Do you know where your Soldiers are?

Leaders bear no more important responsibility than the welfare of their subordinates. That responsibility doesn’t end when those subordinates go home and take the uniform off.

There are inherent risks in being a Soldier. Every combat mission is planned while weighing the goals against possible losses. But those are calculated risks. Losses from accidents don’t figure in those calculations.

There isn’t any combat on Fort Lewis. Here, Soldiers train for war in as realistic a manner as possible. But they always keep safety in mind while doing so. No one wants to spend months preparing a team for deployment, only to lose a key player through an accident.

But after duty hours there is a tendency to turn one’s back on what others do. That is a tendency we have to fight.

We are just coming into the summer recreation season. Everyone who can, will find some opportunity to get away for the recreation of choice. That might be swimming in a lake, hiking in the mountains or strolling on a beach. As innocent as all those activities might seem, they all carry risks — whether they come from obvious conditions or just from getting there in the first place.

While every Soldier holds a responsibility to stay safe, it is doubly true of leaders. Those entrusted with the welfare of Soldiers on the battlefield bear the same burden here. It is not something they take off with their uniforms at the end of the day.

Leaders need to know what their subordinates are doing and that they are doing it safely. That doesn’t mean controlling everyone’s off-duty time. But it does mean staying aware of the things Soldiers like to do, and making sure they are aware of the potential dangers and how to avoid them.

If Soldiers plan a hike along one of Olympic National Park’s wilderness beaches, make sure they know about the danger of tides. If they plan an evening hitting the night spots in Seattle, make sure they have a designated driver or a way to get around safely. It’s all about encouraging smart decisions.

The Army long ago institutionalized some of those leader responsibilities. But those safety briefings before long weekends and inspections of POVs need to be more than exercises in checking a box. Leaders need to give those actions all the dedication to detail they would to pre-combat inspections.

It is easier to just turn subordinates loose at the end of the day or on Friday evening. It’s easier for leaders to just think about their own plans. It’s easier — but nobody ever said being a leader in the Army was supposed to be easy.

Those who take on rank, making them responsible for others, aren’t just bosses who can work a shift and then turn it all off when they go home. They are committed to keeping the men and women they lead ready to go to war if called upon. That means making sure all Soldiers are making safe decisions off-duty as well as on.

There was an old public service announcement that asked “Parents, do you know where your children are?” Well, that should be the attitude of all leaders toward their subordinates — all the time.