Army Archives — The NCO Guide

Noncommissioned Officer Guide, TC 7-22.7

October 20, 2021 TBS Web Design

Noncommissioned Officer Guide Training Circular (TC) 7-22.7 1 January 2020 This Department of the Army Training Circular (TC) is dedicated to the men and women of the U.S. Army NCO Corps, who have made the ultimate sacrifice and to NCOs presently serving in the Active Army, the Army National Guard, and the Army Reserve. The Soldiers will seek guidance, trust... Read More

NCO Lesson: Sam, You Made the Pants Too Short!

May 7, 2019February 10, 2020 Bob Dare

Lesson on Leadership “Oh it is great to have a Giant’s strength, but it is tyrannous to use it like a Giant” – Shakespeare (Measure for Measure) Serving as a Drill Sergeant was one of the most rewarding opportunities that I experienced in my 28 year Army career. It is one of the few jobs that... Read More

NCO 2020: Understanding the Lines of Effort

April 25, 2019May 2, 2019 Brian Lindsey

NCO 2020 Strategy The NCO 2020 Strategy was developed for many different reasons and the roles and responsibilities for Noncommissioned Officers have evolved significantly over the last few decades. NCOs in today’s environment have had to adjust in a deliberate and comprehensive approach. The days of not understanding your duties and responsibilities have been replaced with more stringent requirements at... Read More

Flexing your soft skills

April 2, 2018April 2, 2018 Dan Elder

Knowing your job and performing it to the best of your ability is important. It’s vital to ensuring you remain employed and a valuable member of a team. But these days knowing your job will only get you so far. You need more than that. In a workforce, and a military, that is constantly changing and adapting to new technology... Read More

The History of the Sergeant Major

March 12, 2018March 10, 2018 Dan Elder

This is from my monograph History of the Sergeant Major first published Jan 2, 1998, highlighted on the NCO History site. The history of the sergeant major extends back to the earliest days of the Army of the United States, but the role that we currently associate with the sergeant major of today is relatively young. Only through continued refinement of... Read More

Inconsistency of writing non-commissioned officer versus noncommissioned officer

February 6, 2018February 6, 2018 Dan Elder

Non-Commissioned Officer vs. Noncommissioned Officer To hyphenate, or not to hyphenate—that is the question at hand today. So there it is, you’re a noncommissioned officer, and now you have to write out your new job title. How do you write it? Is it noncommissioned officer or non-commissioned officer? Some might argue that it simply depends on who you ask. Other,... Read More

Thank You For Your Service: Respecting Those In Uniform, And The Entire Organization They Represent

January 24, 2018January 24, 2018 Dan Elder

DOD LGBT Pride Month event celebration cake. The celebration was held on the Pentagon Courtyard, June 8, 2016. The event is an opportunity for the entire DOD community to come together and celebrate the great diversity of the American people in a festive, affirming atmosphere. President Barack Obama signed a proclamation, May 31, 2016, designating June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual... Read More

Increased pay is vital to recruiting and troop retention

January 15, 2018January 16, 2018 Dan Elder

Increased pay is vital to recruiting and troop retention Employee retention is hard for any company. When even Forbes 500 companies spend time brainstorming ways to keep their best and brightest, it’s no surprise that the military could stand to do the same sort of soul-searching. Retaining military service members has its own brand of unique challenges, but, when... Read More

Does Holiday Exodus impact soldier training?

January 8, 2018 Dan Elder

Does Holiday Exodus impact soldier training? Another year has come and gone, sending us all back to schools, jobs, and obligations we’ve put off to be with family—or maybe binge watch our favorite TV show. Do you remember what you were doing that final day in the office of 2017? I know I don’t—except for maybe willing the time to... Read More

SMA William G. Bainbridge, In Memorium

November 29, 2016January 17, 2018 Dan Elder

It’s been 8-years since we lost a great soldier, this is the day of SMA #5 Bill Bainbridge’s passing. Enlisted in 1943, he was held as a POW in WWII, served in Vietnam, and was the first CSM of the newly formed Sergeants Major Academy. Married to Hazel for 63-years, he was laid to rest in Arlington on January 29,... Read More

