Acting or arriving exactly at the time appointed; prompt.Paid or ac-complished at or by the appointed time. 3.Precise; exact. As defined by The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. In United States Marine Corps terms, it is basically described as being at one's appointed place of duty at any given time. All in all, the word punc-.
tual is one way to describe the concept of being on time. This idea of being on time does not just apply to the Marine Corps, but life in general. As do many, if not all of our Corps Values and Leadership Principles, which are instilled in us from the day we(Marines)set foot on those yellow footprints. And I can go back even farther than that. There's our parents and teachers of course.
As anybody who's gone to school or holds a job knows, punctuality is strictly enforced. Even in our personal lives, there's commitments and personal deadlines we have to meet. But for the purposes of this article, we"ll concentrate on the importance of being on time as it pertains to the United States Marine Corps and in general, the armed forces of America.
Punctuality falls in with the individual actions performed by Marines, and is an essential part in mission accomplishment and the conduct of day-to-day operations, and the assurance of con-.
tinuing mission readiness. From the higher echelons on down, the concept of being on time must be adhered to. All leaders must lead by example, therefore providing an exemplary for others to follow and to strive to be like. Each link in the chain must do his best to pass knowledge and values down to the next level and so forth. With this in mind, young Marines ultimately will grasp the importance of punctuality, as mission accomplishment ultimately boils down to them. As they"re the one's who carry out the actions delegated by the command. Marines need to be where they"re supposed to be at the appointed time in order to carry out the task at hand and fulfill the mission.
