NCO Guide

Copyright © 2010 by Stackpole Books

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NCO Guide and its predecessor, The Noncom’s Guide, have been published by Stackpole Books since 1948.

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Cover design by Tessa J. Sweigert

All photographs courtesy of the U.S. Army

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rush, Robert S.

NCO guide. 9th ed. / revised by Robert S. Rush.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8117-3614-5

1. United States. Army Non-commissioned officers’ handbooks. I. Title. II. Title: Non-commissioned officer guide.

U123.R87 2010

355.00973—dc22

Dedicated to noncommissioned officers past, present, and future

Deeds, not words

The NCO Creed

No one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers. As a Noncommissioned Officer, I realize that I am a member of a time-honored corps, which is known as The Backbone of the Army. I am proud of the Corps of Noncommissioned Officers and will at all times conduct myself so as to bring credit upon the Corps, the Military Service, and my country, regardless of the situation in which I find myself. I will not use my grade or position to attain pleasure, profit, or personal safety.

Competence is my watchword. My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind-accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my soldiers. I will strive to remain tactically and technically proficient. I am aware of my role as a Noncommissioned Officer. I will fulfill my responsibilities inherent in that role. All soldiers are entitled to outstanding leadership; I will provide that leadership. I know my soldiers, and I will always place their needs above my own. I will communicate consistently with my soldiers and never leave them uninformed. I will be fair and impartial when recommending both rewards and punishment.

Officers of my unit will have maximum time to accomplish their duties; they will not have to accomplish mine. I will earn their respect and confidence as well as that of my soldiers. I will be loyal to those with whom I serve, seniors, peers, and subordinates alike. I will exercise initiative by taking appropriate action in the absence of orders. I will not compromise my integrity, nor my moral courage. I will not forget, nor will I allow my comrades to forget, that we are professionals, Noncommissioned Officers, leaders!

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

PART I: LEADING SOLDIERS

1. America’s Army at War

Duty, Integrity, Honesty, Compassion: The Army’s NCO Corps

Army Roles, Missions, and Functions

Current Trends in the Army

New Threats

Country and Region Reports

2. The Role of the NCO

Brief History of the NCO Corps

Military History and NCO Leadership

NCO Induction Ceremony—Preserving the Tradition

3. NCO Responsibilities

Principal NCO Duties

The Chain of Command

The NCO Support Channel

The NCO and the Officer

Precedence and Relative Rank

4. Leadership

New Directions in Leadership Doctrine

Leading Soldiers in the Twenty-first Century

Soldier Team Development

Leading Soldiers in Combat

Professional Ethics

Personal Conduct

5. Contemporary Leadership Issues

The Law of War

Rules of Engagement

Security

Fraternization

Equal Opportunity

Suicide Prevention

Extremism

Homosexuality

AIDS

The Environment

Media

6. Problem Solving and Counseling

Helping Your Soldiers Solve Their Problems

Leadership Counseling

Alcohol and Drug Abuse

Family Abuse

Absence Without Leave (AWOL) and Desertion

PART II: TRAINING SOLDIERS AND SELF

7. Training in Operational Assignments

Training for Full Spectrum Operations

Examples of Training Guidance

Noncommissioned Officer Development Program (NCODP)

Developing Individual Training Tasks

Identifying and Prioritizing Collective Tasks

Conducting the After Action Review

Marksmanship

8. Training at Service Schools

Noncommissioned Officer Education System (NCOES)

Noncommissioned Officer Academies (NCOAS)

Functional Courses for NCOs

Specialized Courses for NCOs

Distance Learning

9. Self-Development

Setting Professional Goals

Army Continuing Education System (ACES)

College Degree Programs

Tuition Assistance Program

The GI Bill

A Final Thought on Education

Professional Reading and Writing

Personal Reference Library and Recommended Reading

Writing for Professional Development

The Army Online and the World Wide Web

Professional Associations

10. Personal Fitness Improvement

The Army Physical Fitness Program

The Four FITT Principles Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type

Design an Individual Fitness Program

The Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT)

Weight Control

PART III: QUICK REFERENCE

11. Administration, Logistics, and Maintenance

Personnel Administration

Basic References

Safety and Risk Management

NCO Safety Program

Supply

Maintenance and the NCO

12. Assignments

The Enlisted Personnel Assignment System

Communicating With Human Resources Command

Manning Strategies

Career Development Program Assignments

Overseas Service

Sponsorship

Orientation Program

13. Evaluation and Management Systems

The NCO Evaluation Reporting System

Evaluation Report Redress Program (APPEALS)

