Failure to Follow Instructions from a Noncommissioned Officer

 

Introduction

An officer who is in the army and his or her rank has been confirmed by the government is referred to as a commissioned officer. In most countries commissioned officers in forces such as the army and air force rank above lieutenants. A noncommissioned officer in the army is an officer who has not earned a commission. Noncommissioned officers usually obtain their authority through promotions they receive through the enlisted ranks. At many times the noncommissioned officers are acknowledged as the backbones of the army service since they are the most visible leaders and soldiers have direct access to them. They are the leaders with the sole duty of executing military organizations missions and training the military personnel’s preparing them to execute their missions when need arise. Training given to them includes leadership and management as well as service-specific and combat training. They are officers with ranks and disobeying them is likely to result in some consequences.

      Chain of command is responsible for ensuring that there are order and obedience. This chain of command performs its duty in the most effective way possible. When military personnel behave in a way that is inappropriate, they will be reprimanded for insubordination. Since insubordination may vary, the different types of insubordination are contained in Article 89-92 of the uniform code of military justice (UCMJ) (FindLaw, n.d). Generally, military personnel are accused of insubordination against superior officers which include noncommissioned officers (FindLaw, n.d). When military personnel fail to follow instructions from noncommissioned officer it is termed as disrespect regardless whether the noncommissioned superior officer is in from the military personnel direct chain of command or not.

Failure to obey instructions can be termed as disobeying an order that aligns with a command that aligns with the constitution. These instructions can be specific orders that are dictated to a member of the military by a direct superior and in this case a noncommissioned officer under Article 90 of the UCMJ. Instructions given by a superior officer are considered as an order and they must be obeyed in circumstances such as when they contain a command to either take a certain action or refrain from taking the action, when the instructions are directed to one individual military personnel, when the instructions contain one’s military duty. Lastly, when the military personnel has knowledge of the order and the order is lawful (FindLaw, n.d). Always an order is lawful when it does not conflict with the constitution of a country.

Failure to follow instructions can also be considered as a way of showing disrespect to a superior officer.  Military personnel are in no place to disrespect their superiors which include the noncommissioned officers (FindLaw, n.d). Failure to follow instructions results to insubordination which is a serious crime in the army. This crime can result in a dishonorable discharge from the army, forfeiture of pay, and confinement. Apart from the failure to follow instructions of a noncommissioned officer another insubordinate act committed against them and the punishment include; Striking and assaulting them which results to a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all allowances paid to them and confinement that last for about a year (Powers, 2018).

Willfully disobeying a lawful order of a noncommissioned officer does not result in dire consequences such as those of disobeying a commissioned officer. When military personnel willfully disobey the orders or instructions of a commissioned officers the consequences are; dishonorable discharge, a confinement that lasts for 2 years and penalizing of all pay allowances that the person receives. Willfully disobeying noncommissioned officer results to discharge from the military that is termed as bad conduct discharge, penalization of all the personnel’s pays and allowances and a confinement duration similar to the one personnel face when they disobey a commissioned officer (Powers, 2018).

A military personnel that is accused of this act of insubordination can defend him/herself by; stating that they had no knowledge that the other person was a superior officer to him/herself, the person being accused of insubordination can also defend themselves by stating that they were discharging another lawful duty when they received the command  and instructions that they are accused of disobeying. Lastly, the accused military personnel can defend themselves by claiming the command or instructions were issued in a way that they disrespected the personnel and he/she felt that the command or instructions could not be obeyed. Any military personnel facing charges of insubordination such as failure to obey instructions can be defended in court by a civilian attorney that specializes in military law (FindLaw, n.d).

Conclusion

A noncommissioned officer is one of the superiors in the military and disobeying orders or instructions coming from them can be termed as an act of insubordination. The chain of command is responsible for maintaining order in the military and when it is broken dire consequences follow. Willfully disobeying a command from a non commissioned officers’ results to confinement that lasts for two years, penalization of pay and allowances and discharges from the army on a basis of bad conduct.

 

 

 

 

 

References

FindLaw (n.d). What is Insubordination. Retrieved from; https://military.findlaw.com/criminal-law/what-is-insubordination.html

Powers. R. (2018). Punitive Articles of the UCMJ (Article 91 – Insubordination). Retrieved from; https://www.thebalancecareers.com/punitive-articles-of-the-ucmj-3356857