Can I recieve a negitive counseling for not answering my phone?

Yes and your supervisor needs to be able to reach you pretty much at all times unless you’re on leave. Unit recalls happen at least annually to test the roster. If you didn’t have a cell phone, you need to have a different method to be reached on short notice. The alternatives are a land line or live at the unit.

SPC (Join to see) - Short answer: Yes, you can be counseled for it.

From your own admission, your NCO instructed you to keep your phone and ringer turned on during the weekend so you could be contacted. You failed to meet the expected standard. Be glad a counseling and writing assignment are are you are receiving. Had your NCO or someone higher in the Chain so desired, they could have been real @$$holes and pushed for UCMJ action for disobeying a direct order (yeah, I know, it's stretching and total BS if they did but it COULD happen).

Use this as the learning opportunity it is. I have no doubt you'll soon reach NCO status yourself and will be tasked with looking out for junior Soldiers. It will become glaringly apparent why adherence to instruction and standards are necessary. Learn from this. You'll be a better NCO in the long run.

It is just a counseling statement. You failed to do as you were told. It isn't like you are getting chaptered for this, who cares?

You were instructed to keep your ringer on. You admitted you failed to do so. Being a personal phone is not relevant. You were given lawful instruction and failed to follow those instructions.

The Army cannot make you get a cell phone, but they can make you answer it if you have one. I have been in units where Soldiers were forced to live in the barracks because they either didn't have a means of communicating with their leadership after-hours or they flat out refused to answer their phone once their duty day was over.

I honestly think your punishment is fitting. It's not over-the-top and it is not too lenient. It seems like you have a decent leadership team watching over you and your buddies. From what I have seen on Rally Point, a lot of Soldiers wish they had a leadership team like yours. Take the time and put some thought in your essay. As a leader, I hate it when I give an essay assignment and the Soldier half-asses it. Put yourself in your NCO's shoes and try to see things from his point-of-view and learn from this. One day you will have stripes and you can use instances like this to help you as you mentor and train the next batch of young Soldiers.

I once had to write an essay on disrespectful facial expressions because my NCO perceived my eyes as disrespectful. To be honest, they probably were but at the time I thought it was ridiculous because I did what he said and didn't "talk back". Accountability is a much bigger issue. The cell phone issue has been argued and lost for a long time. My first unit gave the option of be reachable by phone or be remanded to the barracks. Accept that you made a mistake and dont repeat it. One counseling is not the end all to be all unless you are a repeat offender. They are meant to help you learn and grow.

Liberty is not a right, but a privilege. There is no regulation that requires you to use your personal cell phone, or car for official business. Suggest you tell your command that if the Army doesn't issue it, then you won't use your personal devices. Your boss will gladly accept your decision and ensure you never see the civilian side of your base fence again.

The answers you're being given are a bunch of bull. The harsh reality is they can counsel you, sure but it's not justifiable. Whatever the Army requires of you, it issues you and more likely than not you weren't issued a phone. With that being said, you're not obligated to answer the phone you pay for. If they wanted to get in touch with you, there are other means but don't confuse past practice for actuality.

You were lucky! In my time & my regiments, we had to be prepared to go wheels up in 18 hours- they were unit tests, army exercises and even real deployments- In your case- it could have been UCMJ for missing movement with a Field grade Art 15. Use this as a practical experience to do as ordered, and work it out.

If you are required to be accessible at all times then you had better be accessible regardless of whether it's your phone or one that is given to you by your company!! You got off lucky in regards to the punishment you received. Keep the ringer on when told to! Back in the day when I was in you would have received an Article 15 for failure to obey an order!