Disrespecting A Senior Non Commissioned Officer
By: Phillip House
This essay is going to cover the reason why disrespecting those who are appointed over is something that should not be done and why. During the events of 1 Dec and 5 Dec, I was walking to work from the mods and smoking in the process of doing so. And according to our new Cam Pam 600-1, also known as the “Blue Book” it states that soldiers are not permitted to “Walk Around” with a cigarette, cigar, or pipe tobacco in their “mouths”. However this rule has always been in place, it just has not been enforced during the entire duration of the deployment. This could lead one to believe that is okay to walk and smoke at the same time. Not until recent, has this been done, and during which it was not put out to the company, me, or the section. During the first event I was on my way to work and was told nothing about not being able walk and smoke, so I did. Then, later at work I was told that the first sergeant saw me walking and smoking, nothing else was said about the subject. Later that week during the second incident, the first sergeant once again saw me walking and smoking and nothing was said. That being said, once I had arrived to work it was put out that we are no longer allowed to walk and smoke. No problem I thought, it was fun while it lasted. Then later that day I was to be counseled on the fact that “I was told by the first sergeant to not walk and smoke, on two separate occasions.” While these events never happened, I do agree that I had probably done so, I did not argue about the counseling statement; however I did not agree that I had disrespected the first sergeant. And that explains this essay.
Now down to business, for disrespecting a senior non commissioned officer, the punishment can be mild to severe; a mild side punishment could be an essay for instance, while a severe one could be UCMJ action or worse. You could also be charged with disobeying a legal order, not...