Why does the leadership always want to punish a Soldier with UCMJ if they miss an appointment especially if it's MEDPROS?

They resort to UCMJ for two very good reasons that are rooted deeply in recent history. During Desert Shield/Storm and mmediately after 9-11, Reserve Component units were mobilized on a scale not seen since Korea or World War II. During these mobilizations, Reserve Component units demonstarated an embarrassing track record of massed formations filled with ranks of Soldiers not medically prepared to deploy. Since this time, the National Guard and Army Reserve have pressed hard to reverse this trend.

First, failure of the individual Soldier to meet basic medical readiness has a significant and negative impact on Unit Deployment Readiness. Commanders are responsible for Unit Deployment Readiness and are held to account. General Officers berate Subordinate Commanders constantly over poor MEDPROS statistics. And as they say, the fecal matter rolls downhill.

Second, individual medical readiness is a Soldier's responsibility -- his DUTY. An LHI appointment is an Official Duty appointment (and Soldiers get aid to attend these appointments). Failure to appear at a set appointment is the same as being AWOL -- punishable under UCMJ (or the equivalent under Title 32 as established by the individual State's Code of Military Justice).

Commands repeatedly make the case to their Soldiers about just how serious these appointments are. However, too.many of the younger Soldiers do not seem to grasp the concept. As such, Senior Officers all the way up to USARC and NGB levels have encouraged a "Zero Tolerance" policy in an effort to emphasize how critical these appointments are in an effort to "tighten the shot group."

As an NCO, you have responsibility for yourself AND those Soldiers under your charge. Lead by example and encourage your Soldiers to treat these appointments seriously as well.

1. So they schedule an appt- ties up two or three people, waiting on you to show up. You bolo the appt, and that means 1 loss person was seen that day, cause you wasted their time. Under UCMJ- Failure to be at the appointed place/time, etc. is a punishable offense.

The Army legitimately loses millions of dollars in wasted time a year from missed appointments. For the TMCs and Dental clinics making these appointments and tracking them, missed appointments are paid provider time that goes to waste. On top of that, there are other SMs who could have been seen in that time and the original SM will need to be rescheduled.