...An NCO in my eyes is first most a leader, someone that has his soldiers back, there to protect and defend them, mentor them, and guide them into being NCO's themselves one day. As an NCO you need to be able to share your knowledge with younger soldiers, teach them the ways of the Army, let them not only learn from their mistakes, but from the ones we have made along the way as well. An NCO needs to be able to trust in his soldiers, but more importantly, soldiers need to be able to trust their NCO's. How can a soldier follow us into battle if they cannot trust us with the smaller things? How can a soldier turn to you in confidence with an issue that they have if they can’t even trust you, as an NCO, to have their back about something small or petty. As an NCO it is our job to instill that trust, to earn that trust, from our soldiers. We do that day in and day out. Not just by how we treat them, but by the things they see us do, the way that they see us handle adversity. In many ways being an NCO is like being a father. Soldiers look up to us for guidance, much like our children do. Soldiers look at how we handle situations, and they learn from that. They may not agree with us on the way that we think, but it is our job to show them the right way. I have looked up to my NCOs for guidance on many things, some simple, and some more complex. I feel an NCO should be that father figure, or older brother type, to our soldiers. Be there to help guide them. Every soldier looks at an NCO...
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...wants, not many have, and few want to give. Unfortunately, respect is not something that is given all the time. Maybe this is because respect is not clearly understood. What is respect? The Webster’s Dictionary defines it as an act of giving particular attention or high or special regard. Another definition shows respect as a feeling or attitude of admiration and deference toward somebody or something. And disrespect is defined as the lack of respect. This does not explain completely what it is, but at least it gives us an idea about what it may be. As a matter of fact, there are many forms of respect. There is physical respect. Physical respect is shown through body language. The way you might move your arms and hands while talking to someone, or the way you might stand, and even your facial expressions. People have different definitions than others when it comes to respect, so when it comes to physical respect, you have to be careful on how you present yourself. In the army, when talking to an NCO, lower ranking soldiers should always stand at parade rest. This is part of the army standard. Another form of respect is mental or emotional respect. This is the way you perceive someone. Verbal respect is also a form of respect. This form is the one that is most abused. When a lower ranking soldier is speaking to an NCO, they should always be professional and respectful towards this person. And direct them with their proper title, such as sergeant, first sergeant, etc. I feel that respect...
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...Audie was born on a sharecropper's farm in North Texas on June 20, 1924. As a boy, he chopped cotton for one dollar a day and was noted for his feats of derring-do and his accuracy with a gun. He had only 5 years of schooling and was orphaned at age 16. After being refused enlistment during World War II in both the Marines and Paratroopers for being too small (5'5") and underweight (110 lbs), he enlisted in the U.S. Army a few days after his 18th birthday. After basic training at Camp Wolters, Texas, and advanced training at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, Audie was sent overseas. He was assigned to the famous 15th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division where he fought in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany. He earned a battlefields commission for his courage and leadership ability as well as citations and decorations including every medal for valor that America gives. He was also awarded three French and one Belgian medal. Lieutenant Audie Murphy was the highest decorated soldier in American history. Discharged from the Army on September 21, 1945, Audie went to Hollywood at the invitation of movie star James Cagney. He remained in California for the rest of his life and was closely associated with the movie industry, both as an actor and a producer. He acted in 44 films, starring in 39 of them. His best known film was "To Hell and Back," adopted from the best selling book of his war experiences by the same name. Most of his movies were westerns. In...
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...duties are numerous and must be taken seriously. An NCO's duty includes taking care of soldiers, which is your priority. Corporals and sergeants do this by developing a genuine concern for their soldiers' well-being. Leaders must know and understand their soldiers well enough to train them as individuals and teams to operate proficiently. This will give them confidence in their ability to perform well under the difficult and demanding conditions of battle. Individual training is the principle duty and responsibility of NCOs. No one in the Army has more to do with training soldiers than NCOs. Well trained soldiers will likely succeed and survive on the battlefield. Well trained soldiers properly do the tasks their NCOs give them. A good leader executes the boss's decisions with energy and enthusiasm; looking at their leader, soldiers will believe the leader thinks it's absolutely the best possible solution. There may be situations you must think carefully about what you're told to do. For example, duty requires that you refuse to obey illegal orders. This is not a privilege you can claim, but a duty you must perform. You have no choice but to do what's ethically and legally correct. Making the right choice and acting on it when faced with...
