Appointed Place of Duty

It is always important to be where you are supposed to be. In the Army, every leader stresses the fact on being on time or being at the right place or being in the right uniform. So if you have to ask yourself is it important to be where you are told to be? I think most Soldiers and Leaders will tell you that is very important. It is my responsibility to be where I am supposed to. It is all about accountability. You have to keep track of your Soldiers. It is your responsibility and your leader's responsibility. They are responsible for your actions as well you. In the articles of military justice a Soldier can be charged with Article 86 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), 10 U.S.C. 886, makes it a crime to fail to go to one's appointed place of duty at the time prescribed, to leave one's place of duty, or to be absent from one's unit without authority. There is tremendous discretion vested in a military commander to determine what, if anything, to do about a particular violation. Often a first transgression is dealt with by minor punishment, such as loss of leave, privileges, or extra work assignments. More aggravated cases may result in administrative discharge rather than by referral to court-martial. Intentional behavior, such as coming in late to miss deploying with his unit to an unpleasant location, can result in an unpleasant court martial. This is further in detail of what the charges are: 1) Failure to go to appointed place of duty. (a) That a certain authority appointed a certain time and place of duty for the accused; (b) That the accused knew of that time and place; and (c) That the accused, without authority, failed to go to the appointed place of duty at the time prescribed. (2) Going from appointed place of duty. (a) That a certain authority appointed a certain time and place of duty for the accused; (b) That the accused knew of that time and place; and (c) That the accused, without authority, went from the appointed place