Why do we write? As humans, we write to communicate information and ideas across time and space, when we cannot do so through oral means with physical presence. As Non-Commissioned Officers in the United States Military, we do so because we can no longer afford to do otherwise. Writing is now a part of all professional military education, starting at the Basic Leaders Course that all enlisted soldiers must go through to become NCOs.
For too long, writing has been seen as the purview of the officer corps as the keepers of the military profession. This practice has continued up until very recently. NCOs are seen as having derived all their knowledge and wisdom from experience, with little to no formal education. However, with the increase of the military in size, and the shift towards an overall more professional force after the repeal of the draft, this has changed. Many senior NCOs have at least an associates degree, which requires at least some writing. Recently, more NCOs are achieving bachelors degrees, either before enlisting or while serving. Some attain master’s degrees or higher.
The overall difference in education level between commissioned and non-commissioned officers is rapidly shrinking. Yet officers remain the largest proportion of those who opine on leadership and tactics in, both private and professional, publications. If the NCO corps is to garner greater respect from our commissioned counterparts, we cannot allow this to continue. NCOs must take all the knowledge and wisdom we have learned and shared with each other over the years and write it down, shifting from a “tribal knowledge” to a written library of work for others to use and glean from.
Our Creed
“No one is more professional than I.” “Competence is my watchword.” “Officers of my unit will have maximum time to accomplish their duties; they will not have to accomplish mine.” Each of these sentences forms the beginning of each paragraph of our creed, the statement of our core ideals. Professionals write and contribute to the overall knowledge and advancement of their profession, for NCOs that is military leadership. Competence is increased through the sharing of experiences and knowledge across time and space, making all of us better. The better we become at our jobs, the more we advance tactics on our own, the less our commissioned counterparts will have to direct what they need from us and how to accomplish tasks. Training is our function. Writing and reading is training by other means. Writing is incumbent on us as NCOs for the fulfillment of our creed.
A Soldier’s Request
If you are an NCO who has been on the fence about how to contribute to our profession, I beg you to write. I am a Corporal. I am a young NCO. Until recently, the only leadership training and mentorship that I have truly received is a few oral admonishments (“take care of your soldiers”), and the examples, both good and bad, of the NCOs I have worked with in my time in the Army.
Sergeant Major, I need your guidance. First Sergeant teach me. Platoon Sergeants, Squad Leaders, show me. My peers and I are our country’s future. Without you, we will be making it up as we go along, trying the best we can. With you, we can take centuries of combined experience and use it to build a stronger military and a more secure future for our nation. To young privates and future enlistees, I paraphrase John Paul Jones to make this promise: We have not yet begun to write!!
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