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The Importance of Maintaining Accountability for Equipment

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The Importance of Maintaining Accountability for Equipment
The Importance of Maintaining Accountability for Equipment
Accountability, what is accountability and what does it mean? The definition found on the website dictionary.com states: 1. The state of being accountable, liable, or answerable. / 2. Education. A policy of holding schools and teachers accountable for student’s academic progress by linking progress with funding for salaries, maintenance, etc. Now you may ask yourself “What kind of fucking vague ass definition is this?” at least I did when I read it. Let me transmute this into something worth reading. A real Army definition would go a little more along the lines of: The obligation imposed by law or lawful order or regulation on another person (commissioned officer, non-commissioned officer, enlisted) for keeping accurate record of property, documents, or funds. The person having this obligation may or may not have actual possession of the property, documents, or funds. Accountability is concerned primarily with records, while responsibility is concerned primarily with custody, care, and safekeeping. The U.S. Army, values soldiers that are accountable for their actions. Being accountable also means being dependable-arriving to work and appointments on time, meeting deadlines, being in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing at the right time.
Why is accountability important to the Army? Accountability is a very important part of an enlisted and a non-commissioned officer's job. The enlisted soldier is responsible for all items issued to him whether it be a weapon, ammunition, eye pro, clothes, a vehicle, or some TA-50, a field manual, under garments, medication (morphine, perks, IV or any narcotics), maps, assault pack, etc. The non-commissioned officer's responsibility is to make sure that the soldier is accountable for the items and has eyes on these items when needed, so that he can report it to his higher command. Accountability also includes the most important piece of equipment,

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