Ncos

NCOs are the utility players that can play any position on the team. These leaders have input in every aspect of the Army, from the most common daily activities to the most complicated strategic planning. NCOs are responsible for the daily activities of the Army. These sergeants are the first-line supervisors for the majority of the work completed by Soldiers. These actions can be as simple as physical training or leading a formation to chow or as complicated as leading a combat patrol in war. You can almost bet on with 100% certainty that every activity from processing pay documents to medical services at the hospital will be executed and supervised by sergeants. NCOs “touch every aspect of our Soldiers and our Families' lives” (CSM Steven Womack). From the beginning of your career in basic training, it is a Drill Sergeant who begins to mold you and teach you the warrior way. Even when you advance to courses such as Ranger course, Airborne School, and Air Assault course you have NCOs once again leading the way. NCOs enforce the rules and regulations of the Army. NCOs don’t make policy, they enforce them. NCOs advise and mentor young officers starting at the platoon level. NCOs are the Armies combat multiplier and we must do a better job of maintaining these individuals. To be an NCO is not as easy as it seems to be in your career progression counseling’s. Yes, we have our NCOES schools that show you what right looks like and will point you in the right direction in order to find the answers. Being an NCO is much more than getting a certificate from a school, it is a way of life that cannot be taught in any school. We have all seen the development of NCOs happen right before our eyes. It is that young soldier who wants to do more, wants to lead and make a difference. It all starts with a good role model, which usually is the first line leader of the future NCO. In order for us to insure the NCO Corps has a future in today’s Army we must continue to mentor and teach our young soldiers what is not taught in schools. That will defiantly vary from unit to unit but the end state is that we have a well- rounded NCO willing and capable of performing his duties and carry out the mission of the Commander. Becoming an NCO begins as a young private. You observe how your superiors carry out the mission and you begin to formulate how you think it should look. Your next step is to begin expressing these opinions and ideas to your first line leaders in order for them to recognize that you one… have an opinion and two… that you care about the outcome. Thus, you are now moving in the right direction in earning the honor of being an NCO. Just wearing the stripes of an NCO is an accomplishment in itself but it is far from the end in a soldier earning that honor amongst his peers and being deemed “my NCO”. Your soldiers will respect the stripes until you show them you don’t deserve them. You must continue to improve and become the teacher to remain and maintain the momentum of the NCO Corps. Being an Officer is a professional position and some would say that you earn that professional title by obtaining your college degree. I would say that being an NCO is also a professional position but in order to earn the respect of a professional is a lot different for an NCO. NCOs earn this honor in multiple ways. Starting with the Fire Team Leader, he instills in his team the importance of the mission and must be prepared to take over as Squad Leader. The Squad Leader ensures his soldiers get the proper training and is responsible for their welfare at all time and must be prepared to act as the Platoon Sergeant. The Platoon Sergeant keeps current with all tactical and logistical aspects and is looked up to by the entire platoon as a mentor and role model. He must also be prepared to take over the platoon in absence of the Platoon Leader. The First Sergeant makes sure all logistical systems are working, insures platoons are planning for the mission, and makes sure NCOs are performing their duties. To keep it short, the 1SG turns plans into actions. The Command Sergeant Major advises the battalion commander on troops and logistical issues, he is responsible for the welfare, discipline, and training of the First Sergeants. He is the role model for all soldiers within the battalion. An NCO must lead by example and train to the standards. An NCOs job is to get the mission done without being told to do so by a commissioned officer. Now that is what I call professional. These are just a few key responsibilities that NCOs must do in order to maintain the NCO Corps. In conclusion, you now have a better understanding of what an NCO does and what an NCO is. It is not just a certificate but a way of life. It is a title that one must earn and not just be presented with. It is one of the most professional roles we have in the United States military to this date. I will end with this quote from the Chief of Staff of the Army, "As I travel around the Army and I look at what we've accomplished over the past seven years at war, it's clearer and clearer to me that it is our noncommissioned officer corps that is providing the glue that's not only holding this force together at a difficult time, but enabling us to accomplish the near impossible every day," (Army Chief of Staff General George W. Casey Jr., October 2008)