PUNCTUALITY It is a Marines responsibility to do the correct thing 24/7. Many times people turn to us for guidance and we must be there, and ready to lead from the front. To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late. My father has preached this to me for many years. Throught my short period in the Corps my mentors and NCO’s have instilled in me the importance of accountability. Every part and piece has to be in place for a clock to work. Not one cog or gear can be missing.
Just like the Marine Corps, every Marine has a job to do. Without that marine doing his job production gets slowed down, and or is halted. No matter how big or small the job is, it needs to be done because in the end the our result is freedom. Being late for work can cause many problems that is often over looked. Showing up late could cause Marines to lose motivation or the sense of self respect. A Marine must hold themselves to higher standards even when put into tough situations. We are the few. The proud. The Marines.
In the Marine Corps it is a good rule of thumb to show up fifteen minutes prior to initiate the training and to start the day off at the correct time. This makes it easier for everyone keeping morale up. If a Marine starts coming in late they will lose the respect from their fellow Marines and the others will start coming in whenever they feel is right. Often times when Marines are given inch, they take a mile. We must not forget anything either. We might have our weapon, but we cannot fire without ammunition. For the fault of one marine, because they did not show up on time is the same as not having all of our gear. For lack of a nail the shoe was lost, for lack of shoe the horse went lame, for lack of a healthy horse a letter was not delivered, for want of an undelivered letter the general lost the War” Fast and the Furious-Tokyo Drift 2006. We can use the corps values to explain reasons not to be late to our appointed place of duty as well as our second leadership principal to be technically and tactically proficient. It takes Honor to know what one needs to do in order to be at work on time weather it means setting an alarm, or asking the duty to bang on the hatch at a certain time.
A Marine needs to have the Courage to show up at all costs. Rain, sleet or snow the training must go. Last but not least Commitment, we need to be committed to the task at hand. Which is to be where one is told to be, when one is told to be there. There are a great deal of young people who are new to the workforce and may not know that it is appropriate to be on time; however, seasoned Marines should know better and should mentor those who do not, as to keep them out of trouble, and to keep morale at its highest.
The Marine Corps has been good to me and I am proud to be serving my country. The lessons I have learned here during my enlistment will ever help me in my future employments and occupations. During my short time here I hope I can inspire the marines that come after me and I hope they will take after my example of being prompt and ready to work every day in am in the Corps. OOO-RAH!!! MAN 1O K WG 1/20 K Engage 10k wg 1/8 k / 1/20
