How do I counsel a sleeping sentry? | AskTOP.net – Leader Development for Army Professionals

How do I counsel a sleeping sentry?

I have a Soldier who was found asleep on gate guard on a night fire range. Should I counsel him under article 92 or is there something else this would fall under?

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Article 113 applies to misbehavior of a sentinel or lookout and depending on the situation Article 92 could apply as well. However, when counseling, it is best in most cases not to mention the UCMJ article as the counselor is likely not a lawyer and could reference an inappropriate article and potentially make the counseling useless or unenforceable to some degree.

Counseling should be centered on the facts of the matter and corrective action. These comments are not exact or ready to be used in a counseling. Use them as food for thought and items to consider.

On or about (date)____ I found you sleeping at your guard post, this is in direct violation of your special orders/general orders (if these apply). By sleeping on duty you put other Soldiers lives and welfare in danger and potentially jeopardized the success of the unit’s mission. This is a serious offense. I am recommending the following action be taken:___(list actions).

Also find out why the Soldier was a asleep.

Assess whether other circumstances were involved (e.g had the Soldier been up for 48 hours prior?). This is not an excuse but you need to know if there were other factors involved. If a leader had a fresh Soldier who was well-rested, but decided to put a sleep-deprived Soldier on guard, why did the leader make this decision? Was it a good decision? Again, these items are still not considered excuses.

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Mark is a Retired Command Sergeant Major with 26 years of military leadership experience. He held 3 military occupational specialties (Field Artillery, Nuclear Weapons Tech, and Ammunition Ordnance). Mark is one of the leading military authors in the fields of leadership, counseling, and training.

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Army Counseling Software - Include over 250 Army Counseling Examples

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  • Matrix

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    Isn’t sleeping on duty unquestionable Court Marshal?

    • Mark Gerecht

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      No the commander has the decision but in time of war the maximum punishment is death!

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