Being Late in the Army

“Right place, right time, right uniform.” I first heard that from and old First Sergeant of mine; and he said it regularly. Each piece of the sentence seems arbitrary, even self-explanatory, but for some it is difficult of to execute. This paper is going to briefly explain each of the three parts, with emphasis on ‘time’.
Being at the place of duty at the correct time is critical because are waiting on a member the team. Each unit is allotted so many personal but military and civilian. Each unit is also tasked missions. The assigned personnel work as a team, with a tempo and common expectation to fulfill the mission at hand. Common expectations are the socially accepted forms of professional behavior. Professionalism is partly comprised of timeliness- therefore it is paramount. Another part of professionalism is appearance. The appropriate uniform for the occasion, cleanliness and maintaing customs and courtesies. Appearing well rounded and well kept; so no one can second guess a person’s competence. Being a professional really means doing what it takes to allow my peers and co-workers to know me as reliable, respectful and competent. Regardless of where I work and the type of role I fill, this can take on many different forms with the same end result in mind. It would seem juvenile to some that going to the wrong place, regardless if in the required attire, even 15 minutes early! I focused my attention on something underlying to an issue that can arise from this: paying attention to detail. Soldier’s books are handed out, calendars are easily accessible and not to forget Outlook and all the possibilities there. Use them, any combination of them. Doing these thing, plus thinking about how something so simple could have so many possible moving parts (I think) creates the atmosphere for a soldier to succeed. People understand mistakes, flukes or accidents. People also notice habitual behaviors that affect the mission tempo negatively. Things go smoother