Repercussions for Not Being at Your Place of Duty

There are many important reasons that a soldier needs to be at his/her assigned place of duty at the appointed time. If a soldier does not show up to his/her appointed place of duty it can affect unit cohesion and mission completion. When I talk about unit cohesion, I am referring to the collective efforts of the group. A unit generally shares a common goal and should be motivated to coordinate their efforts as a team to achieve that goal. Now, if you have a soldier that does not show up to help complete that goal, that soldier has not only placed more work on his/her unit members, but has effectively let his or her unit down. This can cause a multitude of problems that may affect the overall completion of a mission. And the Army is all about putting the mission first.
Failure to be at your appointed place of duty can also result in an Article 86 – Absent without leave.
Article 86—Absence without leave "Any member of the armed forces who, without authority—
(1) fails to go to his appointed place of duty at the time prescribed;
(2) goes from that place; or
(3) absents himself or remains absent from his unit, organization, or place of duty at which he is required to be at the time prescribed; shall be punished as a court-martial may direct." (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 of duty after having reported at such place.
(3) Absence from unit, organization, or place of duty.
(a) That the accused absented himself or her-self from