The Importance of Being Early to Your Assigned Place of Duty

The importance of being early to your assigned place of duty

The main reason for me typing up this essay is that I did not show up to pt formation on time. I desire to be a good soldier and I am yearning to excel at my job given to me by the military. The first thing I need to do to make that happen is to ensure that I am at the appropriate place of duty at the proper time (10 to 20 minutes prior). This is a simple task that is easy and somewhat painless to do, and it will be done to the best of my abilities.

When one hears the phrase “be early”, almost every sane person can understand what this simple term means, because it has been around for almost all of military history. This phrase has many positive and/or negative connotations that it can be unbelievable. As a phrase with so much importance, it must be written and defined so others can understand it. Being early means that you arrive at where you are supposed to be, whether it be PT formation, shift brief, boards, appointments, etcetera etcetera, before you are supposed to be there.

This military society we choose to be a part of has this unwritten rule to “be early” for many reasons. It allows us to be able to at least look like a responsible individual. Also, it helps us not be late, because in being late, we can form a pattern that can get ourselves into trouble with our unit, whether it be an Article 15 or other such UCMJ actions. Being early also allows for the soldier to make a last minute inspection of themselves so that they do not look jacked up in a formation or when they are at a board. It also provides those soldiers’ leader(s) the security in knowledge that they know that everyone is where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be there. Just by showing up early shows that you have mature (to a degree for some, i.e. not me) and at a bare minimum that you have some professionalism. It shows that you are at least striving to be a hard worker and that you are ready to get the job done. Also, it makes you dependable to your leadership so that if something happens they at least know that you are still going to be there even if they are not there (hopefully).

In the Army (and in the other branches of service) tardiness to your appointed place of duty is unacceptable, so being early is super important. If someone is late, it makes everyone else run behind on they have to accomplish that day. If an NCO announces that everyone will be at shift brief at a certain time, she expects all of her soldiers to be there at that time, or even a little bit earlier. However, if someone is late (like I was), it will make the rest of the soldiers wait on you, just so they can get shift brief done; but even though they can simply hold shift brief without you, it is vital to our mission that you be there because you might miss out on some important pieces of information.

One soldier being tardy can make the schedule completely disrupted. Not to mention that when everything is running late, everyone will have to end up staying late for that work day and/or do more work. It makes the whole day hectic and also makes everyone irritated and easily annoyed. It would make the days run a whole lot smoother if everyone was on time. So when someone one is late, not only is it rude and disrespectful but it also messes up the other soldiers’ schedules.

When someone shows up late, it makes them come off as an unambitious soldier and others will think that you do not care about your military career. Also it is very disrespectful to your leadership and your comrades in arms. When being late, you are showing that you do not a professional attitude. It can also be assumed that you do not care or respect your job the way you should or need to. When your NCO begins to think that you could not careless about your job they can decide that you are no longer an asset to the team. Once your NCO thinks you are no longer a useful member of the team they will keep a closer eye on you and gather a bunch ton of evidence to get you either in UCMJ trouble or kicked out of the military.

Being late can cause adverse actions to take place. Adverse actions can range from counseling to an Article 15 to chapter paperwork being initiated against you. Also, being late can cause a lot of strain on your job or even cause you to have to do even more work than what you normally do. This can also affect your life outside of work by giving you less time at home, which would be an issue if you are not single. That means that your spouse, significant other, and/or child(ren) can get mad at you because you were forced to delay or not do something because because you were late to whatever you were late to.

On top of that, you let your comrades down when you do not show up on time (or early) to work. When you fail to show up on time, you’re causing your peers to have to do your work as well as their own. This can and will cause the mission to be slowed down dramatically. When the mission gets slowed down, it affects your leaders as well, and can cause them to fail to meet any deadlines that they have on missions that are more important than wondering why you are late.

Accountability is the biggest fundamentals of the military. It not only brings personal responsibility but it also shows the organization of a unit. The US Army depends on its soldiers to get their assigned missions done in an orderly fashion. The Army would be nothing without its soldiers. When soldiers are not there to perform their duties or they are late, that brings the efficiency of the unit down. Accountability is a great trait for a soldier to have but it only comes with being early or punctual.

Punctuality shows you are responsible, honest and can at least follow simple directions. Being prompt is not just an order that the Army requires, but also a very great trait to own that is certainly a good reflection of that