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Student #556
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History of the NCO

The Educational History of the Noncommissioned Officer

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Student #556
L579, 01 Nov 05
History of the NCO
Draft Outline

1. Introduction

A. Educating Noncommissioned Officers chronological study webpage, A brief history of the

NCO, and A Short History of the NCO.

B. The NCO education system has progressed tremendously since its inception in the early
1800s. Today, the U.S. Army has an education system in place that is the envy of all
armies across the globe. But, our education system and NCOs took almost 2 centuries to
develop into what it is today.

II. Body

A. The U.S. Army NCO education system from inception through WWI

B. The U.S. Army NCO education system from WWI through the Vietnam era

C. The Present day NCO education system

III. Closing

A. In summary, I discussed the inception of the U.S . Army NCO education system from the
days of the Revolutionary War, to the official first NCO school derived in the Signal
Corps. I also discussed the NCO educational system during WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and
concluded with the present U.S. Army NCO education system which is used to train the
future leaders of this great army.

B. Are there any questions at this time on the U.S. Army NCO education system?

C. The education system and the NCO corps had a rough start in the U.S . Army. Although I
believe we are not quite there in regards to our education system, I believe we have the
best system in the world. Foreign armies are continuously learning from our NCO
education system to help improve their NCOs in order to develop them into what our
army has today.
 Since the inception of the United States Army, the NCO rank and structure has had

its turmoil. Movies always portray an officer as the one in charge and making all the

decisions. Unfortunately, this is a prominent perception in the minds of the American

people. Americans, who don't have any experience with the military, assume that the

officer makes all the decisions and is always out front leading soldiers. We, as NCOs,

know the real truth . But, it has taken over two hundred years to make the NCOs what

they are today. The reason they have progressed to leaders that they are today is mainly

due to the education system instituted for the NCO. But, the education system also took a

substantial amount of time to be what it is today. Below, I will discuss the history of the

NCO education system from its humble inception, through WWI, WWII, Vietnam, to the

present system.

In the beginning of the U.S . Army, officers of the revolution instituted and led the

entire soldier training to include the NCO. Officers taught everything from basic drill to

marksmanship training. It wasn't until Friedrich Von Steuben arrived to take over

training that the NCO received their first NCO education. The Baron used NCOs to give

the drill orders when training the soldiers. This impressed General Washington to the

extent that they continued this same system for both officers and NCOs (Elder 2).

After the Revolutionary War, the U.S . Army downsized and was reduced to state

militias. It wasn't until the mid eighteen hundreds that The U.S. Army instituted

additional training for NCOs which included reading, writing, math, and geography.

Around the same timeframe, Major General Silas attempted to establish formal training

for NCOs on the subject of tactics on the battlefield. His concept for training NCOs

came under a lot of protests from officers . The officers believed they knew their soldiers
 better than anyone and were better apt to train their soldiers. Maj . Gen. Silas was

overcome by the objections of his officers and decided not to institute further instruction

for the NCOs. Around this same time, the Signal Corp instituted the first official NCO

school. The Signal Corp instituted the Observer-Sergeant program that trained enlisted

soldiers how to perform observer duties in hot air balloons. The Soldier was taught

subjects on signaling, telegraph, and meteorology. After this six-month course, the

soldier was promoted to sergeant. Similar classes for NCOs started to appear around the

same time to include infantry, engineering, and Cavalry (Arms 4).

After the Civil War, NCO schools diminished in number. The U.S. army was again

reduced to a minimal number. With the onslaught ofVl WI, the U.S . Army massively

increased its nwnbers. Unfortunately, replacements were minimally trained and NCOs

received no additional instruction. NCOs were considered ill trained and unsophisticated

compared to allied NCOs (Elder 5). The only NCO training and education afforded to

NCOs was by unit officers if time afforded it. Due to the extremely high casualty rate

during WWI, General Pershing demanded that the Army take the responsibility to train

sergeants. The War department issued a directive that regiments identify, select, and

train a sufficient amount of new recruits as Noncommissioned officers. This action

served as a quick fix to the NCO deficiencies and initiated the NCO education system.

Again, after the war, the NCO education system was removed and the system went back

to square one (Arms 7).

