Accountability Is The Lifeblood Of The United States Army

Accountability is the lifeblood of the United States Army. It is the first step in every activity and the foundation for every unit and organization. This vital concept takes many forms, ranging from property accountability to personal accountability to personnel accountability. This paper will discuss the importance of personnel accountability in the Army, especially for Army Leaders.
Personnel accountability is the duty of every Army Leader at all times. It ensures that a unit is serving at its greatest capacity at any given time. By keeping proper accountability of personnel, Army Leaders know the condition of their subordinates at all times and can effectively use their unit’s abilities fully. Additionally, personnel accountability helps ensure that every soldier receives the proper care and attention they deserve. In the case that a soldier is not present or is acting out of the ordinary, leadership can take action to remedy the problem and give the soldier the necessary resources to fix the problem. On the other hand, if the leadership fails in keeping personnel accountability, the soldier’s well-being may be at risk. This serves as the baseline for many of the Army’s Soldier readiness programs. …show more content…
The Army’s Leaders, in turn, must protect their Soldiers and maintain their readiness at all times. To do this, the Army developed several programs intended to keep Soldiers active and prepared for the challenges they will face. The Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness, SH/ARP, and Suicide Prevention programs are some of the most prominent in a long list of initiatives the Army created to take care of its Soldiers. Each of these programs relies on Army Leaders to maintain personnel accountability and take initiative when a soldier exudes “warning signs” as described in each of the programs’ mandatory training