|
AUSA Recommendations for Year of the NCO
|
Dan Elder [ListMaster]
|
Jan 22, 2009 04:48 PST
|
2009 – The Year of the NCO
The Year of the NCO in my opinion has two components, internal and
external. The internal component is for the most part transparent to the
public. It is esoteric in nature and is designed to improve NCO
professionalism and training. The external component is an overdue
campaign to inform and educate the American public about the Army’s
unsung and under appreciated national treasure – the Army
Noncommissioned Officer Corps.
The Association of the U.S. Army’s Noncommissioned Officer and Soldier
Directorate submits the following Year of the NCO external
recommendations for your consideration:
1. The Noncommissioned Officer Corps is in fact a group of professionals
and as such should have a professional oath of office; a code of ethics,
professional responsibility, and disciplinary rules much like
associations have for lawyers, physicians, or for that matter, police
officers. This is not the same as the Oath of Enlistment, NCO/Soldier
Creeds, Warrior Ethos, or Charge to the Newly Promoted Noncommissioned
Officer. The Noncommissioned Officer Oath of Office would however,
embody the spirit of the ethos and creeds along with the Army and NCO
corps values
Recommend that each noncommissioned officer, upon entering the NCO ranks
be required to take this life changing oath. The senior NCO in the unit,
(1SG/CSM) should be held responsible for upholding standards and
insuring adherence to the oath. The unit senior NCO must also be given
the authority to take corrective action if and when NCOs don’t meet the
standard.
2. Along with the professional oath, we need an educational requirement,
both military and civilian. A major difference between the NCO Corps and
other professional groups is the requisite civilian educational
requirement. Without an educational requirement for the noncommissioned
officers, we will not reach a true and universally recognized
professional level. Feedback from past promotion boards suggests that
today’s NCOs are an educated group. Virtually all have some college and
many have two or four year degrees.
Recommend that we phase in the requirement that senior NCOs have a
degree. A starting point could be that a sergeant first class must have
a two year degree and a sergeant major would be required to have a four
year degree. The chain of command would be held responsible for ensuring
the Soldier meets the educational goals throughout the Soldier’s career
with NCOES supporting this requirement.
3. NCO Hall of Fame: The importance of the noncommissioned officer to
the success of America’s Army is well understood by the Army leadership,
so much so as to earn the NCO corps the title of “the backbone of the
Army”. This appreciation of the NCOs’ contributions to the Army and the
nation has been for the most part, lost to history.
We have in the past, made an attempt at the Sergeants Major Academy to
recognize NCOs. Many years ago when I was a student at the Sergeants
Major Academy, a wall of honor was located in the hallway just outside
my classroom. I remember looking at the photos and wondering what they
had accomplished to be so honored.
Some years later I returned as a senior Army Noncommissioned officer to
address the students and was surprised to see a different group of NCOs
honored at the Academy Wall of Honor. Later still, shortly after I
retired, this latest group of NCOs also disappeared from the hallways at
the academy; replaced by photos of the former Sergeants Major of the
Army.
Now we are honoring officers and NCOs who have made a contribution to
NCO education. Last year (2008) a Czech CSM was included in the Academy
Hall of Honor. And I support what the Academy is doing and hope they
continue and expand the program. But this is not a U.S. Army NCO Hall of
Fame.
It has been my experience unfortunately, that at the whim of a new
commandant or command sergeant major, policies are changed, photos are
removed, and we start all over with a new program. Meanwhile the Army
and the NCO Corps has no idea why nor who we are honoring at the
Academy.
Recommend that we establish a permanent system for honoring the
contributions of Noncommissioned Officers, active, guard and reserve,
not the Soldier and NCO or Drill Sergeants of the Year or Medal of Honor
recipients. This is to recognize a lifetime of selfless service to the
Army NCO Corps. Suggest we call it the Army NCO Hall of Fame (This is a
universally recognized term). And it should be under the control of the
Office of the Sergeant Major of the Army. We could list the names at an
NCO “Hall of Honor” in the Pentagon and the NCO Museum with photos and
bios posted on the Army web site. This would give America access to and
an appreciation of the contributions of the NCO Corps.
4. We should make an effort to record our rich history and legacy that
seems to be lost to following generations of noncommissioned officers.
We should at long last start recording the deeds and names of our great
past Noncommissioned Officers.
Just outside Ft. Lewis, WA next to a statue of CPT Meriwether Lewis
stands a statue of 1SG John Ordway, the senior noncommissioned officer
with the Lewis and Clark expedition. The statue was erected and paid for
by the Ft. Lewis chapter of AUSA. This is the first and only statue ever
of a named noncommissioned officer. In our Army’s over 230 years of
service to the nation, this is the first time we have recognized a
specific noncommissioned officer.
Recommend that we initiate a campaign to begin naming things for
Noncommissioned Officers (i.e. buildings, roads, awards, and Army
programs). We should make space on the Army website for NCO history. And
teach NCO history during NCOES. How about a college course/major in NCO
history?
5. Let’s address the title, “Noncommissioned Officer”: Despite the vast
improvements in the quality of the noncommissioned officer corps and the
all volunteer Army, we continue to be referred to by what we are not,
not what and who we are. The title NCO identifies us as officers without
commissions.
Recommend that in this Year of the NCO make an effort to select a title
that better describes who we are rather than who we are not.
6. We should eliminate the term “enlisted” from the army vocabulary. We
stopped letting the personnel folks refer to us as EM or EW (enlisted
men – enlisted women). We also stopped referring to NCOs as E-6, E-7s,
etc. We now use the proper titles (staff sergeant, sergeant first class,
etc.) to convey the proper respect and to give due recognition for the
important role of noncommissioned officers in leading and training
Soldiers.
The term enlisted connotes military employees with contracts that must
be renewed rather than who we really are, professional Army leaders.
Some years ago, we made an attempt to rid ourselves of the term, alas,
it is slowly creeping back.
Recommend that we ban the term “enlisted” once and for all in Army
correspondence, publications, etc. And I think if we do this the other
services will follow our lead.
7. America’s Army is blessed with a large group of retired
noncommissioned officers who can and should be considered a resource.
This group is knowledgeable, experienced and underutilized and should be
a major player in the NCO professional/social model. They could be
combat multipliers for the NCO Corps.
Recommend that the office of the Sergeant Major of the Army form a
formal advisory group of retired noncommissioned officers (graybeards)
to take advantage of the experience and historical perspective of this
large group of noncommissioned officers. This could be organized similar
to the Chief of Staff of the Army’s Retiree Council and the Civilian
Aides to the Secretary of the Army Program. And we should from the
division level and above, form a team of retired NCO advisors and
mentors that would assist the command sergeant major facing ever more
complex and increasing responsibilities.
8. The Face of the Army: What the American public sees; the Army’s
interaction with America is traditionally a unit briefing officer/Army
spokesperson. And that means in most cases public affairs officers and
unit commanders at all levels.
Recommend that we, whenever possible place noncommissioned officers in
this role exposing the nation to some of our great noncommissioned
officers, thereby helping change the face of the Army.
The above recommendations are just that, AUSA, NCO and Soldier Programs’
recommendations. Don Thomas and I are willing to discuss these in
greater detail at your convenience.
A word of caution, any changes we make during the Year of the NCO must
be real change; we must not revert to past procedures.
We look forward to your feedback.
Jimmie W. Spencer, jspe-@ausa.org
CSM, US Army Retired
Director, Noncommissioned
Officer and Soldier Programs
|
|
 |
|