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...What it means to be an NCO to me, The mission of an NCO is to fulfill what we call the backbone of the Army. We are individuals who can hear and understand a mission and then take the necessary steps to make it happen. It is an honor to serve as an NCO because I take pride in leading my Soldiers to success. I take pride in contributing to the wider goals of my unit by helping other people succeed. These tasks require me to invest in individual Soldiers, to lead a group of people by instruction and example, and to properly represent the missions and morals. As an NCO, I must know and lead each Soldier under my command. I make it clear that they all must succeed, and I do what is necessary to ensure that each of them is a strong, able part of our group. This requires me to pay attention to their strengths and weaknesses. I work with them to ensure that they are able to physically perform their duties, and I also ensure that they understand how to be a Soldier. As their NCO, it is my duty to help each of them overcome their fears and apply their knowledge in every exercise. An NCO must ensure that each Soldier understands the importance of training. As I pay attention to every Soldier under my command, I also understand that the job of an NCO is to create a strong unit of Soldiers. If I am their leader, I lead them as individuals and as an entire team. My job as an NCO is to spend time every day ensuring that my team is in top physical condition. I push them beyond what they think...
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...States Army Sergeants Major Academy Class 63 SGM Johnny Williams March 29, 2013 Abstract The disparity between officers and non-commissioned officers (NCO) in the military still prevails on the social and professional levels. The major issue of the relationship between these groups of men is considered an issue of class structure which is attributed to the differences in the educational levels between them. NCOs are treated in the same manner as a low category enlisted men and as such do not serve as a bridge between the enlisted men and officers. This wide social gap tends to make the learning process imprudent and ineffective. Many of the NCOs usually complained about the unwillingness of officers, or even unfortunate, of a senior NCO to listen to them. In the United States and other Western forces, the non-commissioned officer corps bridges it with a professional NCO corps critically essential for the American military’s training programs to work at its best as the primary trainers in a professional army, and to the enlisted men’s sense camaraderie. Commissioned officers and NCOs share the same goal, which is to accomplish their unit’s mission, and it is apparent that their responsibilities are associated and must be shared. The ability of commissioned and warrant officers to work together with the NCOs is an important aspect of effective leadership; and to enhance this effective working relationships, they must know both the similarities and differences in their...
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...them less effective, because NCOs are not applying themselves. NCOs expect to be evaluated fairly, objectively, and want to be receiving an NCOER that will allow them to excel for further promotion and assignments. An NCO wants to have the faith that their rater is competent enough to give them a proper rating, good or bad, on their performance. The visual information career field is small and highly competitive to reach the ranks of Sergeant First Class to Sergeant Major, so accurate NCOERs are crucial to compete. An area of concern on ethical behavior was found on NCOERs coming from the Defense Information School instructors. NCOs had received bullets that were exactly the same and in the same blocks of evaluation, causing the value of their NCOERs to be devalued and possibly causing Staff Sergeants to fall behind their peers for promotion. The inaccurate and irrelevant NCOER Ever since I was a young Sergeant, I learned that the Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation Report, NCOER is a crucial document to show and justify what you have learned and accomplished during that rating period. In recent years as I have become a senior noncommissioned officer and been able to review many NCOERs, I have seen a pattern for NCOs in the Visual Information career field for the Signal Corps. Leaders are writing inaccurate NCOERs and making them less effective, because NCOs are not applying themselves. I still believe that the NCOER is the most accurate means there is to...
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...NCO-ER EVALUATION REPORT PREPARATION GUIDE 1. PURPOSE: To provide a simplified, easy-to-read, guide to preparing Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation Reports (NCO-ERs). The intent of this guide is not to replace the governing Regulation, AR 623-205. Rather, this guide will serve as a useful 'teaching' tool for young NCOs and officers. Users should still become familiar and comply with the provisions of AR 623-205. 2. APPLICABILITY: This guide applies to all Army NCOs, officers, and civilian personnel, as well as members of other services, who rate and senior rate Army NCOs. 3. SUGGEST IMPROVEMENTS: This is a one-time only publication and will be distributed electronically. Users may change it to meet the needs of their own installations/units and publish locally if desired. Hardcopies will not be distributed by PERSCOM. 4. TABLE OF CONTENTS: CHAPTER I PERFORMANCE COUNSELING Definition/requirement Page 2 How to Plan & Conduct Performance Counseling Page 3 CHAPTER II PREPARING AN NCO-ER Part I, Administrative Data Pages 4-6 Part II, Authentication Pages 6-7 Part III, Duty Description Pages 8-9 Part IV, Values/NCO Responsibilities Pages 9-13 Part V, Overall Performance and Potential Pages 14-15 Sample of Completed NCO-ER Pages 16-17 CHAPTER III RESPONSIBILITIES AND TIPS FOR RATING ...
