Posted on Nov 3, 2015
Is my soldier wrong? "per regulation he must inform the chain of command if he is put on quarters."
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I have a soldier who was sent home one day by the PA. As medics we are all part of the same section. He works in the clinic as one of the PA's medical screeners. Soldier was sick and since the PA noticed this, he did an exam on the soldier and then told him to go home, saying he would inform our PSG. Although the PA did send our PSG the email, I did not find out about him leaving until about 3 hours later. I understand my soldier's point of view, saying he did not consider telling me since the PA had informed him that his PSG would be notified, but myself and my first line feel as though I should have been informed. I was told that "per regulation he must inform the chain of command if he is put on quarter." Does anyone know if that is true, or have opinions on to whether or not my soldier is wrong.
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Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 22
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I would think a simple "be sure to let me know next time" would suffice. Not really worth getting worked up about.
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He should have informed you, but if he is sick and was told by the PA that he would notify the chain of command, what is the big deal? Talk to him and tell him to make sure he informs you in the future and leave it at that.
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SGT William Howell
SGT (Join to see) So give him a counseling statement and make everybody happy. The statement will not leave the unit when he goes to his next duty station.
So my question is what is the deal with the soldier. Is he a problem child? I can see why this is an issue if there is are ongoing issues with other things going on. If this is a one time deal then all I got to say is, WOW.
Still if an officer ordered him to quarters and told him that he would inform the chain then it is on the officer, not the soldier. If it were me and this went to an Art-15 I would request a court martial. There is not a JAG out there that would touch this because an officer took the responsibility for this soldier.
So my question is what is the deal with the soldier. Is he a problem child? I can see why this is an issue if there is are ongoing issues with other things going on. If this is a one time deal then all I got to say is, WOW.
Still if an officer ordered him to quarters and told him that he would inform the chain then it is on the officer, not the soldier. If it were me and this went to an Art-15 I would request a court martial. There is not a JAG out there that would touch this because an officer took the responsibility for this soldier.
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CSM (Join to see)
SGT (Join to see) - Well I would be pretty shocked if this thing went to an article 15. You have a Soldier who was told by a commissioned officer that he would let the chain of command know that the Soldier was on quarters. If by policy the Soldier failed then he likely deserves a counseling. Is there a regulation that says the Soldier needs to inform his chain of command? I have no idea. I do know that this is one infraction that I would not waste much time on.
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SPC Tony Bucaro
Sounds like a bunch of BS to me! The soldier was following orders by a PA who clearly out ranks the sick soldier. You as a SGT "Team Leader" should be standing up to your chain-of-command in defense of your soldier. Seems to me that the PA and the PSG need to get their crap together.
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SFC (Join to see)
I don't know the Soldiers history as far as their integrity goes or if this is a constant routine that has happened before but I would guess if this is the first time this happened I would verbally counsel the Soldier and explain if this should happen again to give a courtesy call to his squad leader and let it go. In the end result the CoC was informed so no harm no foul.
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I wouldn't make a big deal about it unless this guy's a problem in other areas. Also depends if the Soldier's an E4 or an E2. Some people just don't know the "right" thing to do, and certainly don't know the regulations. If they're a problem, use this to make a point. If not, tell them not to do it again and let it slide. Nothing is black and white...no matter what anyone tells you about regulation and policy.
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Questions of clarification: Is the PA someone who can direct him to quarters (i.e. an officer?)
When a person in authority says "I'll let your chain of command (PSG) know" they take responsibility for that report. The troop naturally assumes that word will filter down correctly, because he always gets word correctly (no sarcasm intended). The first person you would tell you are missing one of your troops is the PSG, at which point he will go "$&$^, I was supposed to let you know that. My bad." So your troop isn't wrong in this case. A courtesy phone call/text/checkout would have been nice though.
As 1SG (Join to see) said though, the bigger issue was working while sick.
When a person in authority says "I'll let your chain of command (PSG) know" they take responsibility for that report. The troop naturally assumes that word will filter down correctly, because he always gets word correctly (no sarcasm intended). The first person you would tell you are missing one of your troops is the PSG, at which point he will go "$&$^, I was supposed to let you know that. My bad." So your troop isn't wrong in this case. A courtesy phone call/text/checkout would have been nice though.
As 1SG (Join to see) said though, the bigger issue was working while sick.
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He should have given you at least a courtesy text, but I understand why he didn't. That is not "trouble", just a clarification of expectations. If this becomes a habit...
However, one thing your Soldier DOES need to be counseled about is showing up for work ill. If he is working in a health care environment, seeing Soldiers when he is sick can compound the situation. He should know better.
However, one thing your Soldier DOES need to be counseled about is showing up for work ill. If he is working in a health care environment, seeing Soldiers when he is sick can compound the situation. He should know better.
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SGT (Join to see)
In this instance, it would be kind of interesting as the SM would still be in the same building, just sitting on the other side of the desk, not signing themselves into sick call...
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SGT (Join to see) When I was in the pay grade of E1 - E4 I did not care or anyone outside of my immediate supervisor said, I kept my supervisor informed of everything for I understood accountability. Your Soldier needs to be counseled on the finer points of keeping their immediate supervisor informed.
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Attention to detail is critical not just in medicine but in the Army as a whole.
The NCOs main duty is accountability of their subordinates. In failing to notify the SMs first line supervisor the SM undercut that mission. By not teaching that SM that part of his/her duty ia accountability at all times that SMs first line supervisor set themselves up for failure.
Worst case scenario, what happens if suddenly ThreatCon Delta was declared? That's a full recall, lock down, and potentially issuing weapons and ammunition. When the PSG turns to you and says where's SPC Soandso, your answer will be....
The NCOs main duty is accountability of their subordinates. In failing to notify the SMs first line supervisor the SM undercut that mission. By not teaching that SM that part of his/her duty ia accountability at all times that SMs first line supervisor set themselves up for failure.
Worst case scenario, what happens if suddenly ThreatCon Delta was declared? That's a full recall, lock down, and potentially issuing weapons and ammunition. When the PSG turns to you and says where's SPC Soandso, your answer will be....
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Now that I have been thinking about it for a few, I have a question(s) for you. How come it was three hours before you found out your Soldier was gone? How come you didn't ask where your Soldier was after not having seen him for some time? If it were me, and I hadn't had eyes on for about one hour, I would have been asking.
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SGT (Join to see)
The reason I didn't know is because I was performing medical coverage at a range and he works at the clinic. On a normal day his place of duty it there while I'm performing needs of the section, he returns around 1530 every day after patients are done to check in with me. Should have been good on my part to mention it was just after 1530 when I found out
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What the !! An easy fix is to gather all your Soldiers before or after Shift and let them know to inform you if there is any change in status or issues with them. Done deal
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I don't know why everybody is wrapped up in regulations. A soldier has a responsibility to keep his first line supervisor of his location if it is outside of a normal status.
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