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Commentary by Dan. Thoughts, ideas and blathering.

What’s wrong with the Change of Responsibility Ceremony?

Dan Elder
What’s wrong with the Change of Responsibility Ceremony?
Change of Responsibility Ceremony Noncommissioned officers are expected to teach military customs, courtesies, and traditions, yet what do you do when customs and traditions either are non-standardized or are still emerging? I mean how can something be a tradition to share and hand down when it is only just now becoming mainstream? Today the Change of Responsibility Ceremony is one of... Read More

Podcast: Who is Training the Platoon Leader?

Dan Elder
Podcast: Who is Training the Platoon Leader?
Who is Training the Platoon Leader? Please note we are aware of our technical problem and the poor sound quality. We felt it important to share this discussion and we will work harder to ensure our levels are corrected for future editions. This week on the NCO Guide CSM (Ret) Dan Elder and CSM (Ret) Archie Davis ask the question... Read More

Ontology of NCO as the Backbone of the Army

Dan Elder
Ontology of NCO as the Backbone of the Army
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

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