the right place at the right time for any member of the Army is extremely essential to the defense of the entire United States of America. It’s because of this that being on time is remarkably important. Dependability, accountability, consistency and discipline are all crucially related to being on time. Furthermore, promptness also shows that the individual Soldier aims high and has their priorities straight.
