History of the NCO Corps Outline

I. Introduction A. Greeting to CSM Schwind, senior and junior NCOs B. This is an UNCLASSIFIED information briefing C. This is to give you a view of how the NCO corps started and its history between 1945 and present D. I will be mainly covering the areas of discipline, training, duty and heroes E. References I used; The Story of the Noncommissioned Officer Corps, Guardians of the Republic, FM 7-22.7 The Army Noncommissioned Officer Guide and the internet F. My research consisted of purchasing books on line, checking out books from the library and research on line II. Body A. Background 1. Definition of war and why it happens 2. Romans first use of NCOs 3. The adoption of the NCO corps into the Continental Army 4. The recruiting of Baron Friedrich von Steuben and his training at Valley Forge B. Discipline 1. Turmoil in the Army 1945-1948 a. Drop of strength b. Introduction of the “New Army” c. 1948 passing of the Doolittle Board of 1945-46 d. Congress replaced the Articles of War with the UCMJ 2. North Korea invasion of South Korea 3. North Vietnam invasion of South Vietnam a. Drug and racial problems 4. Post Vietnam to present a. rewriting of AR 600-20 and FM-22-600-20 C. Training 1. Primary mission of the NCO is to train his soldiers. Training soldiers is never done 2. 1947 Army established the NCOES system 3. Three levels of training D. Duty 1. Seasoned WWII NCOs step up and take charge during Korean War 2. Technical skills bring new ranks (1955-1985) 3. No front lines during the Vietnam. Terrain and thick over head cover force the use of small sized units 4. Over the past twenty years NCOs have perform duties around the world E. Heroes 1. SFC Paul R. Smith. Awarded the Medial of Honor during OIF I with 3rd ID III. Closure A. Questions B. Closing comments

History of the NCO Corps NCOs in the American Army (1945-Present)

Background: War and conflict have shaped human civilization. Webster’s American Dictionary defines war as “armed conflict between nations or fractions within a nation”. The purpose for war is to enable a ruler or group to gain profit, land, power, or to protect the interest of its own country. Without war or conflict, we would not need a military. Throughout history, no ruler or country ever dominated or controlled the known world of its time as the Roman Empire did for three centuries. The introduction of the first NCO Corps dates back to the building of Roman

Empire. Soldiers were broke down into groups of ten men with an assigned NCO per group.

The NCOs responsibility was to provide discipline, follow orders, and maintain organization for his group on and off the battlefield.

Noncommissioned Officers (NCOs) have proven to be a vital part of the United States

Army. The first paragraph from the Creed of the Noncommissioned Officer states, “I realize that

I am a member of a time-honored corps, which is known as the Backbone of the Army”. In the past 231 years, the NCO corps ability to adapt, grow, and validate the Army Values is how the

NCO Corps became the time-honored, backbone of the Army. At the start of the American

Revolution, a skirmish between colonist and British troops at Lexington and Concord created the need to establish a combined fighting force. June 1775 the Continental Congress assumed responsibility for ten rifle companies from New England and New York colonies. These ten companies were the beginning of the Continental Army, and later became the United States

Army. The adoption of the NCO Corps came with the origination of the Continental Army. The first three years of the Continental Army proved a trying time for General Washington. The lack of set standards for the care, discipline, and training for Soldiers created a weak and unorganized

Army.

While in Paris in 1777, Benjamin Franklin recruited a Prussian Captain by the name of

Baron Friedrich von Steuben. Franklin knew that General Washington would not accept a mere

Captain, so in a letter to General Washington Franklin endorsed von Steuben as a LT General.

In February 1778, Congress accepted von Steuben and assigned him the position of Inspector

General at Valley Forge under the command of General Washington. General von Steuben’s prior experience with the Prussian Army proved to be an asset toward the building of the NCO

Corps.

Under von Steuben’s instructions, one-hundred hand picked men assembled at Valley

Forge to create von Steuben’s “model company”. This company was broken down into small groups and received instruction on discipline, manual of arms, firing drills, and close order drills with the ability to train other Soldiers. His harsh and strict method of instruction instilled a discipline that the Army lacked. Upon completion of their training, they were assigned into each brigade to teach the soldiers everything they learned while at Valley Forge under General von

Steuben. This method of training along with standards and discipline proved to be instrumental for the Continental Army’s ability to defeat the British. General von Steuben later wrote the first manuals of military training and procedures, Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the

Troops of the United States (most commonly known as the “blue book”). Some of these regulations for drill and ceremony are still around today.

