NCO Experience Review - Essay Example

NCO History The essay looks through my NCO experience during studying and deployments in order to draw conclusions regarding NCO position in general. Airborne and infantry school provided me with valuable understanding of basic NCO qualities. First after school experience gave me insight regarding power of soldiers` motivation. Haiti deployment made me reassess global mission of a NCO. Further Iraq and Afghanistan deployments tested my cultural diversity competence, leadership skills, and the ability to learn. I find my ideas and experience to valuable for future NCOs, historians, and any researches. I have contributed to the army preparing new well-trained, skillful soldiers and want to share my expertise further. NCO Preparation Infantry and Airborne School NCO Qualities The job of NCO is absolutely all-encompassing for me as it is hardly possible to predict where and what exactly you will be doing tomorrow. It is also difficult to forecast which qualities and which experience you will need to utilize at the peculiar moment during a mission. I deployed to forty eight countries among which the most memorable and the most complicated were Iraq, Afghanistan, and Haiti, and was not able to guess what to expect from this or that mission. Nevertheless, each deployment turned out to be extremely useful and interesting for me as for a non-commissioned officer. I have developed in this profession which I consider to be the devotion of my life. After college I joined the Active Army, later in the 1990s I graduated infantry and airborne school. During that time I encountered many young men who came together to become professionals, and sharing observations and experience with peers was a valuable opportunity for me. Moreover, I learned how other NCOs operated in different situations. I also realized that army as a really large organization presupposes that different people do things in alternative ways in many cases. And the precious thing is that I could learn from all of them. The thing that I figured out at that time is that it is necessary to learn from each of the NCOs I meet whether I find this experience positive or negative. All this knowledge has to be evaluated, categorized, and put in the tool bag for future. Later when progressing with ranks and missions, that information helped me to become the NCO I meant to be. For example, one of the NCOs at my time of studying was exceptionally attentive to all the soldiers, learning their strengths and weaknesses, interacting with them, and establishing friendly connections with them. According to The Army NCO Guide, it is crucial for an NCO to know how his soldiers operate in the conditions of stress and fear. And the only way to learn that is through constant communication and interaction with them and their families. An NCO must break the wall between him and soldiers in order to respond to every question he might be addressed as asking question means looking for development (The Amy NCO Guide, 2002). Later having become an NCO myself I realized that such knowledge is inevitable in building an effective team and utilized this experience. As the whole concept of army is based on cooperation and communication of the members of the team, neglecting important sides of soldiers` personalities can be a big mistake. In critical circumstances an NCO must expect certain actions from his soldiers and trusting them can bring success. Deployments Gulf War and Korea The Importance of Motivation Later I deployed to the Gulf war and stationed in Korea after the war. This experience made me realize that the main accent should be made on soldiers` motivation. Since an NCO is responsible for creating and effective and battle-worthy unit every soldier can count on his companion and on its leader. Usually soldiers operate in the conditions of uncertainty, stress, and confusion, which happened often during my Korea deployment. In this critical atmosphere courage is tested to the limit (The Army NCO Guide, 2002). At times when soldiers get into difficult physical circumstances, they are exhausted, cold, and hungry and the only thing that can make them continue their mission is motivation. Being a soldier I realized it, and was exceptionally attentive to this aspect as the NCO. Preparing and motivating soldiers is a primary task but as I have learnt there is no better motivation than your personal example (NCO Creed). Tactical and technical proficiency are the things that can serve as the basis for wining this respect. That is why I aimed to study constantly. For an NCO there is no such a term as perfection in my understanding, and improving personal skills and knowledge day to day is the cornerstone of professionalism. This aspect is always noticed and appreciated by soldiers who want to have more experienced and more knowledgeable person near in difficult situations. Coherent moral, ethical values as well as professionalism are also inevitable for establishing yourself as a mentor (NCO Journal, 2012). Cold thinking in critical situation, constant reassessment of the facts makes soldiers trust NCO. It is him who under horrible tension and stress can encourage and lead the team. In general the main task of NCO is to motivate, train, and lead soldiers. It is necessary to prepare them for any mission they are aimed to carry out tomorrow. This is also one of my favorite parts of the job-being with soldiers as it gives me opportunity to observe the most precious America`s and not only America`s resource. My task is to provide basic leadership skills to the soldiers and the basic military knowledge needed at