I was a pre-commission ROTC cadet when the Army did away with the last of the SPC5's. During my time as an officer, I concluded that it was one of the biggest mistakes the Army could have made. Part of the rationale was that every soldier needed to be a leader, and so at the E-5 level they would be a hard stripe sergeant and have to do time as team and squad leaders, platoon sergeants, etc. in order to advance their careers. In a post cold-war Army perhaps it made some sense from a bean counter perspective, but it gave rise to some institutional problems in its real-world application.
Some people simply aren't cut out to be leaders, but may still have a strong sense of patriotism, desire to serve and be incredibly adept in their technical area. The Army lost some terrific mechanics, medics, etc. who wanted to practice their MOS, and had no desire to be a squad leader. They were truly efficient and proficient at their jobs in line units and would have made incredible service school/AIT instructors but were forced out or chose to get out. I had an E6 who ran the traffic section in my PM office in Korea. The guy was a better route planner than Transportation Corps MAJs and LTCs, and could walk up to an accident scene and tell you what happened, look at skid marks and tell you how fast the vehicles were traveling at time of impact (which would all be later confirmed by more formal reconstructions). They guy was making strong, viable contributions where he was, not only in the performance of his duties, but in the knowledge he was imparting on his subordinates (and his supervisors that were willing to learn from him.) IMHO he should have continued working in that or a similar capacity and allowed to retire at 20 as a SPC6 or even SPC7.
He was torn away from me to go be a squad leader in a Combat Support MP Company, a ticket he needed to punch for his career. He didn't want to do it. His true talents were wasted, and to be quite honest, he's the last person you or I would want to be your 18 year old son or daughter's squad leader should the norks have rolled across the border.
Good post.
I can see your point. Though all non-coms should have “some” leadership experience. I think it’s the Marines who proclaim “Every cook a rifleman”. Though I always wanted to be Corporal rather than SP4. Maybe it’s just that I’m a hopeless romantic.
The Marine Corps does quite nicely with every E4 being a corporal and every E5 being a sergeant. Every Marine is a rifleman and if you’re not leadership material then you need to find another occupation before you hit the NCO ranks.