What do you think are reasonable grounds to label a service member ‘Failure To Report’?

CPL Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 15 Mar 2022 19:48:32 -0400

To keep it short, I have an SM who is never late. So the first time he is going to be late he calls me at 0550ish prior to the 0615 hit time. Says he’s having car trouble and might not make it for formation. I then inform CoC for PERSTAT. The soldier TOLD me he was going to be late. I had verbal accountability of him and reasoning. Should he still be labeled FTR?

Response by LTC Ray Buenteo made Mar 15 at 2022 8:19 PM

LTC Ray Buenteo — Tue, 15 Mar 2022 20:19:33 -0400

No because he reported to you

Response by LTC Ray Buenteo made Mar 15 at 2022 9:00 PM

LTC Ray Buenteo — Tue, 15 Mar 2022 21:00:11 -0400

How do you counsel someone on being late due to mechanical failure? Although documentation will be helpful if this is the beginning of a habit.

Response by SPC Robert Hendrickson made Mar 15 at 2022 10:19 PM

SPC Robert Hendrickson — Tue, 15 Mar 2022 22:19:11 -0400

Cpl C Hennessey, i was late 30 seconds one time and was counted AWOL another two times due to a car breaking down on the Missouri side of the mighty Mississippi River near Quincy, Il. the other time on the two AWOL's was due to i took some time on a major training (brigade sized) and had some dental work done..i got charged for the both last a grade and rcvd back in 90 days both times and yes got charged for the FTR .. Article 15's. and the 30 second late charge? was an emergency out of my control .. all happened at Ft Leonard Wood, Mo. if it was a serious case out of the SM control, then no .. if it was in his/her dereliction of duty and no major case then a light disciplinary charge unless SM had a lot of disciplinaries against that soldier .. help the SM not hurt that SM.

Response by SPC Robert Hendrickson made Mar 15 at 2022 10:21 PM

SPC Robert Hendrickson — Tue, 15 Mar 2022 22:21:16 -0400

I am a disabled Veteran and that's the truth as you see below and the truth will be a lot of help when done for the betterment of the Military Service.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 16 at 2022 12:15 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 12:15:56 -0400

Hell no he shouldn't be counted as FTR. SM reported to you they're gonna be late due to mechanical issues. Accountability was made. Giving this SM a FTR would be a d-bag move. As long as you're not the one pushing for the FTR, then you need to fight for your Soldier

Response by SFC Dennis A. made Mar 16 at 2022 3:57 PM

SFC Dennis A. — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 15:57:41 -0400

I would say that as long as the SM has never given you any reason to questions his integrity, he/she is accounted for.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 16 at 2022 6:41 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 18:41:26 -0400

I'm going to expand a little on what SFC Kelly Fuerhoff did a great job of explaining. The Soldier reports to the Commander. The Commander prescribes the time and place of duty. You as a member of the chain of command report the status to the next level in that chain of command. Whether you are satisfied that the SM status is reported or not, it is not your authority to determine whether the SM met the requirements of reporting.

As SFC Kelly Fuerhoff pointed out, that is the commanders decision. It's also the Commander's decision if the SMs reason for failing to report is sufficient, and what, if anything will be done about it.

Giving verbal accountability isn't always enough. Squad leaders say they check sensitive items all the time, but they go missing every field problem so commanders require 100% hands on checks. Commander might be staging a 100% UA or health and welfare check. There are a lot of reasons the Commander may require a full report and as the TL you are not authorized to say "they're good".

Now, with all that, there is a difference between being in charge and being a leader. Any experienced leader here is going to say that you cherry picked the argument based on bias and gave us little context. Maybe your SM was supposed to be manifesting for a jump or a movement and it was critical. Maybe the CDR directed the NCOs to call out anyone not present. But we also realize that we are not robots and individual situations require individual responses. If you evaluate your leadership and they seem like people who have your best interest in mind, they probably have a reason for calling someone FTR. If your leadership doesn't seem like someone who has your best interests in mind, then watch them and learn what not to do. Sometimes you learn just as much from your bad leaders as your good ones

Response by SFC Casey O'Mally made Mar 16 at 2022 6:56 PM

SFC Casey O'Mally — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 18:56:05 -0400

You asked two COMPLETELY different questions.

What is REASONABLE? He reported to you; you have it under control. No harm; no foul; no paperwork.

What SHOULD happen? You should follow your directives and counsel the Soldier. Because that is what you were told to do, and it is not illegal, immoral, or unethical. He SHOULD be labeled FTR. Because that is how your CoC decided to label it, and it is not illegal, immoral, or unethical.

What is REASONABLE and what SHOULD happen do not always have to agree. And in the Army, they often do not.

Ultimately, the Commander is REQUIRED to account for each and every one of his/her Soldiers every single day. (S)he usually delegates this to 1SG, but it is the Commander signing the PERSTAT. The Commander is accountable for what each Soldier is labeled, therefore the Commander is the final authority on which label to apply. If you disagree, you make your case. If the Commander reports FTR, anyway, you suck it up and drive on. Unless the Soldier was actually physically present, which he was not.

Response by CWO2 Mark Midlam made Mar 17 at 2022 9:31 AM

CWO2 Mark Midlam — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 09:31:46 -0400

Man, I find it hard to believe you are asking that question. You just stated, "He is never late" so one time, with advance notice no less, and you want to label him. Stuff happens, be human, see if he needs help with his vehicle. Be a leader, not an automatron!

Response by SPC Kenneth Koerperich made Mar 17 at 2022 9:33 PM

SPC Kenneth Koerperich — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 21:33:15 -0400

Not to be a dick, since now a days, the military has been pussified...

The ONLY way you didn't get FTR's were:

DEAD
On Sick Call
At an ASSIGNED School

Otherwise, your ass had BEST be in FORMATION or you got written up once, any after that they were/became UCMJ's actions from then on....

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Mar 21 at 2022 1:41 PM

SGM Bill Frazer — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 13:41:38 -0400

Look- you are an NCO and he reported the problem to you- if you counsel and give some sort of remedial training, etc., then it doesn't have to go any higher, or let you PSG do it. 1SG/CO use to chew my ass regularly because unless it was jail time or drugs, I handled my own troops which kept them out of UCMJ action. But it didn't kill me and it did not stop any favorable actions to me.