Discipline:

Discipline is the foundation to the building of a strong and organized military. After

WWII to the Korean War, the Army had a lot of turmoil. Between 1945 to mid-1948, the Army’s strength dropped from 4,230,000 to 575,000 Soldiers. The military draft expired in1947

at the introduction of the “New Army”. Trying to draw in volunteer recruits, the Army relaxed

its training standards; subsequently emphasized more on athletics, education, and learning a

trade. In 1948, the passing of the Doolittle Board of 1945-46 authorized reducing the authority

of company officers and NCOs and in 1950; Congress replaced the stern Articles of War with the

more liberal Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

The Communist invasion of South Korea during 1950 caught the Army off guard and

unprepared for war. Evidence of the “New Army” and the “Doolittle Board” haunted the Army because it created an organization weak of discipline and poorly trained Soldiers’ soft in body and mind from easy living habits. Having poor equipment and lack of discipline led to Soldiers abandoning their weapons and wounded fellow Soldiers during the heat of battle.

During the mid 60s and early 70s, investigations showed that drug abuse and racial problems plagued the war zone of Vietnam. These problems were not so much with the front line infantry units because they policed up their own, but with rear units of battalion size and larger. NCOs along with company grade officers believed that the judicial system collapsed because of the Doolittle reforms and was unresponsive to their needs to separate any undesirable

Soldiers. This lead to threats and beatings to go unreported for fear that they may be next.

With the post Vietnam War, came the end of the draft and the start of an all-volunteer

Army emerging. For some senior NCOs the adjustment from wartime to a peacetime environment proved to be challenging. The rewriting of AR 600-20 the Army Command Policy dated 20 December 1976 and FM-22-600-20 expanded and formalized the channel between officers and noncommissioned officers, and established command policies and directives. These two new documents gave an improved authority and clearer perspective for the NCO as a leader. Today’s NCOs demand discipline from their Soldiers; there are too many lives at stake

with today’s contemporary operating environment. NCOs must train and retrain their Soldiers to

the standards until it becomes habit. Today’s senior NCOs must also ensure that the junior NCOs

under them understand the need for not only accountability of their Soldiers; but also, for the

serviceability and accountability of their equipment.

Training:

The primary mission of NCOs of the past and present is to train Soldiers to military

standards. The training may be on new weapons or weapon systems, Soldier skills, Military

Occupational Specialty (MOS) skills, primary marksmanship instruction (PMI), and even drivers

training. No matter the training a Soldiers training is never done. The training the NCO

provides to his Soldiers is the most current information possible; therefore, it is essential that

NCOs keep themselves as up to date as possible. NCOs need training to stay proficient and

abreast of any changes. In 1947, the Army established the Noncommissioned Officer Education

System (NCOES); the first school being the Second Constabulary Brigade NCO School in

Munich Germany. Eight years later, the Army published standards for the NCO academies.

After the Vietnam War, the Army began to transform the NCOES program into what we have today. These schools are required for promotion, and present the tools and techniques needed for

NCOs to be successful at the next NCO rank.

Today’s NCOs need to make sure that they are training at three levels all the time; one training the Soldiers below them, two training to maintain the skill level they are presently at,

and three training up for the next higher level. Senior NCOs are essential in providing

mentorship and training to junior NCOs.

Duty:

After WWII and the downsizing of the Army, there remained a few war seasoned NCOs.

During the onset of the Korean War, these NCOs in the absence of commanding officers took the initiative to lead Soldiers in combat. Over time, these NCOs instilled discipline and confidence into their young Soldiers; they also mentored the junior NCOs into strong young leaders who were not afraid to take charge and lead when needed. This type of initiative and leadership is what it took to fight off the Communist North Koreans.

In the late 40s and early 50s, the Army had a growing problem with that Soldiers acquired high technical skills. The Army could not afford to loose these Soldiers to the corporate competition outside the Army. The problem was that some NCOs progression up the NCO ranks was to increase their pay for their technical skill and not for their leadership ability, thus labeled as poor NCOs. In 1955, the Army introduced a new rank structure parallel in pay to the NCO pay scale. This new rank has no leadership responsibilities, its design to offset the pay for the technically skilled Soldiers. Its rank would range from Specialist Third Class (Spc) E-4

equivalent to a corporal all the way up to Spc 9 equivalent to E-9 Sergeant Major. This rank

structure seemed worthy but with the NCOES program expanding and instructing both common

corps skills and MOS specific skills, the Army decided in 1985 to discontinue this rank structure with the exception of Spc E-4, which is still present to this day. This confirms the need for

NCOs to be both technically and tactically proficient.

