"Alarm Didn't Go Off" Situational Question Guide, Framework, & Examples

Situational questions are a big part of boards, so make sure you have them down solid.

Here is your question.

“Your brand-new Soldier calls you 20 minutes before first formation. He mentions his alarm didn’t go off and he just woke up, so he is going to be late. This is a first-time offense, but he has only been out of basic training for a week. What are your next steps?”

Now, let’s talk through how to answer this question using a 3-step proven method. This approach shows board members that you know how to think like a leader. The format is:

Step 1: Take care of the Soldier.

Step 2: Handle it at the lowest level possible.

Step 3: Use Army programs when applicable.

First, take care of the Soldier. Being late for formation is a problem, but this is not life-threatening or dangerous. The Soldier called to let you know, which shows honesty and accountability. Your first priority is to make sure the Soldier gets to formation safely. They might be rushing, panicked, or driving recklessly. Make sure you tell the Soldier to calm down, get there safely, and not to make a small mistake worse by getting into an accident. You should also ask how they are doing. Sometimes new Soldiers struggle to adjust to unit life and may have other concerns that are not immediately visible.

Second, handle it at the lowest level possible. This is your Soldier, and this is a first-time offense. You should counsel the Soldier on the importance of being on time and help them develop strategies to prevent this from happening again. This might include setting multiple alarms, moving their phone across the room, or asking a battle buddy to check on them in the mornings for the next week. You do not need to elevate this to higher leadership right away. Handle the correction, document the event, and use it as a teaching moment. The Soldier is new, and your job is to develop them.

Third, use Army programs when applicable. If this issue becomes a pattern, Army programs like the Sponsorship Program or a Battle Buddy System can help new Soldiers adjust. If the Soldier is struggling with sleep, it could also be tied to stress or poor habits, so resources like Behavioral Health or Holistic Health and Fitness might be useful later. For now, the priority is direct leadership and mentorship, but you should know these programs in case this becomes a repeated issue.

Now let me give you a word-for-word example answer you can say at the board:

“If my brand-new Soldier called me 20 minutes before formation and said he just woke up and would be late, I would first make sure the Soldier is safe. I would tell him to calm down, not to speed, and to get to formation safely. I would thank him for calling and being honest. Once he arrives, I would talk to him privately to see how he is adjusting to the unit and to make sure there are no bigger issues going on. I would handle this at my level by counseling the Soldier, explaining the importance of time management and being on time, and helping him build better habits like setting multiple alarms or using a battle buddy to help check in. I would document this as a first-time offense and make it a teaching opportunity. Since this is not a repeated issue, I would focus on mentorship, but if the problem continued, I would consider using the Sponsorship Program or reaching out to Holistic Health and Fitness or Behavioral Health if I thought the Soldier was struggling in a bigger way.”

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to the Board Questions podcast where you can study for
your board while working, running errands, or chilling
around the barracks. Today's episode is a situational
question episode. Situational questions are a big
part of boards so make sure you have them down solid.
Here is your question. Your brand new soldier calls you

(00:21):
20 minutes before first formation.
He mentions his alarm didn't go off and he just woke up so he is
going to be late. This is a first time offense but
he has only been out of basic training for a week.
What are your next steps? Now let's talk through how to
answer this question using a three-step proven method.

(00:42):
This approach shows board members that you know how to
think like a leader. The format is step one.
Take care of the soldier. Step 2.
Handle it at the lowest level possible.
Step 3. Use Army programs when
applicable. First, take care of the soldier.

(01:04):
Being late for formation is a problem, but this is not life
threatening or dangerous. The soldier called to let you
know which shows honesty and accountability.
Your first priority is to make sure the soldier gets to
formation safely. They might be rushing, panicked
or driving recklessly. Make sure you tell the soldier

(01:25):
to calm down, get there safely and not to make a small mistake
worse by getting into an accident.
You should also ask how they aredoing.
Sometimes new soldiers struggle to adjust to unit life and may
have other concerns that are notimmediately visible.
Second, handle it at the lowest level possible.
This is your soldier and this isa first time offence.

