Accountability: A Critical Analysis of Its Importance - Essay Sample

Introduction

In line with ethics and governance, accountability entails answerability, liability, blameworthiness, and the expectation of account giving. It is a quality or state of being accountable and having an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility and accountability for one's actions or any occurrence. It extends into the administration of new policies, that may be rendered due to obsolete rules and regulations or out-right compliance issues. The paper analyses the importance of accountability in a military setting.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

In the military, accountability is the obligation of a military officer to keep accurate records of property, funds, or documents (Hillman). It is imposed by law, regulation or lawful order. Accountability is a vital thing to a soldier since it enables him or her to keep track of information, and any other things that are vital to his/her safety and that of others. Being accountable entails being dependable, arriving at work and taking on appointments on time, meeting the required deadlines, and being at the right place while doing the right thing at the right time. Among the main responsibilities of leadership in the army is the accountability of soldiers, whether it comes from the chain of command or the Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) support channel (Hillman).

The act of accountability is evident in any type of formation. The process starts with the squad leaders ensuring that their team is all present or where they are if not present at that moment. They later pass on the information to the platoon sergeant who informs the battery first sergeant who pulls out the information required for the upcoming day or the near future. The NCO reports when a soldier is not present and where they are. Failure to account for any soldier would cause a chain of command and the whole support process to begin the location process. Accountability ensures success in the deployment and operations of missions. It aids to account for soldiers while at the mission, to ensure that they are well-catered for, and proper communications can be made (Schick). The current aspect of solders not being expected to remain at the installation all the time makes accountability more important.

The morning formation is among the most vital formations of the day that ensures the accountability of all the soldiers and provides the responsibilities of the day. The act of me failing to show up for the formation calls for a pending Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) action under article 15 (Schick). With an understanding of the severity of my actions, I have realized the importance of always showing up on time at the appropriate place of duty.

Conclusion

To conclude, accountability is a vital aspect of the military that ensures that all military personnel are accounted for. It also ensures that they are responsible for their actions, and follow the command channels. Not only does accountability matter in formations, but also the possession of weapons and any other sensitive items. This would help to ensure that in the event of a spontaneous occurrence, a soldier has a clue on the location of a weapon, or any other equipment needed to solve the problem. As an accountable soldier, I serve the people of my country and live the army values. I always maintain myself, my arms, and my equipment and stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy any enemies that fight my country.

Works Cited

Hillman, E. Accountability in the 19th century US Army. Legal-tools .org, 2015.

Schick, V. A comparison of the different accountability mechanisms for the British Armed Forces and UK-based Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) operating abroad. Leidenuniv.nl, 2016.