The Vietnam War was a war with no front lines and an uncertainty of who the enemy

was. Vietnam’s land surface included dense jungle with heavy overhead cover, large hill masses

and many rivers and streams, which made it almost impossible for an infantry company to

maneuver through. Terrain dictated size, patrols of platoon size and sometimes even as small as squad size proved to be more effective. Other missions would include constructing listening and observation posts, set ambushes, search, and destroy missions and searching for intelligence.

These kinds of missions with small sized elements of put the NCOs in position to carry a major share of the leadership responsibility. Squad leaders during this war along with their radiotelephone operator (RTO) had the ability to request if available: artillery, armed helicopters, tactical air strikes, and prompt medical attention. A squad leader had more firepower under his control than an entire platoon did during WWII.

Over the past twenty years, the duty of the modern NCO has not changed, but it has become more realistic. The turmoil of the world has put the United States Army all over the world. Be it in Grenada, Panama, the Gulf War, Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and now Iraq.

NCOs today must ensure their Soldiers have the proper equipment, training, and that they have the correct mindset to deploy at any time on a shot notice.

Heroes:

When we look at heroes between the Korean War and present there are so many that deserve recognition. After reading SFC Paul R. Smith’s past service history and Medal of Honor citation, I believe this NCO to be a hero. SFC Smith lived and lead by the Warrior Ethos that we have today. He served 14 years in the Army with deployments to the Gulf War, Bosnia-

Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Operation Iraqi Freedom I. He lived to lead and care for his Soldiers, he wrote in a letter to his parents “how proud he was of the privilege to be given 25 of the finest

Americans call Soldiers to lead into war”.

On April 4, 2003, stationed near Baghdad International Airport SFC Smith and the Task

Force assigned to occupy, and construct a prisoner of war holding area. The area selected was an existing courtyard with concrete walls and towers already in place. SFC Smith then punched a hole in one of the walls for a larger gate. This is when SFC Smith initially identified an enemy

force of five to ten armed Iraqi Soldiers outside of the rear gate area; he then set up a defensive

skirmish line at the rear gate. At this time, SFC Smith realized that this was not a small force but

one of company size of about 100 Soldiers armed with machine guns, RPGs and 60mm mortars.

Upon seeing this, he organized a defensive position by bringing in a Bradley to the rear gate and emplaced three armored personal carriers (APC) armed with 50 cal. machineguns at the hole in

the wall and the surrounding guard towers. He took two Soldiers with him to the rear gate area

and directed small arms fire, while throwing grenades and firing an AT-4 at the enemy. SFC

Smith then called for one of the APCs to move forward and provide more fire support.

Running low on ammunition, the Bradley pulled out to the front to reload. This is when

APC by the rear gate receive a direct hit form a mortar, wounding three Soldiers. SFC Smith

then directed one of his Soldiers to back the damaged APC back into the courtyard along with

wounded and to have them evacuated out for treatment. SFC Smith then realized that the

mounted 50 cal. machinegun was the largest weapon he had between the enemy and his Soldiers.

SFC Smith then assumed the tank commander’s position behind the 50 cal. and proceeded to

open fire on the advancing enemy. SFC Smith expended at least three boxes of ammunition

before enemy fire fatally wounded him.

SFC Smith’s experience and training proved to be essential for this Task Force to hold

down and defend this area against a larger and well-armed enemy force. SFC Smith’s ability to

set-up a defensive positions, direct fire, and engage enemy at the decisive point to be victorious.

Conclusion:

Confusion and conflicts through out this period displays the NCO corps ability to adapt

and overcome any obstacles. Validating that the NCO corps is the backbone of the Army.

Works Cited

Elting, John R. American Army Life: New York: 1982.

Fischer, Arnold Jr. and Robert K. Wright, Jr. The Story of the Noncommissioned Officer

Corps: Washington, DC: Center of Military History United States Army, 1989.

Fisher, Ernest F. Jr. Guardians of the Republic: Mechanicsburg: 2001.

United States Headquarters Department of the Army. FM 7-22.7 The Army

Noncommissioned Officer Guide. Washington: GOP, 2002.

Boatner, Mark M. Who Served Here: 1966. Online. ushistory.org. Internet. 5 Jul 2006.

Available: ushistory.org/valleyforge/served/steuben.

US Army. Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith. 4 April 2004. Online. army.mil. Internet.

22 July 2006 Available: army.mil/medalofhonor/smith/profile/index.