Accountability For Minimum Requirements

This is the Document Release Information
Article Number:	7CAV-R-030
Scope:	Accountability for Attendance at Section Practice & Signing Roll-Call
Version:	Version 1.0
Effective Date:	DRAFT
Last Modified Date:	DDMMMYYYY
Approving Authority:	Regimental Commanding Officer
Point of Contact:	Regimental Chief of Staff

Accountability for Maintaining Minimum Requirements

Minimum Requirements

At a very basic level, once a person joins the unit, there are two simple and fundamental requirements:

• Attend section practice once per week
• Sign roll-call once per week

This is taught from the very first moment a person joins the unit. We have a large number of extra, optional activities every week for people to attend, but troopers must maintain these two basic minimum requirements.

There can be a variety of reasons a persons misses section practice. Sometimes, life happens and you are too busy to get there or you simply sleep in. Sometimes your work schedule changes and the time is no longer good for you. Sometimes people don't actually enjoy being in the squad they are in, and sometimes, life changes and you no longer have time to devote to a weekly section practice. None of these things are bad, this is normal. We have solutions for when you find yourself in one of these situations.

If something came up and you missed your regularly scheduled section practice, you should do the following:

• Send a private message to your Section Leader and let them know you know you missed.
• Try and get a makeup section practice done with another section.
• If you feel like you won't have time to get a makeup practice done, file for a Leave of Absence (LOA). This is one of the reasons they are here. If you file an LOA you will be accounted for that week.

If your schedule changes and the time no longer works, see the 1st Battalion Section Practice Times Thread and request a transfer to a squad with a practice time that works for you.

If you don't enjoy being in your squad, you should approach your Platoon Sergeant or Platoon Leader and discuss it. They are there to help you.

If life changes, i.e. you get a job, a girlfriend, a baby or all of the above and you no longer have time for regular practices, no sweat. There's no problem with saying hey my life has gotten busy and I just don't have time for the Cav anymore. Life changes, things happen.

Accountability

You are responsible for meeting the minimum requirements weekly. Your immediate superior is not required to remind or chase you to attend section practice and sign roll-call and they won't.

All members up to and including Battalion Staff are required to meet this minimum requirement.

If you fail to meet either of the minimum requirements for one week, you will receive a Verbal Counseling Statement (VCS) from your platoon staff. This will come in the form of a private message on the forums.

If you fail to meet either of the minimum requirements for a second week in the next 30 days, you will receive a Negative Counseling Statement (NCS) from your platoon staff.

Depending on how long the interval is in between the NCS and the next miss of roll-call, section practice or both, you may either get another VCS or an NCS.

If you get two NCS's for failing to meet minimum requirements within a 60 day period, you will be required to meet with the Battalion Commander to explain why you are failing to meet minimum requirements. The possible consequences of this meeting are:

• transfer out of squad.
• another NCS.
• dismissal from the unit.

Why We Hold You Accountable

There are various reasons why people miss roll-call and/or section practice. Things in life happen, maybe your school or work is particularly busy that week and sometimes you are not enjoying the squad you are in. There are a lot of reasons.

We cannot run section practices effectively if people don't show up. We can't plan good practices if we can't rely on having the full squad there at practice. If we don't run practices, we don't get better at the game. If we don't get better at the game, we don't do well in operations and when operations don't go well, we don't have a good time.

Role of the Platoon Staff

Platoon staff are expected to do the following maintaining this policy:

• Issue VCS's in the form of a private message on the forums that includes the trooper, the company staff and the Squad Leader for info purposes only.
• Issue NCS's as per policy.
• Inform the Chain of Command when a person receives a 2nd NCS within a 60 day period for failing to meet minimum requirements.

NOTE - These responsibilities are NOT to be delegated down to the Squad Leader level.

When to VCS or NCS

• The first time someone misses section practice, roll-call or both, The Platoon Staff VCS's them.
• If, within 30 days they miss again, they NCS them.
• The next miss, it's at their discretion as to whether to VCS them or NCS them based on the time elapsed since the last NCS and their understanding of the situation as discussed in the previous NCS.
• If they receive 2 NCS, the platoon staff forward them to Company, who then forward them to Battalion to arrange a meeting.

Role of the Squad Leader

Squad Leaders are not expected to chase down people to sign roll-call and attend section practice. Having said that, a good squad leader will care enough about the people in their squad to remind them of the consequences of failing to meet minimum requirements. Good processes such as having all members sign roll-call before section practice starts will also help.

Policy Goals

• Spread the total workload by easing the Squad Leader workload and adding to the Platoon Staff workload.
• Put more responsibility on the trooper for meeting minimum requirements by being more rigid about the disciplinary process.