The Qualitative Management Program (QMP)

14. Promotion and Reduction

The System

Your Key to Success

Reevaluation

Removal From Promotion List

Personnel on Temporary Duty

Reassignment Before Promotion

Reclassification of PMOS

Senior NCO/DA Selection Boards

Additional Information

Reductions in Grade

15. Pay and Entitlements

Pay and Allowances

Other Pay

Allowances

Bonuses

Benefits and Entitlements

Identification Cards

Leaves and Passes

16. Uniforms, Insignia, and Personal Appearance

Wearing the Uniform

Wearing of Headgear

Uniform Appearance

Classification of Service and Utility Field Uniforms

Men’s Army Service Uniform (Blue)

Women’s Army Service Uniform (Blue)

Army Dress Blue Uniform (Men and Women)

Work and Duty Uniforms

Optional Uniforms

Distinctive Uniform Items

Personal Appearance

Sources

17. Awards and Decorations

Recommendations

Criteria

Precedence

Wearing of Medals and Ribbons

U.S. Army and Department of Defense Unit Awards

U.S. Service Medals

Non-U.S. Service Medals

Foreign Individual Awards

U.S. Army Badges and Tabs

Combat and Special Skill Badges

Marksmanship Badges and Tabs

Identification Badges

Appurtenances

Service Ribbons

Miniature Medals

Lapel Buttons

Gold Star Lapel Pin

Certificates and Letters

18. Military and Social Customs

Etiquette

Saluting

Forms of Address

Bugle Calls

Social Functions

Types of Functions

Flags, Flag Customs, and Flag Ceremonies

Survivor Assistance and Honoring the Dead

Body Escort Detail

19. Military Justice

Nonjudicial Punishment

Courts-Martial

Sources

20. Personal Affairs

Important Personal Records

Housing

Ownership of Property

Income Taxes

Agencies and People That Can Help

Medical Insurance TRICARE

Long-Term Care

21. Separation, Discharge, and Retirement

Separations

Discharges

Transition Activities

Retirement

Veterans’ Rights and Benefits

Sources

Index

Foreword

Stackpole Books has published the NCO Guide and its predecessor titles for over fifty years. We revise this book frequently so that it reflects the latest information needed by our Army’s noncommissioned officers in the performance of their duties and for their own professional development. We seek the best-qualified senior NCO authors for this work, such as Command Sergeant Major Robert Rush, who revised this edition.

We believe the information in the NCO Guide represents virtually all the duties a noncommissioned officer is expected to perform, and we welcome comments and input from serving noncommissioned officers in all components.

One thing that impresses us each time we revise the Guide is the amount of knowledge, the numbers of skills, and quantity of information an NCO needs to effectively lead the soldiers in America’s modern Army.

Given the very high reputation our Army has with the American public, a clear vote of thanks is due to our noncommissioned officers for the fine job they are doing leading and teaching America’s young men and women who enter this ancient and honorable service.

Preface

When I was going through training as an infantryman during the 1960s, the drill sergeant’s familiar refrain was, If you don’t learn this, you’ll die in Vietnam! Studying the NCO Guide will not guarantee your survival or even ensure your success or failure; however, it will assist you in keeping yourself and your soldiers up to date on NCO career development and promotions, finance and personnel policies, awards and decorations, customs and courtesies, and other important areas. The training portions speak not so much of a book of dos and don’ts as one to lead you through a series of decision points to arrive at a solution best for your current situation. Tuck it in your ACU trouser pocket before you deploy and you will have one more tool to assist you in your duties of leading soldiers.

NCOs become good NCOs by using their time productively to study their profession and themselves. They read Army regulations, field manuals, military journals, and other official literature to hone their professional edge. They research military topics in sources ranging from on-post libraries to Army listings on the internet. They spend many off-duty hours studying college texts or using alternative educational resources to pursue degrees to develop further their usefulness as leaders.