(01:48):
You should counsel the soldier on the importance of being on
time and help them develop strategies to prevent this from
happening again. This might include setting
multiple alarms, moving their phone across the room, or asking
a battle buddy to check on them in the mornings for the next
week. You do not need to elevate this
to higher leadership right away.Handle the correction, document

(02:09):
the event and use it as a teaching moment.
The Soldier is new, and your jobis to develop them. 3rd, Use
Army programs when applicable. If this issue becomes a pattern,
Army programs like the sponsorship program or a battle
buddy system can help new Soldiers adjust.
If the Soldier is struggling with sleep, it could also be

(02:32):
tied to stress or poor habits, so resources like behavioral
health or holistic health and fitness might be useful later.
For now the priority is direct leadership and mentorship, but
you should know these programs in case this becomes a repeated
issue. Now let me give you a word for
word example answer you can say at the board.

(02:52):
If my brand new soldier called me 20 minutes before formation
and said he just woke up and would be late, I would first
make sure the soldier is safe. I would tell him to calm down,
not to speed and to get to formation safely.
I would thank him for calling and being honest.
Once he arrives, I would talk tohim privately to see how he is

(03:12):
adjusting to the unit and to make sure there are no bigger
issues going on. I would handle this at my level
by counseling the soldier, explaining the importance of
time management and being on time, and helping him build
better habits like setting multiple alarms or using a
battle buddy to help check in. I would document this as a first
time offence and make it a teaching opportunity.

(03:34):
Since this is not a repeated issue, I would focus on
mentorship, but if the problem continued, I would consider
using the sponsorship program orreaching out to holistic health
and Fitness or behavioral healthif I thought the Soldier was
struggling in a bigger way. As you can see, this answer
follows the framework of take care of the Soldier.

(03:55):
Handle it at the lowest level possible.
Utilize Army programs when applicable.
Let's try it again. This time the soldier answering
is going to miss something important.
Let's see what they miss. Your brand new soldier calls you
20 minutes before first formation.

(04:15):
He mentions his alarm didn't go off and he just woke up so he is
going to be late. What are your next steps?
If my soldier called me and saidhe would be late, I would talk
to him when he got to formation and explain that being on time
is critical. I would counsel him on setting
better alarms, using a battle buddy, and adjusting his morning

(04:35):
routine to prevent this from happening again.
I would document the counseling and track his performance to
make sure this is corrected quickly.
This answer is almost perfect. However, the soldier forgot
something very important. What did they miss?
They forgot to make sure the soldier is safe.

(04:56):
Soldiers who are late off in panic and rush, especially new
soldiers who are worried about making a bad impression.
Leaders must always tell soldiers not to speed, not to
take unsafe shortcuts, and to arrive safely, even if it means
being a few minutes later. Taking care of the soldier is
always the first step. Let's take a look at a correct

(05:17):
answer again. If my brand new soldier called
me 20 minutes before formation and said he just woke up and
would be late, the first thing Iwould do is tell him to calm
down and get to formation safely.
I would make sure he is not rushing or putting himself in
danger trying to get there faster.
Once he arrives, I would talk with him privately to check on

(05:38):
how he is adjusting to the unit and make sure this is not part
of a bigger issue. I would handle this at my level
by counseling the soldier on theimportance of being on time and
helping him set up better habitslike using multiple alarms or
asking a battle buddy to help. I would document the counseling
and keep track of his progress. Since this is a first time
issue, I would focus on development and mentorship, but

(06:01):
I would also keep Army programs like the sponsorship program and
behavioral health in mind if theproblem continued.
Let's hear that answer one more time.
If my brand new soldier called me 20 minutes before formation
and said his alarm didn't go offand he just woke up, I would
tell him to calm down, not to rush, and to get to formation
safely. Once he arrived, I would speak

(06:23):
to him privately to check in andsee how he is adjusting to the
unit. I would handle this at my level
by counseling him, helping him build better habits like setting
multiple alarms or working with a battle buddy and documenting
this as a first time offence. I would focus on developing him
as a soldier and showing him theright way to prevent this in the
future. If this became a pattern, would

(06:45):
consider using Army programs like the sponsorship program,
Holistic Health and Fitness, or Behavioral health to support him
further. This answer fully covers the
correct steps, taking care of the soldier, handling it at the
lowest level, and using Army programs when needed.
Thanks for listening to the Board Questions podcast.

(07:06):
These situational questions can feel tricky, but thinking
through them now will help you lead with confidence later.
Please feel free to follow and rate this podcast to help your
battle buddies prepare for theirboards and to become the leaders
our soldiers need.