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Author: Dan Elder

Dan is a leadership coach, management consultant, and change agent who has mentored hundreds of leaders at all levels. A retired Command Sergeant Major with more than 26-years serving soldiers and their families, he has deployments to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iraq. Dan's culminating assignment was as the senior enlisted advisor of a major Army Command (USAMC) and as the Army's senior enlisted sustainer. He served on the Sergeant Major of the Army's Board of Directors and is author, editor or advisor to a number of soldier-related books and articles. Working as an independent consultant and small-business owner in Killeen TX, Dan continues to serve soldiers as a Blogger, Podcaster and Speaker. He was selected as the first enlisted Senior Fellow for the Association of the United States Army and was inducted to the US Army Sergeants Major Academy Wall of Fame, and the US Army Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame

The Case for an Enlisted Leadership University

Dan Elder
The Case for an Enlisted Leadership University
Has the time come to retitle a revered institution with a name that more accurately reflects the breath and scope of what is going on at the Sergeants Major Academy? The US Army Sergeants Major Academy (USASMA) was established by General Order 98 in July 1972 and began educating selected noncommissioned officers in January 1973. According to their first Command Sergeant Major... Read More

How to be promoted to Sergeant without even Trying

Dan Elder
How to be promoted to Sergeant without even Trying
Promoted To Sergeant Without Trying Imagine my surprise when I read that even without going before a promotion board and without the recommendation of a commander or a board of senior noncommissioned officers that a soldier can be promoted to the rank of Sergeant. No wonder that some think the noncommissioned officer corps is not professional,  the bean counters strike... Read More

Tolerating the shift in where Soldiers listen

Dan Elder
Tolerating the shift in where Soldiers listen
Where Soldiers Listen Like all new roll-outs it is about getting your branding right, and this blog is no different. Though we have been around for a couple of years due to the new direction I am taking in my communication efforts, my project here requires a make-over. That, and the podcast effort is going to be somewhat revolutionary, but... Read More

You are a Command Sergeant Major, together we are Command Sergeants Major

Dan Elder
You are a Command Sergeant Major, together we are Command Sergeants Major
Together we are Command Sergeants Major I got a frantic text from a former soldier who is working for the Army and her boss, an Army Veteran, directed that she was to brief a senior sergeant major and he was demanding that she address him as “command sergeants major.” She was contacting me to make sure she wasn’t crazy and... Read More

Retirees to lose AKO. Did you use it, will you miss it, or do you care?

Dan Elder
Retirees to lose AKO. Did you use it, will you miss it, or do you care?
Retirees to lose AKO In the last edition of Army Echoes, it was announced that the Secretary of the Army directed a significant change to Army Knowledge Online (AKO), as HQDA moves toward “the information foundation of Army 2020.” The article explained that among the key components of this transformation will be that military retirees, family members and Army civilian... Read More

The Lost Art of Garrison Maintenance

Dan Elder
The Lost Art of Garrison Maintenance
Garrison Maintenance After more than 11 years of continuous conflict, today’s Army leaders recognize the need for a back-to-basics effort to re-establish doctrinal practices to regain logistical technical expertise. With the drawdown in Afghanistan and renewed fiscal constraints, now it the time to seize this initiative to adjust the Army’s azimuth. The changing nature of a modular force has contributed to decline in the... Read More

Are Noncommissioned Officers Professional?

Dan Elder
Are Noncommissioned Officers Professional?
This is in response to the Joint Forces Quarterly article Who Is a Member of the Military Profession? by COL Matthew Moten Are Noncommissioned Officers Professional? In “Who Is a Member of the Military Profession?” (JFQ 62, 3d Quarter 2011), Colonel Matthew Moten, USA, brings up some valuable points in his discussion of the professionalization of career enlisted Servicemembers, but it would be useful... Read More