...Fort Lewis, Washington. The Army's Transformation involves the entire officer, NCO and warrant officer education systems, the integration the Army and Secretary of the Army staffs--just about every aspect of the Army.

But as far as the NCOs down in the units are concerned, they will have the same role and responsibilities in the transformed Army. The equipment and unit organization might change and technology will be more advanced, but they still must focus on the basics and stay focused on their jobs.

As a sergeant in the Army, I've worked with seven different tanks. That didn't change my leadership style, techniques of developing people or how I fulfilled my responsibilities to soldiers and the unit--just my equipment changed. Now education-wise, some things may change, but that is based on technology.

The NCO needs to "stay in his lane." He must understand the basics of soldiering, know his MOS [military occupational specialty]; lead, counsel and train his soldiers; enforce all standards; and live the Army values-be the best at what he does. In war, there is no "Second Place" for the NCO and his soldiers. That's the NCO's focus during transformation.

Q. The Army education system for officers, NCOs and warrant officers is transforming with the Chief of Staff's new Leader Development Campaign Plan. Although the redesign of the NCOES is not final, why are we redesigning NCOES and what can you tell us about the redesign?

A. We surveyed some 34,000 NCOs about the NCOES and what we needed to improve to better develop NCOs. Late this spring, we will finalize the plan and release the details of the redesign.

The NCOES that I went through was developed in the mid-1970s, so it's time to transform our education system. We are taking a look at all NCOES courses and revamping them to ensure that what the NCO needs to know is in the right course at the right time in his career.

Basically, we are looking at distance learning for the...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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