Compass Points - Great NCOs
It takes enlisted leaders.
Compass Points - Great NCOs
It takes enlisted leaders.
September 20, 2024
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Military officers try to do the right thing. Military officers try to lead in the right direction. But sometimes, despite all best intentions, officers lead in the wrong direction. No doubt there were good intentions at the beginning of the Marine Corps' controversial Force Design 2030. Years have gone by now and the defects of Force Design have become more glaring and more grievous. Yet for all the damage done, there is something at the heart of the Marine Corps that remains forever strong.
What keeps the Marine Corps strong?
Writing in the Washington Post, Garrett Graff reveals, "The U.S. Military’s True Advantage Against Any Adversary."
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Go anywhere in the world and the officer corps of nearly every nation’s military looks, at first glance, similar to our own — elite, disciplined and well-educated.
But peer for a moment at another country’s enlisted forces, U.S. military leaders say, and you will see by comparison the real source of America’s strength. That’s because the United States trains and empowers its mid- and lower-ranking forces, and particularly its noncommissioned officers, very differently from other countries. The United States invests unusual authority into its NCOs, the enlisted men and women who provide the day-to-day leadership of smaller units across the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Space Corps. “The NCO also remains our true source of competitive advantage against any adversary,” said Michael Weimer, the sergeant major of the Army.
-- Garrett Graff
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Graff may be correct that the NCOs and SNCOs of every US military service are special, but the young enlisted Marine leaders are the best of the best. Author Thomas E. Ricks, some years ago, wrote a powerful book, Making the Corps, about Marine boot camp because he was so curious about how ordinary young men were turned into battlefield warriors and leaders.
More recently, Captain Michael A. Hanson has written:
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I believe in our noncommissioned officers (NCOs). I know what they are capable of because I have seen it firsthand, time and again. As a young Marine, I spent my formative years in the counterinsurgency phase of the Iraq War. This was an era of distributed and decentralized operations in which infantry squads were the primary unit of action. These squads, led by sergeants, corporals, and, at times, savvy lance corporals routinely engaged in firefights with enemy forces, located improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and weapons caches, were hit by IEDs, and evacuated wounded Marines. They did these things with skill and daring, and their performance in this war shines brightly in the history of the Marine Corps. NCOs truly are the backbone of the Marine Corps and they were our center of gravity in the Iraq and Afghan campaigns.
-- Captain Michael A. Hanson, USMC
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One of the best things ever written on the importance of Marine Corps enlisted leaders was written some years ago by a young Marine Colonel, then the C.O. of 9th Marines. His words are quoted in full below. Compass Points thanks the former C.O. of 9th Marines for permission to republish his words, and thanks all the Marine enlisted leaders past, present, and future who do so much every day to keep the Marine Corps moving forward.
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From: Commanding Officer 9th Marines
To: All Officers and Staff Non-Commissioned Officers
Subj: THE STAFF NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER
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I have been fortunate in the 24 years that I have been a Marine Officer to always have had a high quality Staff NCO at my side. From the time I joined my first rifle platoon in 1965 to my current position as a regimental commander, a Staff NCO has been there to advise me, to teach me, to motivate and encourage me, to assure I provide the very best leadership to our unit, and to guarantee things were properly done according to the spirit and intent of the directions I gave or received.
The value of the Staff NCO, for me, has been the experience, knowledge and example he brings to the unit. He has been there. He has successfully come up through the ranks. He knows how to best translate orders and directions into efficient and effective action by Marines. The traditional view that the Staff NCO is the backbone of the Corps is absolutely correct. The image of the Corps is embodied by the Dalys’, Quicks’, Basilones’ and other legendary SNCO’s of our past. These were men whose courage and expertise-built confidence and esprit along the chain of command from above and below. They made things happen on the battlefield and in garrison. Staff NCO’s enforce the standards, be it in combat or in peace time. They are the conscience of the unit and the keeper of those high, tough standards that separate the Corps from other military organizations.
The mission of the Staff NCO’s is not only to make better Marines but also to help make better officers. I would not wear the grade Insignia I do now if it were not for the Staff NCOs that I have been blessed to serve with. Long ago some wise man knew that the experience and proven performance of a senior enlisted man when combined with the education and training of an officer made an unbeatable team. Together they form and lead the ideal military units. The key is that we ensure each of these leaders possesses and maintains the skills and character required of their grade and that the relationship they developed is built on trust, mutual respect, and a clear goal to accomplish the mission of the unit while tending to the welfare of their men.