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...DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY ENTER UNIT NAME AFVB-XB-F 15 January 2012 MEMORANDUM FOR SUBJECT: Initial Counseling/ Philosophy 1. The purpose of this counseling is to provide you with the information about my philosophy on leadership, standards and expectations. I have tremendous expectations of you as a Bradley Gunner in this platoon. I am confident that you will not have any difficulty implementing and accomplishing what is expected as long as we work together as a team. Always remember, there is no “I” in “TEAM”! As a leader, I owe you the opportunity to perform to the best of your abilities. By the same token, I will not do your job for you. Always do what is right not what is easy and when no one is looking. 2. I am proud and honored to be your Section Leader. My goal is to ensure this section is the best Infantry Section in the Army (and I mean it)! Your job as a Bradley Gunner is tough and demanding. I understand this because I once was where you are today. 3. LEADERSHIP: Effective leadership can sometimes appear strange because there are no set rules or formula to guide you. Every soldier’s (regardless of rank) personality is different. Therefore, I place the utmost trust and confidence (until proven lost) in the abilities of my leaders and charge them to effectively lead, develop and take care of soldiers entrusted to them. I will delegate and give as much responsibility as any soldier can handle and is willing to accept. I manage by observing; asking questions...
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...In the United States Marine Corps there is a title given to any marine who achieves the rank of corporal and/or sergeant. That title is known as Non-Commissioned Officer. They are then given the opportunity to put the blood strip on their uniform. They are also given the opportunity to use the Marine Corps Non-Commissioned Officer’s sword. They are given more responsibility and put in charge of marines under their rank. Enlisted Marine Corps ranks are broken down into three levels, Junior Enlisted, Non-Commissioned Officers, and Staff Non-Commissioned Officers. As Marines move up the ladder his or her responsibility and contribution to the mission increases. This also means that those who have earned higher rank have a special responsibility to look out for the welfare of their subordinates. Traditionally, officers and noncommissioned officers of the Marine Corps wear a scarlet red stripe on their dress blue trousers to commemorate the courage and tenacious fighting of the men who battled before Chapultepec in the Mexican War. In the Corps, this stripe is more commonly known as the Blood Stripe. But how many realize that the battle at Chapultepec took place during one of the least bloody conflicts in the annals of U.S. Marine Corps history? Interestingly, more Marines were killed or wounded during the “Mayaguez Incident” battle with Khmer Rouge forces at Koh Tang Island, Cambodia, on May 14, 1975, than during the entire Mexican War. How many active duty Marines today remember...
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...down to it what it means is with no question ask you follow any and all lawful order quickly and without question. This is the very first thing that we learn in Boot Camp. But obedience to orders is not just to what you are told to do, it’s also to the Marine Corps order. Getting a haircut every Sunday, shaving every morning, keeping clean your cammies and boots, making your rack in the morning and things of that nature. We carry these teachings from our Drill Instructors all throughout Marine Combat Training and our MOS school all the way until we hit the fleet. And even then we still follow these implemented set of rules we have drilled in us ever since we have stepped on those yellow foot prints. I have failed on my part, not only as a Marine but also as a NCO. Forgetting to shave in the morning is unacceptable excuse for I have failed to obey MCO p1020.34g: the face will be clean-shaven, except that a mustache may be worn. When worn, the mustache will be neatly trimmed and must be contained within the lines upper lip. The individual length of a mustache hair fully extended must not exceed 1/2 inch. MARADMIN 504/07. Set the example: as a Marine leader and NCO, my duty is to set the standards for my Marines by personal example. My appearance, attitude, physical fitness, and personal example are all being watched by the Marines in my unit. As an NCO, the Marine Corps tells me what they expect from me on the very day of my promotion. They do this through the NCO Creed. “I am...