Prior to WWII, regiments continued to "home grow" NCOs. The program varied by

regiment, and there was no set standard for instruction. NCOs were trained for combat,

but had little to no leadership training. This caused the NCO Corp experience to continue
 to decrease and their leadership skills were significantly diminished. Post war and

occupation duty emphasized the need for NCOs. Two schools were developed in Europe

to train the NCO. The first school was developed in Italy. The Lido Training Center

developed a six-week course of instruction to train NCOs on leadership, standards,

customs and courtesies, and other important NCO duties. The second school was the

United States Constabulary School located in Germany. This school taught similar

subjects, but also taught NCOs on arresting procedures and population control. In 1947,

a theater wide school was established in Sonthofen. This school established the same

NCO courses, but went a step further by teaching a Sergeants Major and First Sergeant

course. Additionally, the school covered subject in supply and administration. In 1949,

General Clark established the Armor School ' s Noncommissioned Officer Course. This

was the most demanding NCO course ever introduced, and provided over 4 months of

intense instruction. At the same time, General White dictated that that General Clark

established a NCO Academy. Gen. Clark developed a six-week course, which was named

the first official NCO academy and the birth of the educational system (Elder 11).

In 1957, a problem occurred within the NCO education structure. NCOs would

graduate from a course, get transferred, and have to complete the course over at a

different location. NCO academies had no set course of instruction, and varied from base

to base. That same year, The Department of the Army directed the publishing of a NCO

Academy regulation in order to standardize the schools. This was accomplished, and

several more NCO Academies appeared in Hawaii, Texas, and Korea. With the

regulation, NCO Academies were standardized and eliminated the need to attend the

course more than one time (Elder 12).

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 With the onslaught of the Vietnam War, a continued shortage of senior and junior

NCOs began to diminish. Based on the Officer Candidate Course, the Army decided to

implement a similar course of instruction to make NCOs. Enlistees were selected based

on test scores and leadership potential. After selection, Soldiers were sent to Fort

Benning for a twenty-one week NCO course. Upon completion, soldiers were promoted

to the rank of Sergeant, and honor graduates were promoted to Staff Sergeant. This

course developed problems between the traditional NCOs and the NCO school graduates.

The traditional NCO complained that the school graduates didn 't have the experience of a

traditional NCO, and the term "shake and bake" NCO became the normal terminology for

the graduates. This system was considered a failure in the Vietnam War, but it positively

affected the efforts of formal training for NCOs in the future (Elder 21).

With the need in place to formally train NCOs, the Chief of Staff instructed Sergeant

Major of the Army Wooldridge to conduct a study for a progressive program of

instruction for NCOs. With the study completed in 1969, the recommendation was made

for a three level NCO education program. The Basic course for Sergeants, the Advanced

course for mid-grade NCO, and the Senior course for senior NCOs. In 1970, a Basic

course pilot program was established, but the Senior course met with a lot of turmoil.

The generals were in debate for the need of a senior course. The debate was over the fact

that by the time NCOs were in the senior level, like generals, had no need for a course of

instruction. But in 1972, The Department of the Army authorized the United States

Army Sergeant Major Academy. The course was developed as a branch immaterial

course of instruction to prepare Master Sergeants for future duty as a Sergeant Major.

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This course was considered the "capstone of the Noncommissioned officer educational

system (Unknown 1).

The system in place today is the best NCO education system in the world. The Army

recently changed the Primary Leadership Development Course (PLDC) and renamed it

the Warrior Leader Course (WLC). The WLC instituted the development of the soldier

combat skills based off the lessons learned from Operation Enduring Freedom and

Operation Iraqi Freedom. Staff Sergeants (E-6) continue to progress to the Basic Non

Commissioned Course (BNCOC) to continue to strengthen their warrior skills and

receive additional Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) related instruction. At the

Sergeant First Class (E-7) rank, the NCO will attend the Advance Noncommissioned

Officer course (ANCOC) to prepare for the Platoon Sergeant and First Sergeants

positions. The capstone course continues to be the United States Army Sergeants Major

Academy (USASMA), which prepares the senior NCO for positions at the tactical and

strategic level. USASMA is currently 9 months long, but there are several options

presently being looked at to reduce the course to 6 months . The USASMA also provides

the senior NCO the opportunity to complete an advanced degree, which is extremely

important for the senior NCO professional development (Elder 19).

In summary, we as NCOs need to continue to push the effectiveness of the NCO

educational system. Any reduction of the system will accomplish nothing positive for the

NCO Corp. Today, there are decisions being made to further reduce the NCO education

requirements. We cannot let this happen. The NCO education is the cornerstone of the

NCO professional development. Any reductions in these requirements will reduce the

effectiveness of the NCO and bring the NCO Corp back to the Stone Age.

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• Elder, Daniel. Educating Noncomissioned Officers May 1999 . .
htlp :l/www.vbnhg.com!1dsBunker/ncoed.html

• Arms, L.R. "A Short History of the NCO." Command and General Staff College.
htlp :l/www-cgsc.army.millcarl/resources/csi/arms/arms.asp

• Unknown. "A Brief History of the NCO. " 5 October 2005. Army Study Guide.com
htlp:llwww.armystudyguide.com/content/amlY board study guide topics/nco histor
y/brief-history-of-the-nco.shtml