HTraining and Educating the Non-Commissioned Officer
Abstract
Soldiers of the American Army, until that point, were trained by commissioned officers. Training lacked emphasis on discipline, a decentralized form of leadership, and other necessary components that would eventually become tenets of the non-commissioned officer (NCO) Corp. The training that took place in the austere environment of Valley Forge, was arguably a for-shadowing and precedent to the on-going need the Army would have to train and educate leaders. History reveals the genesis, of training NCO's to be effective and adaptive leaders, is the work of a former Prussian infantry officer Baron Von Stueben. Von Steuben, who had accepted a commission under General George Washingtons command, established the NCO Corp. Leaders were trained, at that time, in European tactics that were necessary to defeat the King's Army and render independence to a nation that was on the verge of establishing a constitutional framework and representative form of government. (Cox, 1995) The NCO Corp has been evolving since the early days of our nation's birth and adapting to the requirements that both war and peacekeeping missions demand of soldiers and leaders. In essence, today's Army and the NCO Corp, must be trained and ready for "full spectrum, capabilities based operations, for deployments and mission" around the world.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- AD1117269
Entities
People
- Stephen P. Carroll
Organizations
- United States Army Sergeants Major Academy