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.
During the transition from the 2ndMarDiv Infantry Training Company to MCB Infantry Training School in the Fall of 1979, the two most instrumental SNCO’s in the implementation and early success of that mission, were Master Gunnery Sargents Horsely and Steadham. They had the combat experince of in the case of Master Gunnery Sargent Horsely, Korea and Vietnam and in the case of Cliff Steadham two tours in Vietnam to include the Battle at Khe Sanh. They had been on embassy duty, Steadham was NCOIC of the Paris Embassy which is no small chore at best, and was there when they suffered a catastrophic fire and one Marine died. As a young 0302 straight away from being a Platoon Commander in 3/2, the school environment and the transition to MCB Camp LeJeune felt daunting. As “Chief Weapons Instructor” the T/O of SNCO’s and NCO’s was to say the least, fulsome. Those two Marines had everyone gently by the neck, and their guidance and support of a young officer is still with that man today. It could have gone a lot of ways, but they were two legs of a three legged stool. It is worth noting that the third leg was Colonel Joe Goodwin, who provided senior officer guidence and as he would note “gave me enough rope to hang myself early and often” but he was always there along with Steadham and Horsely to keep me from falling through the trap door of the gallows. One could not ask for a better set of mentors in a critical phase of development in a young officer’s career. All to the point that it takes great Senior leadership period, whether officer or enlisted to care for the warfare of their Marines. It is disappointing to date to see a lack of honest and meaningful leadership at the highest level of the Corps. Not naming any names but the oldest standing structure in Washington, DC is missing some leadership bricks at the moment. We lead from the front or whether we can best control the movement and or maneuver of the formation employed. We are unique in pushing leadership down to the smallest unit level and of course it pays dividends. One can think of nothing more dangerous or interesting than to follow on foot a Marine Rifle Squad led by a young E5 with enough experince to be left on his own. Bing West has written about just this experince and no sense to step on great writing, but needless to say it would be great to be a ghost following in trace. Something about Gung Ho always rings true.
Two my mentors early in my career (Cpl) were GySgt OK Martin and GySgt Westly L Fox ( later Col Fox and MOH ), needless to say, these two MARINES left a lasting mark on me. You don't get them any better that
Sage words and counsel for all of us to live by, Gen Zinni. What you laid out sir, is what I have lived by as a professional, and as a citizen, husband and father.
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.
NCOs and SNCOs are the backbone of our Corps... LCPLs and PFCs are the "heart and soul" of our beloved Corps!
During the transition from the 2ndMarDiv Infantry Training Company to MCB Infantry Training School in the Fall of 1979, the two most instrumental SNCO’s in the implementation and early success of that mission, were Master Gunnery Sargents Horsely and Steadham. They had the combat experince of in the case of Master Gunnery Sargent Horsely, Korea and Vietnam and in the case of Cliff Steadham two tours in Vietnam to include the Battle at Khe Sanh. They had been on embassy duty, Steadham was NCOIC of the Paris Embassy which is no small chore at best, and was there when they suffered a catastrophic fire and one Marine died. As a young 0302 straight away from being a Platoon Commander in 3/2, the school environment and the transition to MCB Camp LeJeune felt daunting. As “Chief Weapons Instructor” the T/O of SNCO’s and NCO’s was to say the least, fulsome. Those two Marines had everyone gently by the neck, and their guidance and support of a young officer is still with that man today. It could have gone a lot of ways, but they were two legs of a three legged stool. It is worth noting that the third leg was Colonel Joe Goodwin, who provided senior officer guidence and as he would note “gave me enough rope to hang myself early and often” but he was always there along with Steadham and Horsely to keep me from falling through the trap door of the gallows. One could not ask for a better set of mentors in a critical phase of development in a young officer’s career. All to the point that it takes great Senior leadership period, whether officer or enlisted to care for the warfare of their Marines. It is disappointing to date to see a lack of honest and meaningful leadership at the highest level of the Corps. Not naming any names but the oldest standing structure in Washington, DC is missing some leadership bricks at the moment. We lead from the front or whether we can best control the movement and or maneuver of the formation employed. We are unique in pushing leadership down to the smallest unit level and of course it pays dividends. One can think of nothing more dangerous or interesting than to follow on foot a Marine Rifle Squad led by a young E5 with enough experince to be left on his own. Bing West has written about just this experince and no sense to step on great writing, but needless to say it would be great to be a ghost following in trace. Something about Gung Ho always rings true.
Two my mentors early in my career (Cpl) were GySgt OK Martin and GySgt Westly L Fox ( later Col Fox and MOH ), needless to say, these two MARINES left a lasting mark on me. You don't get them any better that
Sage words and counsel for all of us to live by, Gen Zinni. What you laid out sir, is what I have lived by as a professional, and as a citizen, husband and father.