As the platoon sergeant of everyone here it is my responsibility to ensure you have the proper equipment and are well informed. The platoon leader is expected to be the most knowledgeable and experienced of the enlisted leaders. I am the primary advisor of the platoon leader and as such I follow the orders and execute the tasks given to me. My tasks are soldiers and equipment, my actions prior to, during and after the pre-combat checks and pre-combat inspections were a failure. I did not meet standards when it comes to securing soldiers and equipment. The deadline for the field training exercise on March 24, 2018 was not met when comes to equipment inspection at all level of leadership. As the platoon sergeant I needed to inform and delegate the Javelina Battalion’s standard operating procedures on how to conduct the pre-combat checks and pre-combat inspections. The cadre of Javelina Battalion have presented information on how pre-combat checks and pre-combat inspections should be completed. It is my duty to properly brief cadet leadership on how and why we perform pre-combat checks and pre-combat inspections. As the platoon sergeant I should have coordinated with the platoon leader to verify that we properly briefed the platoon but also coordinated with cadre to complete the task to Army standard. In this task I failed as I did not push cadet leadership to meet Army standards but failed even more because I sent my own standard below of what it should be. My performance was poor as I stressed in more areas than others along with not informing cadets of the information on the cadet board, not passing down information and assuming the cadet leadership knew what to do. As the platoon sergeant I need to hold the standard of being the most experienced and the standard to which all subordinates want to meet but also exceed. I am responsible for everything my subordinates do and fail to do, so as they failed pre-combat checks and pre-combat inspections, I did as well. I am the reason for their failure as I did not prepare them, I did not given them the information or resources required to complete the task at hand.
The main Army value I failed was “Duty”, I have listed my duties and responsibilities to the platoon and I also listed my failures as a platoon sergeant. Failure of the Army values is representation to where I place the Army values in my personal list of priorities. I was given a duty positon which came with standards, tasks and conditions that needed to be met. I failed at meeting those standards and so I failed the Army. I did so because by failing my duty, I indirectly showed I do not care about the Army and the values that the Army had given me. The Army value of “Respect” was lost by me because I did not respect the cadets enough to give them the resources necessary to complete their task. Disrespect is not something the Army tolerates or accepts in any fashion thus I am not holding Army values in high priority. What is a soldier without values, how can you be a soldier without the Army values. I cannot accept some values and leave others behind, I accepted responsibility for my actions and how I represent the Army. By not accepting the values of “Duty” and “Respect”, I stated through my action that I do not care about the Army, the cadets here before me and I do not care what the cadre have to say.
Pre-combat checks and pre-combat inspections are pre-execution checks; they are vital to ensuring everyone within the chain of command is adequately prepared to execute operations and training to Army standard. Pre-combat checks and pre-combat inspections are the connection between pre-execution checks and execution of training. They are also detailed final checks that all units conduct before and during execution of training and combat operations. Pre-combat checks and pre-combat inspections are part of troop leading procedures to check personnel, equipment, vehicles and mission knowledge. Pre-combat checks and pre-combat inspections are to be developed, validated and verified by the chain of command to create standards and create synchronization by the unit. Pre-combat checks and pre-combat inspections ensure that all planning and prerequisite training are complete prior to the execution of training. To ensure that all necessary prerequisite training are executed before the completion of training, units need to perform pre-combat checks and pre-combat inspections. They methodically prepare soldiers, trainers and others to ensure training execution starts properly. Pre-execution checks provide the attention to detail needed to use resources efficiently. I along with other cadet leaders are responsible to inspecting and checking cadet and unit readiness in equipment and appearance this includes weapons, field equipment and personal hygiene. Inspections must be done regularly to help reinforce standards and instill discipline. By conducting informal checks and inspections cadets develop patterns that become standards, their standards will create confidence and pride in themselves as the met and exceed the standards; it will also develop team work as cadets help each other to meet standards.
