Military Article 86 - Failure to Be at an Appointed Place of Duty

Failure To Be At An Appointed Place of Duty

When you think "failure to be at an appointed place of duty," what comes to mind? I think AWOL. AWOL is an abbrieviation for the phrase absent without leave which is an United States Army Article Eighty Six of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

"866. ART. 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. "

This topic can be broken down into many subcatorgories such as: discipline; military bearing; and common curtorsey. Another thing that falls under Article Eighty Six is if you leave the place of duty at anytime for anything other than what is for the duty that you are doing. Failure to be at an appointed place of duty through the military guidelines means that a soldier would be noncompliant, which is being absent without leave. With that being said there must be specific proof that the individual being accused of not reporting to a duty station was aware of time and location of the assignment. Absence of leave does not include inability to return through sickness, lack of transportation facilities, or other disabilities.

With that being said in order to be considered absent without leave the solider will have to be absent from the place of duty for a minimum of at least twenty-four hours straight. As a soldier, I am held accountable for my actions and any responsibilities given by my piers. Leaders are responsible for their soldiers actions which also means I, as a soldier must always report to my assigned locations at the specified times. There are different levels of severity when it comes to appointing an individual accountable for an absence without leave. In some instances, it may result in a court martial being involved (i.e. not reporting to a location to purposely miss a deployment). When a first disobedient act is made, usually minor punishment is given to hopefully, let the individual understand the importance of set rules and regulations. Some of these consequences may result in extra work assigned or loss of certain privileges.

Let's take the first subcatorgory discipline for instance. Discipline can be defined in many ways: such as doing something that you are told to do; obeying your superiors; doing something that needs to be done without being told. Military Discipline is a state of order and obedience existing within a command. It involves the ready subordination of the will of the individual for the good of the group. Military discipline demands obedience that preserves initiative and functions even in the absence of the commander.

Discipline is created within a command by instilling a sense of confidence and responsibility in each individual.But how can you explain discipline in the since of this topic. Would it be having the will power to be somewhere that you were told to be or discipline in following what was written in black and white? It can go both ways but its up to that inidiviual to choose his/her actions or what they are going to do. So for example: The solider is told one thing from a peer that we have to be at the Hanger for the morning formation, but on the calander of events for the company is posted and it doesn't have the formation until later on that morning. Do you think the soldier should be in trouble or guilty of not being at an appointed place