Officer Led, NCO Ran
In the United States army, all officers are ranked differently. Commissioned and non-commissioned officers are distinguished by their duties, ranks, authority and pay. NCOs represent soldiers enlisted because of their limited skills and duties which include tech, recruiting, training and military policing. The military therefore looks at the NCOs as the backbones of the force while commissioned officers are the management. NCOs therefore receive orders from commissioned officers since they out rank them. On the other hand, NCOs supervise lower ranked officers to ensure proper completion of duties. In the military ranks, there are private and specialist officials who are under the corporal who is the first NCO rank.
NCOs join the army by enlisting and working their way up. A private then becomes a sergeant, and then moves forward to being a staff sergeant. Officers must take Noncommissioned Officer Education courses for them to advance in terms of ranking. When one wants to become a sergeant, the most essential course to partake is the war Leader course (Perry, 2016). Later, the Advanced Leader cause helps in training sergeants get a better grasp of the added responsibilities required of their ranks. Along with their standard marine training, NCOs work in leadership positions after attending specialized management trainings for efficient collaborations.
NCOs are given various responsibilities which include improving skills of officers with lower ranks. The training includes military skills like combat tactics and weaponry, physical fitness, and basic training. He also helps officers in a particular troop to develop their individual occupational specialties relating to their enlistment in the military (Killingsworth, 2016). Training as a unit helps officers to learn how to work together as a team in combat situations. The NCO therefore ensures that his subordinates are armed with the essential skills to meet the minimum standards set by the military. This therefore puts the NCO in a leadership position such that they remain accountable of the officers serving under their authority. The conduct of the officers and reinforcement of discipline is also mandated under the leadership of NCO who also works under a commanding officer (Perry, 2016). The NCO is then tasked with ensuring that officers of a certain team follow the orders of the commanding officers. The leadership position means that the discipline and conduct of the private officers must be exemplary at all given times.
The NCO also serves a liaison position whereby he is the middleman in between the officers and the enlisted men. In addition, it is common for NCOs to work with fellow private officers to achieve a common goal from time to time (Killingsworth, 2016). Strong conflict resolutions are a requirement in this profession because they are expected to handle disputes between officers and soldiers. This calls for proper communication channels such that one is obligated to stay in touch with their subordinates on a regular basis to ensure that all team members are on their toes in terms of addressing group issues and personal problems.
CNOs are also expected to specialize in their military occupations such as auto repair. During a normal working day one would be expected to perform the job just like any other specialized person in a private setting (Perry, 2016). Here, the NCO works just like a foreman would at a work site such that he guides and oversees the work of the officers to ensure that their work is sufficient. After the job is completed, the NCO inspects the final result to check for quality. As one rises through the ranks, administrative duties rise (Killingsworth, 2016). Higher ranked private officers are tasked with bigger responsibilities such as promotions, hiring, and reassignment of their subordinates. The additional duties require one to go through human resource trainings and seminars and might be expected to complete paperwork for accounting in an effort to assist other departments.
Due to all the mentioned responsibilities and collaborations between the officers and NCOs molds a complementary relationship and mutual respect which remains a tradition in the US army. Commanders set the overall standards and policies that should be followed by all officers (Perry, 2016). They therefore conduct daily business of the military with the help of established directives and policies to come up with different training exercises to accomplish the mission. The officers and the NCOs must therefore break down the exact division of expected responsibilities and tasks while putting the mission, ability, and the situation into consideration.
The NCO could come up with exercises such as telling a team to stay awake overnight to reflect on the things to be done to improve their performance thus boost the mission. This shows leadership and the ability to help the team in brain storming to solve team problems. The corps of NCO retains a goal of running day to day business activities of the army so that the commanding officers get time to command it. All this is done in an effort to improve the army and leave it in a better position that they found it (Killingsworth, 2016). Basically, NCOs are tasked with different responsibilities that answer questions like how things are done and what to do. This allows them to help commanding officers have an easier day in their daily responsibilities since they are normally in charge of many other responsibilities.
References
Perry, W. J. (2016). Military Education. Perspectives on Complex Global Challenges: Education, Energy, Healthcare, Security, and Resilience, 1.
Killingsworth, K. L. (2016). The Role of the NCO Inside the BCT Command Post. 196th Infantry Brigade CSM Fort Shafter United States.