the squad. Teaching such things requires dynamic logical skills and solid expertise. I had a perfect chance to reassess my experience and learn in the process of training. As for the soldiers, I suppose that exemplifying certain information with personal knowledge allowed soldiers to make more realistic assumptions and conclusions. The more experience I was gaining the more examples I could provide to my next soldiers, that is why I considered every deployment as an opportunity. Moreover, I had a chance to evaluate my military experience and correct my previous mistakes while teaching the same material to soldiers. Sometimes I felt that NCO must be like a superman who comes to work daily ad can solve all the problems that arise within the troops. Moreover, taking care about the families is also one of the responsibilities which makes a job of NCO a twenty-four hour duty. But as a result this allows building strong relationships between NCO and soldiers (NCO Journal, 2012). Haiti Deployment NCO Mission The three deployments that helped me realize many things described above were Haiti, Afghanistan, and Iraq missions. The United States of America as a global power was involved into Haiti conflict during the 1990s. I was a participant of pre-Invasion and humanitarian missions in Haiti at that time, and it was a precious experience for me as it was my first humanitarian mission. We cooperated with the local population, provided support to the local army and police. This experience persuaded me that the role of NCO is exceptionally significant as his missions on the local level contribute the world peace establishment and enhance life of people. Despite cultural differences all people want normal peaceful life that is why even language is not so important in communication. Iraq and Afghanistan Deployment Cultural Differences My deployment to Iraq was dangerous but extremely valuable for my career as a NCO as well. I was the first trooper to incorporate Iraqi national Army soldiers into my patrol. Considering difference in mentality and military between American and Iraqi soldiers preparation to that deployment required extra efforts. In this mission I learned not only how to react and contact but to improvise in many cases. In that conditions it also became clear to me that NCOs are really the fundament of the whole army as it them who lead and direct soldiers. The credo, which states that NCO are the backbones of the army gained new sense in Iraq as I was in charge of the soldiers of the other country but learned how to direct them to the common goal. My deployment to Afghanistan was extremely difficult due to cultural and language barriers. I was among the first soldiers sent there so all the valuable information was picked up right on the place to be transmitted to the other participants. I was in charge of Afghan national army and National Police trainings. The task for exhausting as there were no interpreters and the whole communication was very demanding as I had to teach yesterday civilians how to be soldiers. Nevertheless, my understanding of the culture, my professional skills, and my enthusiasm helped a lot in Afghanistan. The situation was complicated by the fact that my wards did not have the slightest idea of how to use weapon or interact in military conditions. They also had no understanding of military discipline though they were eager to study. However, I can proudly say that men who came as civilians left as well-trained, skillful, and disciplined soldiers. It is then I understood that NCO preparation is a valuable resource as it can transform people`s lives. I was also impressed with how cultural differences and mentality can influence the course of preparation. Tolerance, patience, and involvement turned out to be as important as leadership skills in future Afghan soldiers training. Later I took the soldiers back to their providence and conducted combat operations. I could trust and rely on them, and they turned to be good learners. It was one of the most interesting issues to observe yesterday wards I action. I was proud I could change people`s lives and contribute to democratic and human values restoration in Afghanistan. That was one of the moments when I made sure again that I was cut for NCO profession. Conclusion During my serving in the American army as an NCO I developed as a personality and a professional. I became a good leader who can effectively motivate, train, and teach every team regardless of the status, language, and cultural differences. I have learnt a lot about diversity and tolerance on my personal experience. I became persistent, strong willed and determined. When I work with soldiers I do not take no for an answer. I am willing to do anything and everything legally to get the job done as I understand that it is my primary responsibility. I believe I have contributed heavily towards the NCO corps and the military. I regard my participation in military operations as an important step in world peace and democracy installment. I also made possible for many soldiers to become professional, well-trained, disciplined future leaders. Observing their success makes me proud of my work. References NCO Journal. An Official Journal of Noncommissioned Officer Development. Retrieved from: http://ncojournal.dodlive.mil/ NCO Creed. Army Study Guide. Retrieved from: http://www.armystudyguide.com/content/army_board_study_guide_topics/nco_duties/nco-creed-2.shtml The Army Non-Commissioned Officer Guide (2002). Field Manual Headquters 7.22. Retrieved from: http://armypubs.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_a/pdf/fm7_22x7.pdf Read More