Importance Of Being Late Essay

Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable. This is a motto that every Marine should live by. We are constantly told that for anything and everything we have to show up to, we should be 15 minutes prior. This gives us a few extra minutes incase anything happens. Also this is so we are not rushed on our way there. If you show up just on time there is a chance they could have started without you, therefore you are late. Showing up on time is a responsibility that is expected to be upheld by all Marines, regardless of rank. Responsibility is a key factor in honor, one of our core values. Every Marine is held to a higher standard all based off of our core values: honor, courage, and commitment. The United States Marine Corps would not be the best of the best in the world if we
did not hold ourselves accountable to our core valves. When Marines let other Marines get away with showing up late, this ultimately weakens the Marine Corps as a whole. Having a little mistake every now and then is understandable. There will be a day that you miss your alarm. As long as you let your superiors know you will be granted a safety. This is a one time thing. We are Marines, but we are still human. Humans make mistakes. When you start repeating the same mistakes, such as continually showing up late, this will make you an unreliable Marine. Now your shop can not count you to be there. You are untrustworthy. This does not sound like a squared away Marine like we all should be. You are also an unreliable worker. Being efficient at your job is very important to the Marine Corps. Being an unreliable worker makes you that much less efficient at your job. This is therefore rendering you more and more useless to the Marine Corps. You will have a better chance of getting out of the Marine Corps with something other than an honorable discharge. If I were to end up getting out of the Marine Corps with anything other than an honorable discharge, I would be a disgrace to my family. I have so many people proud of me for what I have accomplished. If I were to tell them that because I could not keep my self squared away with something so simple as being on time I was given an other than honorable discharge because my command rendered me useless to the Marine Corps, They would be so disappointed in me. Having my command being disappointed in me is bad enough. When my family and friends back home tell me that I could do better and they know I have more potential than that, then I know that what I did was unacceptable. Nothing can motivate me more than someone telling me I am doing something wrong or I should be like this.
I tend to want to prove every one wrong. Being late to work may not seem like it’s that big of a deal but if you are allowed to get away with that what else will you try to take advantage of. Once you give someone an inch they take a mile. Today it’s showing up late to work, tomorrow it could be UA. An unauthorized absence is when a Marine does not show up to his respective place of duty. His command is unaware of where this Marine is. This would be an extreme case of not being on time. This would be not showing up at all. This Marine would be punished according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He would receive a Non Judicial Punishment. Having paperwork like this under your belt as a Marine, especially in today’s Marine Corps, probably means you will not be staying in the Marine Corps much longer. To reenlist these days you can not have any sort of bad paperwork against you or you can pretty much say goodbye to that pipe dream. The Marine Corps is trying to downsize due to the upcoming time of peace. They are only looking for the best of the best Marines to keep
in. The Marine Corp is hard enough to get in, but trying to stay in is a whole different story. If you are not a squared away Marine, they will not accept you and you will be forced out. To stay in the Marine Corps for more than one enlistment is a privilege now a days. You also need letters of recommendation for any packages you want to put in. If you can not be on time for work, your superiors probably won’t give you a good letter of recommendation. This will just make things harder for you in the long run. It may seem hard now to wake up on time and get to work, but being tired for a day or two is worth it in the long run, if you ever want to reenlist or put in a package for a B-billet. Especially if you take things too far you may end up with an other than honorable discharge. You won’t be trustworthy, you will be useless to Marine Corps, and the worse of all you will be a disappointment to your friends and family back home. Being in the air wing, timing is everything. Our birds leave and come back on certain times. If you were supposed to be leaving on a DET. The DET leaves when it’s time to go. If you are late, it will leave with out you. This would be another extreme case, but Marines tend to do everything to the extreme, even make mistakes. We need to hold ach other accountable and help each other out to prevent our brothers and sisters from getting negative paperwork. We should be encouraging them to do better and to set the example for junior Marines to do the same.