The NCO Guide is aimed at the corporals, sergeants, first sergeants, and sergeants major who will turn to it when they need self-help guidance or information that will benefit fellow soldiers. The Guide is an educational resource and ready reference to key Army subjects. It draws on education, experience, training, and hundreds of sources. The Guide begins with a discussion of how and why the Army continues to change and ends with how to make the most of a transition from service to civilian life. Readers will also find information on the developmental aspects of soldiering, fitness, education, promotion, and dozens of other necessary topics relating to a noncommissioned officer’s duties. The Guide serves as a desktop reference when the reader or a fellow soldier has questions about pay, benefits, entitlements, personal appearance, uniforms, insignia, assignments, and personal and professional problems. It also contains aids that quickly lead soldiers to official or other publications that may contain updates.

The ninth edition has been fully revised and includes topics all NCOs must understand. It contains new or updated information about our responsibilities as NCO leaders: leading soldiers in combat, leadership counseling, battle-focused training, the Army values, personnel and property accountability, master fitness principles, weight control, the Army Physical Fitness Test, the NCO Education System and civilian education, professional reading and writing and multimedia, life insurance, the new thrift savings plan, and medical and dental insurance. It also addresses contemporary leadership issues such as professional ethics, PTSD, soldier behavior on the battlefield, fraternization, AIDS, discrimination, sexual harassment, and homosexuality.

Readers will also find sections about the military justice system, including military discipline, the law of land warfare, command authority and soldier rights, nonjudicial punishment, the Manual for Courts-Martial, and its Uniform Code of Military Justice. Also provided is information about awards and decorations, with several pages of full-color photographs portraying those medals.

This edition of the NCO Guide has reformed content and improved relevancy. All new material was tightly composed and edited to contain less mundane detail, flow more logically, and be more readable and useful. It is also more practical and less vulnerable to problems associated with information that changes prior to publication or while in print. Field manual numbers now reflect the DOD numbering system Because of the large number of MOS-specific schools, discussion of schools is restricted to those that apply most-such as the NCO Education System, drill sergeant, airborne, recruiter, and so on.

Even though retired, I continue to use my copy of the NCO Guide to both remind myself of benefits I may have, as well as to explain to others how the Army operates.

Lastly, I am honored to have served in Iraq alongside noncommissioned officers from corporal to command sergeant major, each doing their duty, and living the motto Deeds, not words.

Robert S. Rush, Ph.D.

CSM, USA (Ret.)

Acknowledgments

The Internet is a wondrous thing! By using the many sites available to all soldiers, I was able to ensure that the latest information is included in this update. Many sites contributed to this revision, including the following: USAPA, the Army’s Publishing Agency, which lists every current regulation; Army Knowledge Online, Department of Veterans Affairs; Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support; Army Family Advocacy Program; Army Community Services; Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services; American Forces Information Service; Total Army Personnel Command; Enlisted Records and Evaluation Center; Army Career and Alumni Program; Training and Doctrine Command; Army and Air Force Exchange Service; Army Training Support Center; Association of the United States Army; Office of the Chief of Public Affairs; Defense Finance and Accounting Service; Department of Education; and Reimer Digital Library.

The following organizations also contributed: the Office of the Sergeant Major of the Army; Army News Service; SOLDIERS magazine; Army Continuing Education Services; Army Safety Center; Army Family Liaison Office; Judge Advocate General’s Corps; DOD Still Media Records Center; the U.S. Army Center of Military History; and the Army Community and Family Support Center.

I am indebted to my Stackpole editors for their professional support and guidance during production of the NCO Guide, 9th edition. I also want to thank all those who over the years have led me to a better understanding of our Army. Lastly, I thank my wife, Edith, not only for everything she has done and the support she has shown toward this project, but also for the many years she put up with a ragged old ranger who was seldom home. Without her support and understanding, I would have failed before I had even started.

Part I

Leading Soldiers

1

America’s Army at War

Our Nation has been at war for over six years. Our Army—Active, Guard and Reserve—has been a leader in this war and has been fully engaged in Iraq, Afghanistan, and defending the homeland. We also have provided support, most notably by the Army National Guard and Army Reserve, to civil authorities during domestic emergencies. Today, of the Nation’s nearly one million Soldiers, almost 600,000 are serving on active duty and over 250,000 are deployed to nearly 80 countries worldwide.

—Army Posture Statement (2008)

Our Army of the future incorporates intellectual ingenuity, technological innovation, and the values that have always shaped America’s Army throughout its more than 200-year history. To be successful in the new millennium, our Army needs skilled, versatile, and highly motivated NCOs who are capable of accomplishing their mission in changed environments; NCOs confident in their ability to train soldiers in individual through small-unit tasks relevant to their units’ missions, who use creative approaches to maximize their subordinates’ full potential; and lastly, NCOs who can ably lead their soldiers in battle. These are the deeds NCOs do.

