Is pulling 24-hr duty alone the right answer?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 16:29:15 -0400

Is it right pulling a 24 hour duty along as junior enlisted? Some of us are rotating on this shift at a tent that no longer serves an actual purpose and doing nothing at all (which is understandable because big army) but I don’t understand why I’m alone.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jul 28 at 2020 4:33 PM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 16:33:15 -0400

There should be another person there with you for backup and to relieve you for a chance to get some sleep.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2020 4:46 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 16:46:52 -0400

No one should pull 24 hour duty alone. Too much room for error. Too much opportunity for something to get missed, like messages not received or messages not sent/relayed. For example, every time I had CQ duty or BN/SQDN Staff Duty on the weekends, it was 24 hours but there was ALWAYS two of us.

Response by SGT Dave Tracy made Jul 28 at 2020 4:49 PM

SGT Dave Tracy — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 16:49:55 -0400

Is it right? Eh, probably not, certainly it's not ideal, but I can empathize. I'll echo what the anonymous 1SG said, check with your chain.

In any case, these things sometimes happen, and if you get stuck, well, chalk it up to experience. I had to spend more than 2 out of my final 3 weeks before ETS "guarding" a few boxes of blank ammo in the back on an LMTV, and there was a period of time where I was all alone out in the training area for about 4 days. LOL, to say I was an "after thought" as far as my unit was concerned, would be an understatement! But I had MREs, Poggie bait, water, TP and an etool, so while it was far from ideal, I was okay. Today, I kinda look back fondly on that little experience in fact! LOL!

Good luck!

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2020 5:02 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 17:02:04 -0400

Another reason to never pull 24hr duty alone....if you get hurt or sick enough that you're not able to reach out for assistance....who is gonna know you need help?

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2020 6:19 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 18:19:22 -0400

Speak up to your chain. No one here is going to be able to get you out of your duty station.

It wouldn't be the first time a soldier is forgot in the field. So let someone know. Even if they give you a hard time about it, perhaps quietly they are thinking, whew........... we forgot about that...... We almost left a tent in the field.

Response by SFC Robert Walton made Jul 29 at 2020 7:30 AM

SFC Robert Walton — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 07:30:51 -0400

Okay as usual there is tons of information missing here. Missing information is a problem with making a fair assessment of the situation. If you do not have more information or even if you do i would say you need to ask your Chain of Command.