The American Noncommissioned Officer: 1775-1865
Abstract
In their 225 year history the United States Armys Non-commissioned Officer (NCO) Corp have established themselves as technical experts, small unit leaders, trainers and the guardians of Army standards. It is hard to draw a comparison between the NCOs of today and the NCOs ofthis formative time in our nations history. The NCOs of this time drew most of their traditions and organizational structure from the old world European armies. The American NCO had a fusion of traditions to draw from. Depending on his unit of assignment and his background there was a large mix of Prussian, French, and British army NCO traditions as well as duties and responsibilities. In this European army model the NCOs mostly served as the go between between the officers and the lower; usually conscript enlisted men. The officers of the time were almost always from large aristocratic families; royalty so to speak, and never associated with the common men. The NCOs were from upper-class families but not royalty and; therefore, served as the perfect way to bridge the gap. Under this European model the NCO had little to no authority and the pinnacle of his duties was maintaining the fire discipline of his squad. It was not until Inspector General Friedrich von Steuben first standardized the NCOs duties and responsibilities at Valley Forge; during the American Revolution, with his publication of the Blue Book that NCOs began to increase in importance. The Blue Book described and standardized the rank structure and duties and responsibilities of corporals, sergeants, first sergeants, sergeants majors and quartermaster sergeants.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- AD1127353
Entities
People
- Jeffrey A. Thurow
Organizations
- United States Army Sergeants Major Academy