America’s Army is the best land combat force in the world, serving the nation every day at home and abroad. It is often the commitment of our Army into trouble spots that makes the difference between the success and failure of America’s defense policy. Land forces remain decisive and provide the most visible and sustained form of U.S. commitment, and when ground troops deploy, the world knows the United States means business. We are no longer forward based, as we were during the Cold War, with divisions in Germany and Korea. In the near future, only three brigade-sized units will be permanently stationed overseas: one in Germany, one in Italy, and one in Korea; the remainder, based here in the United States, will be able to quickly deploy to crises spots overseas.

Soldiers and the units they serve in are expected to accomplish whatever mission they are assigned, regardless of circumstances, location, funding, or priority. There are always challenges—and rewards.

The Army remains the best-led, best-trained, and best-equipped Army in the world; however, it is beginning to suffer from overextension, with the operational tempo to Iraq and Afghanistan as well as to other areas of the world allowing insufficient recovery time for personnel, families, and equipment, and training resulting in just-in-time readiness for the next deployment. The next years will be as hard as the army has faced. The priority will be four imperatives: Sustain, Prepare, Reset, and Transform.

DUTY, INTEGRITY, HONESTY, COMPASSION: THE ARMY’S NCO CORPS

My plans would have amounted to little had there not been trained NCOs available to build my decision. … Throughout my career, at every level of command to the position I now hold, I have relied on my NCOs. Whatever I entrusted them with, they accomplished to standard when given the full set of resources, including authority and responsibility to do so.

—Lt. Gen. John P. Otjen, USA (Ret.), former commander, First U.S. Army

Deeds, Not Words

An NCO must be fully capable of fighting a war and transforming in an era of unpredictability. The Army’s future vision of the NCO blends traditional NCO duties with emerging future characteristics; the Army decribes today’s NCO as an innovative, competent professional enlisted leader grounded in heritage, values, and tradition, who embodies the Warrior Ethos, champions continuous learning, and is capable of leading, training, and motivating soldiers; an adaptive leader who is proficient in joint and combined expeditionary warfare and continuous, simultaneous full spectrum operations, and resilient to uncertain and ambiguous environments.

We have the finest noncommissioned officers corps in the world and much of the Army’s success is directly attributable to NCO leadership. Noncommissioned officers are famous for their abilities to get things done, whatever those things might be. However, here I must caution that a leader must be concerned not only with the quality of unit achievements, but also with the process by which the achievements are attained. Many ethical conflicts occur when not in combat because some members of our profession forget that the real test occurs on the battlefield. Our Army’s future has to be based on a solid foundation of moral-ethical values, for any lessening of this standard compromises and corrupts our ability to lead soldiers and, in the long run, diminishes the support of the American public.

Soldier securing perimeter in Samarra, Iraq.

Army leaders speak of three fundamental truths: the Army is soldiers, it exists to serve the Nation, and it is a values-based organization. No matter how intellectually or technologically advanced we become, we can never forget these fundamental truths. The Army way of life should inspire us to a sense of purpose that will sustain us in the brutal realities of combat and the ambiguities of operations other than war. Our values of fairness and of concern for the individual are supported by our national values, but they also contribute to unit loyalty and cohesiveness. These values are also useful. They create standards of behavior that we as members of a professional Army need to hold to in order to be successful. These values then become the standards of the unit.

Standards are those principles or rules by which behavior is measured as acceptable and tasks are measured as successfully accomplished. Once the standard becomes a criterion for acceptance into a section, company, or battalion and all share the values and understand the standards that flow from them, soldiers will measure other soldiers and the result will be a more cohesive organization, a real team.

Field Manual 1, The Army, expresses its guiding beliefs, standards, and ideals succinctly in one word—duty. Duty means to fulfill your obligations. It is behavior guided by moral obligation, demanded by custom, or enjoined by feelings of rightness. It requires the impartial administration of standards without regard to friendship, personality, rank, or other bias.

Integrity is your personal set of values. It is the thread that weaves throughout the fabric of the professional Army ethic. Integrity means honesty, uprightness, the avoidance of deception, and steadfast adherence to standards of behavior. Integrity means that personal standards are consistent with professional values, and demands a commitment to act according to the other Army values. Integrity is the most important character trait of any leader, and we all make decisions based on the integrity of those reporting to us. Integrity can be ordered, but it can only be achieved by encouragement and example. As NCO leaders we must not only be technically and tactically competent, but also commit ourselves to the highest standards of ethical conduct and foster soldier commitment to the values of the profession.

