Great post, Eden. As the O-est ORF, I agree...
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...I think this improvement was partly due to improved enlistment standards during the Reagan years and an improved NCOES. We were getting better material and it showed. When I went back to troops as S-3, XO, Bn commander 1996-2002, I still thought highly of the NCO corps, but I did note some disturbing developments.
Yep, the army owes Shy Meyer a lot for the changed focus in recruiting. I also noted the downturn in the mid and late 90s and agree with all your reasons that occurred.
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NCOs are no longer fathers, big brothers, and priests; they are referral agencies, and both they and their soldiers are the poorer for it.
Amen!
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Personally, I have never met a sergeant major at the brigade level or higher who added value to his unit.
Having been both a Brigade CSM and a Brigade Ops Sgt, I can truthfully say I had more power to do good as the latter. Brigade and higher CSMs mostly have negative power. I have known a few who did some really good things (I wasn't one of 'em) but for the majority, I'm inclined to agree with your assessment. It's too personality dependent.
What CSMs exist for at those levels is to keep their Boss out of trouble on people (and unit) handling. Too many today seem to be too sycophantic to tell their boss what's right instead of what he wants to hear. I've been out of that loop for a while but visits to my kids when all three Boys were in and to the one still in seem to indicate that's still a problem.
Absolutely agree with your take on who's supposed to be training who and Sergeant's Time. What a yo-yo idea...
You answered your own questions...
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Originally Posted by
Ranger94
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How does he know this? Was it his own character? Was it training? Did his Lt give him that detailed a mission statement (task and purpose)?
In the article about the captains, Capt. Gilbert "ordered traffic control barriers....checked on refurbished water pumps...approved money...soccer uniforms..dropped off..."etc. At any given point he must have left an NCO in charge as he moved on to the next task. Did that NCO understand that a secure TCP could deteriorate to the point were his tactical decision could have strategic implications. If he did know, then how?
Hernanadez knew because he learned due to not being mishandled as you say in the next quote; Gilbert's NCO knew for the same reason.
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"Be prepared to delegate to the point of discomfort.” Micromanagement is not really an option in COIN, is it?
Only if the boss is stupid...
Then you can be guaranteed that Hernandez and the other guy won't know...
Eden - target cease fire!
You nailed the essence of NCO/junior officer relations in the transitioning H/J series army. As a young cav platoon leader in the mid-80s my junior NCOs were sharper than my platoon sergeant. He was a good guy - had the cleanest vehicles on post - but he was functionally illiterate and tactically deficient. My E5s and I just worked around him in a strange but effective manner. Those junior NCOs were platoon sergeants by the First Gulf War and were magnificent, sharper than anything but the most seasoned platoon leaders.
It all comes down to the quality of the incoming soldier and the experiences, mentoring, and responsibility they receive early in their careers. OIF and related operations would seem to provide tremendous opportunity for junior NCOs to exercise leadership and independence far beyond any garrison/NTC rotation reality that existed in the peacetime force. The danger of course is burning out these young warriors and losing them. Or losing them.
As for "Sergeant's Time," I'm just gonna let that old battle die...
Master Gunner? Training for Canadian Army Trophy we executed an abbreviated MG course taught by a mobile training team from Knox. I wondered then why this was not an automatic part of the armor/cav NCOES, a requirement for staff sergeant. The guys who had been to MG school acted like they some dark secret that only they could harness and control. I always just figured they liked being in the warm tower during winter gunnery rather than risk being on a track with a busted heater.
An expert on the British Empire
Taken from an article in The Times (UK) today commenting upon the situation in Basra, Iraq by Professor Michael Clarke: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/com...cle3646296.ece
After the disastrous loss of the American colonies Britain built its empire, and its Commonwealth, on setting the rules, deploying few forces of its own and chancing its arm that it could keep order everywhere in a territory by demonstrating that it could keep order anywhere. It could do this only by having real influence at the political centre.
davidbfpo