Staff NCO: The Backbone Of Mission Success

Staff NCOs: The Backbone of Mission Success In the United States Army, every movement begins with a plan. Countless missions are being conducted across the world at any given time. The Army relies heavily on every soldier within its ranks to be able to react to any situation that occurs. If a team relied on you, and you were required to make a decision without any training or knowledge, would you feel confident in your choice? In the same situation, given prior education, resources, and guidelines, would you trust your ability to make a decision? The Army outlines the characteristics, attributes, and competencies all leaders must possess. They develop guidelines, through publications and regulations, improve soldier skills through training
As a leader, Staff NCOs should live by the Army Values, possess empathy, and harbor the spirit of the Warrior Ethos. Along with these character attributes, they should be a leader of presence and intellectual capacity. The leader must maintain their appearance, military bearing, resiliency, and confidence. As a Non-commissioned Officer, the Staff NCO will exercise sound judgement, and maintain a wealth of knowledge. The NCO will use these attributes and always remember their core competencies; to lead, develop, and achieve. (Headquarters Department of the Army, 2006) I feel that this is what makes the NCO “The Backbone of the
This is relatively true; however, the plan is often on a much broader scale than operations on the ground. While the command at every level has analyzed and formulated an order, every mission relies on soldiers receiving the information and understanding the commander’s intent. A Staff NCO must know the commander’s intent and use their knowledge to conduct the mission successfully. In order to anticipate the outcome and plan a mission, a Staff NCO must utilize all available resources. In an article for Military Review, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) William J. Cojocar (2011) wrote, “Mission analysis is one of the most important steps for integrating adaptive leadership” (p. 27). The Staff NCO must use research and intelligence from previous TTPs, environmental conditions, operational tempo, and probability to determine the impending result of a mission. Decisions made will be the result of specific planning measures, formulated by conducting Troop Leading Procedures. This will ensure there is a working knowledge of the mission and information disseminated at every level. However, the mission must remain dynamic, as changes may need to occur at any time. Thus, the importance of the final step in the Troop Leading Procedures. A good leader is constantly observing the conditions and outcomes of each movement. The leader can make adjustments as necessary to ensure the mission is being accomplished efficiently. The