Dependability and Accountability

Two high quality characteristics for an individual to display are dependability and accountability. Both of these characteristics demonstrate moral values that one should hold in high esteem. For dependability, there are many different ways it can be demonstrated, but there are three main elements that make up someone's dependability. Accountability in the Marine Corps means knowing where a Marine, or group of Marines are at any given time. It is an extremely important factor in the United States Marine Corps. It is so important, that in some situations it could be the difference between life or death.

For example, if Marines were deployed overseas in a combat area, and one Marine was missing for accountability, it could be possible that they have been killed or taken hostage. Though we do not deal with the severity of that situation on the Van-Pad, it should still be taken seriously.

Every Marine leader is responsible for the Marines given under their charge. They need to know where their Marines are at all times in order to ensure that the tasks to be completed by the unit can get done in the proper fashion and amount of time given.

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If one Marine has other duties or tasks to person that will keep them from accomplishing the duties of the unit, then an NCO must be informed, so that they know why that Marine is not present to help with the task at hand. Although Marine leaders are held responsible for their junior Marines actions, ultimately it is up to that junior Marine to know when and where their appointed place of duty is and to ensure that they are there on time.

The easiest way for that junior Marine to ensure that they are always either where they need to be, when they need to be there, or are accounted for, is by communicating with their small-unit leaders to find out their next appointed place of duty is or so that Marines can tell their NCO's why they are unable to make it there at that time.

Simply calling or texting an NCO or peer can let the shop know why you are not at your appointed place of duty, making you accounted for, instead of UA. When a Marine does not show up for accountability or fails to let their NCO's know where they are or why they can't make it to a certain event, it shows their lack of being able to be depended on. It is extremely important, especially in the United States Marine Corps, to be dependable. When your fellow Marines know that you are a dependable person, they know they can trust you to carry out and efficiently complete day to day tasks. Not only that, but they know that Marine will also be responsible, not only for their self but for the Marines around them, showing their ability to maintain good accountability. However, maintaining good accountability does not only mean being where you need to be on time, whether or not you are in charge of Marines, it is good to know where your peers are as well in case this knowledge is needed in the future.

Communication is key. If someone is leaving and you do not know why, simply ask them where they are headed. If someone is not where you know they need to be, a simple phone call or text message can let you know why they are not where they are supposed to be, that way they do not get marked as UA. Dependability is not only and important trait for a person to have, it also a Marine Corps leadership trait. To quote the Officer Candidates School's website, ' Dependability means that you can be relied upon to perform your duties properly. It means that you can be trusted to complete a job. It is the willing and voluntary support of the policies and orders of the chain of command.' ' Being dependable is obviously very important because the Marine Corps is basically a system that is tightly interwoven group where everyone depends on someone for something.

Whether your job is administration, an instructor, a work center supervisor, or an avionics technician, everyone depends on somebody for some aspect of completing their job. For example, we depend on the military police to protect our bases and protect us from threats, just like our pilots depend on their technicians and maintainers to make sure that an aircraft is ready to fly and that it is safe and in good condition. Even if someone thinks that their job is unimportant, or non-essential, everyone plays a part in maintaining mission readiness. That would not be possible if no one was dependable or if no one was held accountable for making sure that their tasks are completed. The three elements of dependability are as follows, attributes, threats, and means.

Attributes are the different qualities of a system. A few examples of attributes are availability, reliability, safety, integrity and maintainability. Threats can be described as something that can affect the system, therefore causing a drop in dependability. There are three different types of threats, which are fault, error, and failure. A fault is a defect in the system, while an error is a discrepancy is between the intended behavior of the system and its actual behavior inside the system, and a failure is an instance when a system displays behavior unlike its specification.

Lastly, means are a way to increase dependability. Such as this paper, by writing this paper, it is intended to aid in increasing my dependability.