How many times have commanders and senior NCOs blinked at how an objective was accomplished? At how, for the no one falls out, division run, the less fit are culled from the ranks during the first formation? Soldiers see and understand these shenanigans for what they are: ethical lapses by their leaders. We must eliminate the mindset that produces such directives as I don’t care how you do it, just do it.

If a leader puts a positive spin on a report in garrison, what happens during overseas deployment in wartime? There is no time in combat to verify reports, question the accuracy of information, or wonder about the reliability of equipment or someone’s word. When leaders initial a safe as being checked without actually checking it and then punish a soldier for not having checked the motor pool, all credibility is lost. Soldiers know the difference between right and wrong and no matter how much is said to justify something wrong, they lose respect for the unethical leader. However, leaders who make it clear that they will not tolerate ethical ambivalence and who demonstrate by their actions that they hold themselves to the same standard promote mutual confidence and understanding among their soldiers. There is no senior-subordinate difference when it comes to doing what is right.

NCOs play a key role in setting command climate. Every organization, whether a squad, company, brigade, or higher echelon, has only so much energy to expend to accomplish a given mission. That energy can be wasted or it can be used wisely. In a unit with a positive, healthy climate, that energy can be even more than the sum total of the energy of its members. The energy of an organization can be wasted as well. If you are forced to expend energy looking over your shoulder, preparing to cover yourself for some inspection, building a wall of numbers and statistics to look good, you will have little energy left to teach your soldiers, be innovative, or accomplish your mission. It is only through steadfast, ethical leadership that soldiers and units can reach their full capabilities and be most effective. Soldiers in units with a good moral climate understand right from wrong.

All soldiers make mistakes. Errors of omission (such as not knowing how to do something and doing it wrong) should receive little notice outside additional training. However, errors of commission, such as submitting a doctored report or lying to protect oneself, should result in immediate punishment. If we make a decision that is contrary to what is expected of us, then we must also take responsibility for our actions.

FM 1 also adds compassion to the core qualities of courage, competence, commitment, and candor. Compassion is much more than a cursory interest in others. It means sincere involvement in helping to find solutions to problems and improving welfare; talking with and listening to subordinates, not simply talking at them; doing something about hardships or problems, not paying lip service to them; teaching individuals by counseling, not by abusing them.

Caring means fostering a command climate that challenges people, convinces them that their contributions make a difference, and allows them to feel good about themselves and the Army they serve. We have to take the time to see, hear, and resolve problems before they affect our units and our soldiers.

What do Soldiers Expect of NCO Leaders?

Throughout our Army’s history, NCO duties have centered around maintaining good order and discipline within units; serving as small-unit and/or technical skill leaders; training soldiers in individual skills; and ably leading teams, squads, and sections in combat and in support of combat. All leaders are responsible for accomplishing the unit’s mission, ensuring subordinates’ physical, moral, personal, and professional welfare, setting and exemplifying the highest professional and ethical standards, and treating subordinates with dignity, respect, fairness, and consistency.

Good senior NCOs, along with officers, will foster a moral climate in which leaders teach, individual character has the opportunity to mature, and recognition of achievement and tolerance of honest mistakes foster personal and professional growth. They show their soldiers what right looks like. Leaders must nurture a human relations environment where all soldiers, regardless of race, creed, color, gender, religion, or national origin, are treated as soldiers. NCO leaders who deal daily with soldiers affect values and behavior by establishing day-to-day procedures, practices, and working norms; by their personal example; and by building discipline, cohesion, motivation, consistency, and fair play.

NCOs ensure that a soldier behaves as a soldier, both on and off duty. We don’t do that in this organization. The NCO takes immediate action when a soldier’s conduct affects good order and discipline. Soldiers who infringe on other soldiers’ rights need to be told to modify their behavior or go elsewhere. There is no substitute for observing for oneself what is going on at the muddy-boots level. No PowerPoint presentation listing everything right down to boot sizes and numbers of shoelaces will ever come close to eyes on the target. We expect all noncommissioned officers, regardless of rank, to form the habit of getting down in the trenches with the soldiers, of seeing what is taking place, of measuring it against one’s own scale of values, and ordering changes as necessary.