With few exceptions, a unit that fails or does not live up to our expectations will have as its root cause for its problems the lack of this quality team. An officer cannot do a Staff NCO’s job and he should not try to. A Staff NCO cannot back off from his responsibilities and get by with minimal or marginal performance without the unit suffering. The Corps has always possessed the lowest ratio of officers to enlisted of any service, yet we have maintained standards of discipline and combat performance unsurpassed by any military force in history. Why? It is because our Staff NCO’s have been strong enough and trusted enough to carry the load without an officer in every leadership spot.
The primary role of a Staff NCO is to develop the individual Marines and Sailors in his unit into the very best. The primary role of the officer is to develop the unit into a team that functions together as the very best military organization. They work together toward the same objective with the Staff NCO always prepared to assume the role of the unit leader in the absence of the officer. Each of them should keep the other informed. Each should seek advice from the other. Each should feel confident enough to express his views in a professional, respectful manner. Each should understand the responsibilities of the other and not try to do his job or interfere, micromanage, or criticize -- publicly or privately.
What follows is some advice on making this all work. Seek the advice and counsel of the other senior officers and Staff NCO’s who seem to have a working team going for them. This is especially important for newly commissioned officers and newly promoted Staff NCO’s. Always attempt to have things handled at the lowest possible level in the leadership chain that can appropriately and effectively handle it. Supervise and inspect but don't do the job for subordinates. There will be mistakes, but we learn from mistakes and leaders can be in a position to help subordinates without getting in their way or frustrating their attempts to learn how to lead.
Sometimes personalities will conflict. The best thing to remember if this happens is to keep the relationship on a professional level and keep the welfare of the unit and the men your first priority. Don't focus on the personal side of the issues and avoid confrontations. Remember the junior man must always make the adjustment - someone may be doing the same for you that is junior.
The key point to remember is that the officer and the Staff NCO are a team. They bring different backgrounds with them to their leadership positions but there is good reason for that. No unit will succeed if this team doesn't work well together. I wouldn’t trade what I have been given by the Staff NCO’s I have known in the Corps for anything. To me they are the Corps.
Semper Fi,
A. C. Zinni
Colonel USMC
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Washington Post - 09/19/2024
The U.S. Military’s True Advantage Against Any Adversary
It’s the NCOs who set the U.S. military apart from the rest of the world.
By Garrett M. Graff
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/09/19/army-navy-airforce-marines-leaders-ncos-pentagon/
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USNI Proceedings - April 2022, Vol. 148/4/1,430
NCOs: The Missing Link
By Captain Michael A. Hanson, U.S. Marine Corps
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2022/april/ncos-missing-link
I concur with these comments to a point. The professional NCOs and SNCOs as well as the Petty Officers and Chiefs are absolutely critical in the proper functioning of the US military and how we are structured. Oddly enough the very senior officers who praise the skills and independence of these enlisted men are those who hamstring them and junior officers with layers of red tape, micromanagement and trivial garbage. There is no mention of the Warrant Officers? Why?
From 1995-98 I was the Head NATO PFP Exercise and became intimately familiar with the NCO and Senior NCOs of our NATO partners and the vast effort we and they put into developing the NCO and Senior NCOs of the former Warsaw Pact nations. I would say that the NCOs of the UK, France, Germany and a number of other nations were simply superb. They, for the most part did not have a draconian up or out system and developed a superb structure at the tactical level. The Eastern Europeans were observant and eager to learn but had not matured their NCO’s and Senior NCOs to western or US standards. In my opinion the Poles and Czechs were the fastest learners. It takes generations to build professional NCO and senior NCO’s.
I think it is important to differentiate between the professional SNCO Corps and the proliferation of “ Senior Enlisted Advisors” to the most senior commanders over the last 20-25 years. The roles are radically different. The later are not experts across every specialty, from the tactical through strategic spectrum. Their roles have expanded beyond being advisors to Senior Commanders on enlisted matters and have come, depending on the Commander, to being elevated to the role of Co-Commander or military savant on every subject under the sun. The expectations border on the mythical. Some begin to think they are commanders and undermine the very chain of command they are not in. Some take their protocol position to unintended levels. The best ones are invaluable to their boss and represent a value added that is remarkable. Others become a detriment.
DoD would do well to increase the responsibilities of Senior NCOs and Warrant Officers. I would say the same of officers by reducing micro management. DoD should also consider the proper roles and billet descriptions for the Senior Enlisted Advisors to our most senior Flag Officers. That development has been both very positive and detrimental at the same time.
Nope. It takes principled and competent officers to have a coherent plan and objectives that preserve life and allow the NCO autonomy in the accomplishment of tasks.