(Please note The spelling and grammar is not going to be correct)

Late

In today's army, being on time can be a paramount activity. Consequences for not showing up on time can be disasterous. In a normal job, you get up, go to work, and come home, and that is the limit of the level of involvement. The army is not one of those jobs. In the army, we are constantly training our mind and bodies for a combat environment. In such an environment, the level of involvement must be much higher. It is understood that any mistake, however seemingly small can have extreme consequences. Among those consequences are situations which can lead to soldiers loosing their lives.

Although the previously mentioned situation is extreme, it is not all together unlikely. Habits developed in garrison are expected to show themselves in the battlefield. So it can be said that every aspect of a soldiers life, both in garrison, and in the theater of battle should resemble each other. A soldier who exibits a military way of life, with care to physical fitness, mental readiness, and punctuality has a much better chance of survival.

It has been said that all that is necessary to be successful in the army is to be in the right place, in the right time, in the right uniform. That, if a soldier can accomplish that, his (or her) leaders will get him (or her) through any and all tasks assigned to them. That if a soldier needs assistance, all they need to do is ask for it.

I do know what is expected of me. I know that I am expected to do what I am told, when I am told to do it. I know what my first line supervisor tells me to do is an order from a superior, and I have no choice but to execute. I know if I fail, there will be consequences. I know these consequences are designed to teach me the correct way to conduct myself, so in the battlefield I will not make such critical mistakes.

I understand that I need to demonstrate to my military leaders that I have the capability to be on time. I understand how absolutely important being on time is. I know that not being on time can greatly effect everyone around me. For instance, If I am late to a formation, I could miss critical instructions. I could then continue on with my day, not having the information given to everyone else. Lets say, that for arguments sake that this information was about a combat situation. If I was not at the formation, or meeting, or wherever this information was presented I did not recieve it. I did not hear it first hand, and everything I hear thereafter is second hand, and corrupted, and more or less useless. I would continue on with my day, clueless to the message.

What if this message was critical to the saving of a life. I would ultimately fail, and that person would loose their life. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. If this scenario were to play out in real life, and it was my responsibility, I truly do not know how I would be able to deal with this. During the last few months I have not been showing to my leadership that I can accomplish these simple tasks. As a direct result of this failure, I have caused a geat deal of embarrassment toward multiple layers of my leadership. It also causes my leadership to look at me in an extremely negative light..

These, among many others are the reasons why I feel that it is absolutely not acceptable to be late.