We expect our small-unit leaders to lead by example and to practice the professional Army ethic; to enforce Army standards of appearance and conduct; to supervise maintenance of equipment, living areas, and work places; to instill discipline; and to take care of subordinates. Those NCOs serving in staff positions must never forget their responsibilities to train, mentor, and look out for the well-being of other soldiers in their sections.

Current trends suggest that independent leadership is increasingly exercised by junior officers and noncommissioned officers who lead our soldiers. As our Army continues its fight in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries, and becomes more involved in operations other than war (OOTW), with battlefield being defined in new ways, many decisions are made by soldiers operating in environments away from their superiors. We must develop in our soldiers the ability to take the appropriate action on their own initiative in support of the commander’s intent.

In such an environment, self-discipline is vitally important. If we can trust a corporal with a color guard to render proper respect to the flag when no one is watching, then we can also trust that corporal to do what he or she believes is right when faced with an ethical dilemma. Properly trained and understanding what is right and what is wrong, our soldiers will invariably do what is right. But if they observe their senior leaders bending the rules for one reason or another, they will find it more difficult to justify the harder right. Moral character develops out of repeating good actions; it cannot be learned from orders, but it can be learned by imitation. The best discipline is self-discipline, when the individual does what he or she knows is right because he or she wants to do the right thing. It is especially important for young soldiers to learn this immediately. As former Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA) General John Wickham once said:

During the initial tour the young soldier’s life is lived mainly at the squad level with his primary chain of command ranging up through platoon and company/battery/troop level. Therefore the brand of leadership that is exercised by the soldier’s squad leader, platoon sergeant, platoon leader, first sergeant and company commander is absolutely critical.

NCOs must motivate soldiers, help them grow, develop them personally and professionally, and inspire them to achieve their maximum potential. We have to allow our subordinates to learn from honest errors, while ensuring that they correct their mistakes. Not correcting mistakes breeds mediocrity. If you walk by a deficiency and say nothing, it becomes the standard.

When told of a soldier not performing to standard, many senior leaders question how effective the immediate leader is in counseling, mentoring, or teaching the soldier his or her job. We must make soldiers want to excel; those soldiers who do not strive for the highest rungs and who are content to reside at the lowest level of performance can do so elsewhere.

Everyone tells us we have the best soldiers in the world. Let us treat them as the professionals they are. They are beyond the stage of requiring baby-sitters. We must foster their faith in us by ensuring that we give them the respect and confidence they deserve. Anything else will result in compromise and will impair our ability to lead soldiers into the next century. If we and our subordinate leaders foster strong esprit in our soldiers by being personal and professional examples of excellence and by treating them as professionals, there is no doubt they will act professionally. Again, this does not mean that we look the other way when soldiers are not performing to standard.

You do not have to stop soldiers who have pride in themselves and their unit. You just need to steer them. Former U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) Command Sergeant Major Richard Cayton once said, Your soldiers will walk a path and they will come to a crossroads; if you are standing at the crossroads, where you belong, you can guide your soldiers to the right path and make them successful.

I have found no soldier, active, guard, or reserve, who wants to fail. But many do, not for lack of effort (we expend a lot of that), but for lack of knowing how. Some NCOs are unfamiliar with their training responsibilities, and some officers are reluctant to let their NCOs have their piece of the training pie. We should all consider the following:

• No soldier should ever have to do his or her duty ill-trained or ill-prepared to do it.

• NCOs are responsible for the proper conduct of individual, crew, squad, and section level training.

• No NCO should ever stand before his or her soldiers unconfident or incompetent to lead or train them.

• All soldiers should hold their NCOs in high regard and want to follow their lead and example.

• Each NCO must accept full responsibility for his or her soldiers’ success and failure.

Leading in the Twenty-First Century

When we entered the mechanized age at the turn of the twentieth century, our Army found an increasing need for a different type of noncommissioned officer—one who was familiar with the technical aspects of his field as well as basic soldiering skills. Today, the NCO Corps again sits at the crossroads. Army Transformation and the Global War on Terrorism are leading to an increased reliance on the small-unit leader. A smaller force will require senior NCOs to move away from some of the more traditional roles and become skilled in developing and training NCO leaders who have direct responsibility for training our soldiers in these new technologies.

