To accept responsibility or to account for ones actions. In the military, it becomes an obligation more than willingness while you have to be willing to do it as well. Those that are unable to be accountable are the ones that jeopardize the combat readiness of any unit. Basically it is the understanding that from the bottom up. Top down and laterally everyone is going to do and is willing to do the right thing even when no one else is looking. This is practiced at your home base where everyone is assigned tasks and details not only including your own job that you are expected to do and do right but hold others accountable as well as a system of “check yourself, then check your buddy.” Doing the job correctly and ensuring others do it as well and do it safely are all part of accountability in the military as one does not have to experience combat to understand that just being in the military is inherently dangerous given the types of equipment and weapons that are used to train and deploy with.
As an example any live weapons range you go to part of the safety brief is “everyone here is a range safety” meaning anyone can call a cease fire if they observe dangerous behavior or a situation regardless of rank and it can be a Colonel or a brand new private, does not matter. As such in that event everyone becomes accountable not only for the operation of the range, the mission objective to have everyone qualify but do it in a safe manner as well. In the military. Thousands of dollars are spent for each person to be trained and ready, the expectation is that you are going to be accountable for your actions and you as an individual operate that everyone around you is going to do the same as that is what is not only taught but is expected. That and you train like you fight. Fire discipline, knowing who is to your front, left, right and rear and the mission itself right down to the last private with the understanding that…