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...Assist Family Members Practical Exercise Situation A First off, I would have to ask a few questions. How much did the rent get raised? Does this raise cause serious financial hardship? Would an AER loan help any? And if it would, would it get them out of trouble, or just prolong it? Also I would have to consider that, if the wife is 8 months pregnant. She may already be under a lot of stress, and the current situation is not helping any. I would more than likely recommend that both the soldier and the spouse seek financial counseling. I would also want to know why the soldier is disputing the raise in rent. And does he have any legal backing that could help in this situation. I may also recommend the soldier take a copy of his lease to JAG to see if they can find something that may help the soldier out. I would also ensure the company commander and 1SG are aware of the situation as they also may have additional ideas that could help in this situation. Grade: 9.00 out of 10 Instructor Feedback Very good response, also have FRG and Chaplin visit wife to check on her and see that she is doing ok and if she needs any support as birth nears. Situation B First off I am confused how she was allowed to enter the country if she has TB. But putting that aside, There are a few things to consider. First off, she needs to be put in DEERS ASAP. If she is legally dependent on him as a condition for her being here, there should be documentation to support that. Then...
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...Marine Corps was downsizing and drawing back on most of their numbers just like they are today and little did they know that six years after WWII they would be engaged in another history making battle in South Korea. During WWII the Marine Corps had a population of approximately 485,000 and at the beginning of the Korean War our numbers were 74,279 but grew to over 250,000 by 1953. Since the Marine Corps took such a dramatic cut back during that six years the Marine Corps would really have to rely on what they had and that was NCO’s. The positive part about NCO’s at the time of them getting deployed to Korea and the end of WWII was that some of them have had combat experience because at the end of WWII most of them got released from active duty and when the Korean war broke out most of them were recalled back to the Marine Corps. Since the Marine Corps had such a low number of active duty personal and Marines getting recalled back to active duty to go to Korea that means that most of them were probley NCO’s and were relied on by commanders to make sure that the new Marines out of recruit training that were only basically trained Marines were now be trained by Marines that have seen harsh combat. The other roles that NCO’s played in the Korean War is that there was not allot of officers at that time and when platoon commanders either died or got mortally wounded and could not return to the fight the most senior sergeant would then take control of the platoon. The positive...
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...DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY YOUR UNIT YOUR BASE AFVB-XB-F 26 March 2012 MEMORANDUM FOR SGT SMITH SUBJECT: Motor SGT Initial Counseling/ Philosophy 1. The purpose of this counseling is to provide you with the information about my philosophy on leadership, standards and expectations. I have tremendous expectations of you as a Motor sergeant in this company. I am confident that you will not have any difficulty implementing and accomplishing what is expected as long as we work together as a team. Always remember, there is no “I” in “TEAM”! As a leader, I owe you the opportunity to perform to the best of your abilities. By the same token, I will not do your job for you. Always do what is right not what is easy and when no one is looking. 2. I am proud and honored to be your Motor Sergeant. My goal is to ensure this Team is the best MST in the Army (and I mean it)! Your job as a Squad Leader is tough and demanding. I understand this because I once was where you are today. 3. LEADERSHIP: Effective leadership can sometimes appear strange because there are no set rules or formula to guide you. Every soldier’s (regardless of rank) personality is different. Therefore, I place the utmost trust and confidence (until proven lost) in the abilities of my leaders and charge them to effectively lead, develop and take care of soldiers entrusted to them. I will delegate and give as much responsibility as any soldier can handle and is willing to accept...
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...time. Morning formation is the most important formation of the day. It is vital to maintain accountability of everyone and to put out any pertinent information that is necessary to soldiers. Without accountability formation, it would be difficult for the command to fully brief soldiers about the days activities or important information. Accountability makes responsibility meaningful and completes the process of delegation. Responsibility is stated in terms of work to be done, while accountability is stated in terms of performance. Authority is delegated, responsibility is assumed and accountability is imposed. Authority flows downward while accountability for performance flows upward. Authority means some autonomy while accountability is meant to regulate autonomy. Which means that as long as soldiers take account of themselves,...
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