Staying awake while on duty is important for many reasons. First of all, I could potentially endanger not only myself, but also the rest of my platoon. Should an enemy slip by while I slept, they could possibly detonate a VBIED or kill battle buddies through any number of other means. Families could be destroyed because of my mistake. But the damage may not stop there…
Every family would be hurt when they were forced to read the words; “I regret to inform you...” The Army itself would have to explain to everyone that it was due to the carelessness of one SPC Swan. If only he had not fallen asleep on duty, this whole terrible event could have been prevented. My own family would feel ashamed of my actions... I, and I alone, am solely responsible for my actions. I must insure that nothing I ever do can or will jeopardize the mission, my comrades, or myself. What if other professionals fell asleep while on duty? What if doctors or nurses fell asleep while they were on call? What if a trauma doctor fell asleep on the toilet when he was needed for surgery for a trauma in an ER? What if pilots fell asleep while piloting large passenger planes? What if Police Officers fell asleep while out on patrol? Or even behind the wheel of their own cars? Burglaries, theft, and murder would be able to happen without anyone to stop them. A soldier is called upon to remain alert most of all, for upon his shoulders rests the fate of an entire country. I am such a soldier. I did not fulfill what was required of me and now I pay the price. Fortunately, nothing came of my failure, but something easily could have. It is uncalled for and very selfish for a soldier or any other military personnel to fall asleep while at a post or on guard. It shows that he or she is selfish on their sleep time and not caring for what the mission is calling for. They have shown that they can’t be trusted to stay awake for a few hours to watch a small area or simply do the same thing others are doing. If...