A senior NCO’s primary duty is much like that of the master guildsman of old. It is to ensure that subordinate leaders are trained as skilled professionals and future leaders. If a sergeant stands in front of soldiers unconfident and unfamiliar with the task he or she is to train them in, several things happen. First, the noncommissioned officer loses credibility with his or her soldiers, and the training is not learned or accomplished. Second, training resources and time are wasted and the task is either rescheduled or, more commonly, listed as unsatisfactory and collective training is begun.

Let us now look at the relationship between the commander and senior NCOs concerning training. FMs 7-0 and 7-1 specify that senior noncommissioned officers—sergeants first class through sergeants major—are an integral part in the planning and execution of soldier, team, and squad training, and that they should be made responsible for how well their soldiers are trained.

Some compare commanders to architects who design the Mission Essential Task List (METL) for their organizations. Subordinate officers take the METL and extract those collective tasks necessary for successful completion at their level. Senior NCOs at each echelon take the collective tasks and determine which individual soldier tasks are necessary to be completed in order for the unit to complete its mission. Just as the architect relies on the contractor to transform the design into a building, the officer must rely on the NCO to put his or her intent into effective individual and leader training programs that make up the building blocks for the collective tasks that support the unit METL.

In a 1994 Military Review article Gen. Gordon Sullivan wrote, Concentration on basics will mean that we reduce the number of tasks on a unit’s mission essential task list, not increase them. Football has six basics—run, pass, catch, block, tackle, and think. We must look to the same type of basics. Without excellence in the basics, versatility is impossible. The same holds true today.

Some leaders believe that making important collective, leader, and individual tasks nondiscretionary robs the leader of creativity and initiative. The fact is that senior leaders have to provide sufficient structure to ensure superior performance from leaders newly introduced into their position, by defining the ever-talked-about box. It is only when the boundaries are clear that creativity and initiative become free from timidity rooted in uncertainty. NCOs who know they have to build a mousetrap will look for better ways to build it.

The NCO Creed states that officers will be given time to accomplish their duties and that they will not have to do ours. We give officers that time by ensuring that soldiers are trained to standard in individual tasks before we attempt training them in collective tasks. This development of training occurs not only at the beginning and end, but is ongoing throughout. Since both the commander and the senior NCO are involved with the development of the training plan at different levels, collective and individual, each must sequence and talk through the different stages. Too much reliance on either collective or individual tasks will result in failure to meet the overall objective. Tankers will never get to Tank Table XII if everyone concentrates only on Tank Table VIII. Without this corporate buy-in by both officers and NCOs, training in units becomes little more than a list of discrete, nonrelated, often poorly resourced events. However, when everyone buys into the plan, training will be successful.

The following chapters cover many areas, from the uses of military history to the history of the role of the NCO to the master trainer concept for identifying individual training needs and conducting After Action Reviews (AARs). How-to’s for conducting NCO induction ceremonies, marksmanship ranges, and physical fitness programs are also addressed. The unifying factor in all is the noncommissioned officer and his or her responsibilities to soldiers. Much of the book consists of quick reference guides regarding promotion, assignments, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and other topics that will assist in your role as a noncommissioned officer. Officers expect you to provide your soldiers with the best training possible, so that when the time comes, they will know that they are competently trained and well led, and will have confidence that they can fight and win in combat. A soldier dying for lack of training is nothing less than criminal. Your job and responsibility is to ensure that this does not happen.

So where do you go from here? If you are serious about leading in the twenty-first century with all its technology, and are still expecting your soldiers to fight and—if necessary—die, you must focus your efforts on training, leading, and mentoring your soldiers and supporting your fellow noncommissioned officers so they can perform the same duties for the men and women in their charge. I am certain that noncommissioned officers will continue to produce a quality force that will serve the Army and this nation as well in the new century as it had in the last century.

Today, as the Army wrestles with fundamental changes in the way it operates and is organized, an array of disconcerting issues face soldiers and the NCOs who lead and train them. With the nation at war, members of the Army have had to deal with seemingly ever-increasing deployments and assaults on their character because the bad behavior of a few of their fellow soldiers sullied the Army’s reputation.

Perhaps. But selfless service calls for personal sacrifice and dedication to duty, regardless of the circumstances. No one gets rich on Army pay. If elements of the nation seem less than caring, well, that’s just how it is—so don’t sweat it. According to the annual national polls, the military is still the highest-rated institution in the nation. And in the Army family, plenty of good people do care and go about their business because it must be done. The Army’s Sgt. Maj. Kenneth O. Preston has commented:

Today’s global environment challenges us to be a Culture of Innovation. Our operational Army is adapting to its threats on the battlefield daily. So too must our Institutional Army adapt to ensure our training and processes move at the speed of an Army at war, supporting a nation at war. I always encourage Soldiers to collaborate, think out of the box, and find innovative solutions to today’s toughest problems. Phrases like that’s the way we’ve always done it or if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it are unacceptable excuses today.

