The Importance Of Keeping Your Barracks Room Clean

The Army has many standards that Soldiers must meet on a daily basis. Maintaining your barracks room to Army standards is a responsibility every Soldier must adhere to. It is extremely important to maintain the healthiness and cleanliness of one’s room.

Maintaining your barracks room is a very easy task to do. It does not take much to put your dirty clothes in a hamper or to make your bed or even dust. All of those tasks are very simple to do. By not maintaining my room I put myself, friends, and anyone else at a greater risk of getting sick. Unsanitary conditions in the barracks room are disgusting. Through frequent contact throughout the day with the other soldiers that one soldier could be in contact with, he or she could become sick, and could possibly cause other soldiers to be ill. When one soldier becomes the source of other soldiers being sick then that soldier could face possible punishment under Article 134 of the Universal Code of Military Justice.

Even though it is only a general Article, it still looks bad on the soldier, especially if the soldier is up for promotion and is getting ready to go out to the promotion board. Article 134 states as follows: 934. ART. 134. GENERAL ARTICLE. Though not specifically mentioned in this chapter, all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces, all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces, and crimes and offenses not capital, of which persons subject to this chapter may be guilty, shall be taken cognizance of by a general, special or summary court-martial, according to the nature and degree of the offense, and shall be punished at the discretion of that court.

And whenever soldiers are being unsanitary in their living quarters and causing other soldiers to become sick then they are bringing discredit upon their Team Chief, their Squad Leader, their Platoon Sergeant, their First Sergeant, their Commander, the Army and the Armed Services as a whole. Not to mention they bring discredit upon everyone they may know from back home. And how disappointing would it be to say “I got kicked out because I couldn’t keep my barracks room clean?” Also it would be hard to be placed in a job where cleanliness is a major part, such as, food service, custodial practices, or health services, to name a few.

If you can’t keep your barracks room clean, how can others be sure that you practice personal hygiene? Cleaning is also great in its own way whereas if you live foul you could be riddled with disease and transfer that filth unto your battle buddies or even the civilians you may work with and nobody wants that. Without cleanliness I do not feel anyone could go far because it is as important as anything you are taught in school. It is one of those things people judge you on immediately and first impressions are everything. If a personal space can’t be maintained, I do not feel you can maintain a healthy relationship without cleanliness. If someone wants to come over, it would be an embarrassment to show them a filthy unkempt house, or wherever a person is to stay. There is a saying that cleanliness is next to Godliness. This old saying is said by some to have come from the bible.

However, its first appearance in English even though in a different form seems to be by a person named “Francis Bacon”. In a book he wrote called “Advance of learning” ‘Cleanness of body was ever deemed to proceed from a due reverence to God.’ A minimal level of cleanliness is necessary for everyone’s health. Certainly we do not want to let food pile up on the counters or allow to insects crawl in and make one to become sick. Having such a dusty home that breathing is unhealthy, or having the carpets littered with debris that causes insects to thrive is also unacceptable. That much seems obvious. Maintaining proper hygiene is considered to be the first step towards living a healthy life. If one follows proper hygienic habits, the chances of them becoming ill are much less. Having command over cleanliness is not so difficult a task and is the first step to a healthy life.

Responsibility also comes in here. Responsibility is a very important characteristic to have in the military. You have to be accountable for all your belongings and gear that is issued to you so you can return it when you have to. How can you do that if you can’t find your gear because your barracks room is in disarray? Responsibility is also important because its puts one person in charge of something so everybody is not trying to take charge in any particular situation. The barracks SOP places great emphasis on cleanliness and well-being. In these places, even as much as a clean window is linked to physical cleanliness. More importantly, cleanliness is an indispensable fundamental of our role as a leader.

However, this fundamental is sometimes hard to understand for some people. Unfortunately, it is not a practical reflection to our civilian lives. Serious reflection is required on our individual self as well as collective team-working to complete anything to show others that we as individuals can do what is required. Much is said rhetorically about cleanliness in our society but practically its application is missing. A quick observation can reveal how insensitive a culture we have developed regarding cleanliness and hygiene.

Throwing garbage in the streets, roads or parks has become a common practice in our society. In public places dumpsters are seldom found. Even if dumpsters are installed, people do not use them properly. Rather, they prefer to throw garbage outside them, especially if it reaches the point to where no more trash can fit inside. Thusly our society doesn’t seem to care about cleanliness at all based on the roadways covered in garbage. That brings me to another point. Laziness can also be a major contributing factor in “Lack of cleanliness,” whereas people are too lazy to find proper receptacles and toss trash out of their car windows. Why should they care? Someone will pick it up. It’s not their job. I sincerely hope this essay has been able to educate you on barracks cleanliness. I hope you weren’t too bothered by my rant near the end.