The SMA office and position turned 50 this year…

November 6, 2016January 17, 2018 Dan Elder

…AND NO ONE NOTICED. FOR TODAY’S SOLDIERS, THE POSITION OF SERGEANT MAJOR OF THE ARMY APPEARS AS NATURAL AS A SQUAD LEADER. But 50 short years ago it was not so. It was on the Fourth of July 1966 that the Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Harold K. Johnson approved the establishment of the position of Sergeant Major... Read More

Historic First: A Medal for Sgt. William H. Carney

July 4, 2016January 17, 2018 Dan Elder

Sgt. William H. Carney Born in 1840 to a slave mother in Norfolk, Virginia, who was later freed upon her owner’s death in 1854, William H. Carney eventually settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts and prepared himself to enter the ministry. 8 In 1863 the Union Army began to organize colored units, and one of the first was the 54th Massachusetts... Read More

Short History of the Specialist Rank

June 16, 2016January 17, 2018 Dan Elder

When considering the discussion for reintroducing of senior specialist ranks to the US Army one must reflect on the trials and tribulations of the past. Here is a short history of the US Army Specialist by CSM (Ret.) Dan Elder. The Specialist Rank When Washington assumed the role as Commander in Chief of the fledgling Continental Army in 1775, it... Read More

Interview with the Sergeant Major of Army Public Affairs

March 22, 2016January 17, 2018 Dan Elder

INTERVIEWEE: SGM Jose Velazquez Jr., Sergeant Major of Army Public Affairs, Pentagon INTERVIEWER: CSM Dan Elder, US Army, Retired This is one in our series of interviews with influential noncommissioned officers, these are leaders in key or strategic positions who are influencing the Army and the Noncommissioned Officer Corps. This interview is with SGM Jose Velazquez Jr., who serves as the Sergeant... Read More

The Changing Role of the Command Sergeant Major

October 15, 2015January 17, 2018 Dan Elder

This is from a presentation I gave to the US Military Historian’s annual meeting 8/6/2006 while serving as the 12th command Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army Materiel Command. The Changing Role of the Command Sergeant Major Command Sergeant Major Daniel K. Elder Frederick von Steuben, author of the first drill manual for George Washington’s Army, wrote in 1774 that the Sergeant... Read More

When was the US Army NCO Corps formed?

May 31, 2014January 17, 2018 Dan Elder

I was asked a question recently about the creation of the US Army Noncommissioned Officer Corps. I had to scratch my head for a moment because it was not a question I had heard before. I am a self-declared military historian and I specialize in the history of the NCO. I run the NCO Historical Society to help catalog and archive... Read More

Interview with the War College CSM

April 25, 2014January 17, 2018 Dan Elder

INTERVIEWEE: CSM Malcolm Parrish, Command Sergeant Major, US Army War College; INTERVIEWER: CSM Dan Elder, US Army, Retired This is one in our series of interviews with noncommissioned officers from the field, as well as those in key or strategic positions who are influencing the Army and the Noncommissioned Officer Corps. This interview is with CSM Malcolm Parrish, Command Sergeant Major,... Read More

RFI: Upcoming Podcast, “Duties of the NCO”

January 18, 2014January 18, 2018 Dan Elder

Duties of the NCO Here at the NCO Guide we touched on our plans for more discussion of the Authority of the Noncommissioned in a future podcast in our review of the Joint NCO/PO book, so we hope you have a question or topic to send us in advance to join in the conversation. We will address on the podcast... Read More

Ontology of NCO as the Backbone of the Army

January 16, 2014March 10, 2018 Dan Elder

Ontology of NCO Soldier’s, Marines, and now captured in the Armed Forces NCO/PO Book, hear told the story of the noncommissioned officer as “the Backbone of the Army,” but where does the phrase come from? It is easy to think how the Backbone holds up the body and understand the correlation, but few realize the phrase was first coined in 1896... Read More

Interview with the Army IG Sergeant Major

January 5, 2014January 18, 2018 Dan Elder

This is one in our series of interviews with noncommissioned officers from the field, as well as those in key or strategic positions who are influencing the Army and the Noncommissioned Officer Corps. This interview is with Sergeant Major Allen Fritzsching, IG Sergeant Major and Senior Enlisted Advisor to The Inspector General, US Army. Below are his responses to our... Read More