This is excellent advice for anyone. Sergeants and their soldiers have enough to concern themselves with on a daily basis. Mission tasks, seemingly endless deployments, leading soldiers in combat, maintaining good order and discipline, keeping fit, appearance, meeting the standards of service, upholding their sworn or affirmed oath to defend the Constitution and obey the orders of superior officers—these are some of the unchanging principal requirements of soldiering in a changing Army, in a dangerous world.

Remember that the Army is soldiers and that your soldiers are your credentials. Nothing could be truer.

ARMY ROLES, MISSIONS, AND FUNCTIONS

The Army exists to serve the American people, to protect enduring national interests, and to fulfill national military responsibilities. The Army is charged to provide forces able to conduct prompt, sustained combat on land as well as stability and reconstruction operations, when required. The Army provides the Joint Force with capabilities required to prevail in the protracted Global War on Terrorism and sustain the full range of its global commitments. The bulk of the active-duty army is either in Iraq, returning from Iraq, or preparing to go to Iraq. Brigades of the National Guard now account for about 40 percent of the combat brigades deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Simultaneously, the Army is undertaking one of its most profound transformations since the Pentomic era of the 1950s.

When it comes to fighting and winning a major regional conflict, no one is in our league. The Army has demonstrated both in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq that we own the battlefield, day and night. But ownership can be slippery. To win the next battle, the Army will have to quickly get to trouble spots with a sustainable fighting force. It will have to dominate the information war, acting promptly on incoming data to strike targets deep in enemy territory with a new generation of indirect fire weapons. And commanders at all levels will have to maneuver quickly and decisively, leaving an enemy with no options except withdrawal or surrender.

The roles, missions, and functions of the military are defined as follows: Roles are the broad and enduring purposes for the services that are established by Congress in law; missions are the tasks assigned by the president or secretary of defense to combatant commanders in chief (CinC); and functions are specific responsibilities assigned by the president or secretary of defense to enable the services to fulfill their legally established roles. Simply stated, the primary function of the services is to provide forces that are organized, trained, and equipped to perform a role—to be employed by a CinC in the accomplishment of a mission.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are involved in vital roles, missions, and functions on a daily basis. In 2008, approximately 291,000 soldiers are serving on active duty, while 251,000 from all components are deployed or forward-stationed in more than 120 countries to support operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other theaters of war and to deter aggression while securing the homeland. Soldiers from the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve are making a vital contribution, with 73,000 soldiers mobilized and performing a diverse range of missions worldwide. In addition to their duties overseas, soldiers from all components, including the Guard and the Reserve, are supporting civil authorities during disaster relief operations, such as for hurricane and winter storm relief.

Assigned Army missions affect how the military is structured, trained, and employed. The Army’s new regional focus, combined with major troop reductions overseas, puts enormous emphasis on strategic mobility. Airlift and sealift mobility improvements being made today will enable deployment of an Army light division and a heavy brigade to any crisis area in about two weeks, and two heavy divisions in about a month.

Regardless of how roles, missions, functions, and force structures change with the new post-Cold War era, NCOs play a vital role in the effort. The effort is worth making because the objective, as always, is safeguarding our country while maintaining and improving combat readiness for twenty-first-century Army missions.

CURRENT TRENDS IN THE ARMY

• Today war is the norm; peace is the exception.

• There is an enormous pool of potential combatants armed with irreconcilable ideas.

• Our adversaries seek adaptive advantage through asymmetry.

• We have near peer competitors in niche areas of military science.

• Conventional force-on-force conflicts are still possible.

• Our homeland is part of the battle space.

• The Army is adapting to these challenges now; it’s called Army Transformation.

Army Transformation

Transformation is a process that recognizes the changing nature of military competition and cooperation, which our Army is addressing through new combinations of operational doctrine, military capabilities, people, and organizations. The Army is pursuing the most comprehensive transformation of its forces since the early years of World War II. This transformation is intended to produce evolutionary and revolutionary changes which improve both Army and Joint Force capabilities