Why it is important not to miss a military formation - Essay Example

? (Assignment) “Why it is important not to miss a military formation” Formation has a very crucial role to play in promoting the structure and order of military units. The main purpose of formation in the military is to ensure that soldiers and leaders are kept safe all the time. In addition, formation has a significant role to play in keeping track of where every soldier is at all times. In other words, through formation, the leadership gets clear idea about what a particular soldier is doing and where they are located. Based on the above information, it becomes evident that if a soldier has another appointment, it is necessary to report the same to the squad leader so that the squad leader can report the same to the platoon sergeant. Being a member of the United States Army is a matter of pride. However, being a member of this great heritage means one is supposed to adhere to, and uphold the traditions, courtesies, and heritage of the army. In fact, the offence from my part can be better described as the failure to adhere to the four R’s that make a soldier; right place, right time, right uniform, and right attitude. When I failed to come for the formation in time, I failed to display discipline, respect, and honor. I have to admit the fact that it is of utmost importance in the army to be on time because it shows values like leadership, commitment, loyalty, and responsibility. In fact, being on time is very vital in military mission, because ones buddies, leadership, and the success of the mission are all heavily dependent on ones ability to be on time. In addition, in military culture, running in formation is considered as a key component of group fitness and unit morale. Furthermore, formations make it easy for the leadership to keep track of weapons. To illustrate, if the platoon sergeant wants to count the number of weapons the platoon has got, the easiest way is to hold a formation, and count the number of weapons, and can check if any details are missing from list. In addition, it becomes possible to see what equipments are missing or misplaced. In addition, such formations help in ensuring all soldiers are well aware about what to do and at what time. In addition, it helps the leadership know which soldier is located and also at what place. Thus, I understand the fact that it is very important for me to be on time for a military formation, and that too in the right uniform. This is so because it is through military formation that the chain of command gets accountability and collects all the necessary information regarding the soldiers in the company. That means, if I fail to report in time, the entire procedure is slowed down as it becomes necessary to come and look for me, thus hurting the team, platoon and the company as a whole. In fact, morning formation is the most important formation of the day as it is this formation that makes accountability of everyone and puts out any necessary information that should be dealt with. So, missing the morning formation means having no knowledge about accountability and knowing nothing about what is going on and where everybody is. So, I understand that the offence of not showing up for formation is punishable under UCMJ article 15. In fact, one cannot ignore the importance of formation in army. The United States Army Field Manual 3-0 describes three levels of war; strategic, operational, and tactical. In addition, it is said that the military tactics are to become instinctive through battle drills. There are principles of ambushes, seeking and turning flanks, maintaining reconnaissance, creating and using obstacles and defenses, and so on. Such tactics require the merger of psychology, physics, statistics, and a lot of team work. In fact, combat requires ordered arrangement and maneuver of units in a coordinated manner in order to convert combat power into victorious battles. In such cases, it is evident that the military formation has a very vital role to play in making one prepared and instinctive to face such situations. In addition, in such situations where the entire unit is dependent on each other, the lapse from the part of one soldier will have serious consequences. So, I admit that it is very necessary not to miss a military formation. I admit the fact that my offence was a deviance from ‘The Seven Army Core Values’. The core values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage are to be strictly followed by every soldier. In fact, by not reporting for formation in time, I failed to fulfil my obligations. In addition, integrity is violated as I failed to uphold the army values. In fact, I am really proud to be a US army man and I understand the importance of formation in ensuring accountability. I admit that formation is crucial in enhancing the structure and arrangement of military units. Moreover, formations are very essential for the unit in keeping track of every soldier, and to publicize any important information that is to be dealt with. Admittedly, the failure from my part to attend the formation shows the unfitness to be trusted without supervision. I admit the fact that being a member of the team, I have a crucial role to play as the entire team including my buddies and the leadership are dependent on my performance too. So, a fault from my part will not only affect me but also affect the entire team, its operations, and thus, the nation. I admit that formation is very crucial to know what is available at that moment of time. To illustrate, it allows the chain of command to know where each soldier is at that moment of time. In addition, formation enables the unit commanders to check the availability of personnel to perform certain tasks. In fact, I failed to show my accountability of being in the right place at the right time. Admittedly, it is very important to be on time for a formation as the formations are important for squad leaders and platoon sergeants to check if soldiers are well prepared. In addition, many a time, formations are used to give out important information that one will miss if absent. In addition, not attending formation plays havoc with accountability. The absence of a soldier leads to sending a search team, and thus to slowing down the entire process. In addition, such behavior calls for action under article 15. I admit that I failed to adhere to the traditions, courtesies and heritage of the United States Army by not showing up for the formation in time. I am supposed to show discipline, respect, and honor, but in this case, I failed to show these values. I admit that I failed to prove my trustworthiness. In addition, I fully understand how this kind of careless attitude can have serious impacts on myself, my buddies, and my team as a whole. In total I fully understand the importance of attending formations and the graveness of my offence. I assure that that I will not miss another formation as I clearly understand the importance of attending formation. In addition, I assure that I will uphold the four R’s; right place, right time, right uniform, and right attitude, and will make sure that my duties are performed in time. Read More