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COP OLD MOD — For weeks Iraqi Soldiers from the 11th Iraqi Army Division were put through their paces in order to successfully graduate a newly established training academy. The 11th IA Div. non-commissioned officers trained to become instructors of various classes including reading and writing literacy, computer literacy and the warrior leadership. The training ended Oct. 30 with a formal graduation ceremony at the training academy at Combat Outpost Old Mod, but started with the hard work and dedication by many individuals and the leadership of the 11th IA Division almost eight months ago. The course is designed to...

WHO: All media WHAT: Iraqi Army Noncommissioned Officer Symposium, hosted by Command Sergeant Major Adel, Sergeant Major of the Iraqi Army. Command Sergeant Major Adel, Command Sergeant Major Marvin Hill, and Command Sergeant Major Joseph Allen will be available for interviews. WHEN: Oct. 21, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. WHERE: Al Faw Palace, Camp Victory WHY: This symposium is designed to enhance the professionalism and competence of the senior enlisted soldiers in the Iraqi Army as a step toward Iraqi Security Force self-reliance. NOTE: Media desiring to attend should contact Major Tribus via e-mail at brian.tribus@iraq.centcom.milThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it...

BAGHDAD — The Coalition Command Sgts. Maj. and senior enlisted advisors along with the Command Sgt. Maj. of the Iraqi Army and Iraqi National Police met together during the first Noncommissioned Officer Education System conference to discuss the way ahead for the standardization of training and doctrine for the Iraqi Security Forces' noncommissioned officers Mar. 20. "The focus of this conference was to give those senior enlisted leaders within theater a good lay down of what it is that we provide here at Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq, in the way of training, especially noncommissioned officers," said Multi-National Security...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, Feb. 28, 2008 – More than 80 Iraqi soldiers and policemen graduated from Task Force Marne Noncommissioned Officer Academy training here Feb. 25. Iraqi soldiers find cover during a training exercise at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq, Feb. 23, 2008. The soldiers were part of the second class to graduate from the Task Force Marne Noncommissioned Officer Academy. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. For two weeks, they participated in foot patrols, Humvee combat patrols, rifle ranges and classroom lectures to increase their skills and ability to lead in combat. “You...

BAGHDAD, Feb. 25, 2008 – Noncommissioned officers in America’s Army have always served as the vanguards by mentoring, coaching and training troops during peacetime and war. Sgt. William Hall, 39, has always led from the front. Throughout his life, he said, he has lived by the motto, “You lead by example.” Army Sgt. William H. Hall, a Foley, Ala., native, and team leader with the personal security detail for the commander of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, prepares for a mission Feb. 20, 2008. Hall, a father of six with another on the way and a former...

FOB KALSU — For 56 Iraqi noncommissioned officers (NCO), their recent graduation from the Task Force Marne NCO Academy on FOB Kalsu is just the starting point. The class of NCOs included 55 Iraqi Army NCOs and one Iraqi Police NCO; they are the first class to graduate from the course, which began Jan. 14. The hope is that these leaders will take lessons learned and pass them on to troops they lead. Additionally, lessons learned from the class will be used in future training after the academy’s official grand opening, Feb. 12. “What do you do now? You go...

FORT HUACHUCA — For more than two decades, drill sergeants have had a major hand in developing soldiers going through military intelligence training on this Southern Arizona Army post. That ended Friday. It doesn’t mean noncommissioned officers will no longer be standing in front of students, they just have a new name and will wear the hats of all soldiers. Instead of hearing student soldiers say, “Yes, drill sergeant,” now sergeants will hear, “Yes, platoon sergeant.” The de-hatting ceremony took place in the gym of the Eifler Physical Fitness Center, where soldiers in training sat in company formations in the...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, Jan. 4, 2008 – “No one is more professional than I,” states the U.S. Army’s NCO Creed, and noncommissioned officers here are gearing up to instill the same pride and professionalism in their Iraq counterparts. Army Master Sgt. Michael Howle, right, commandant of the new Task Force Marne NCO Academy, discusses plans for the academy with Multinational Division Center Command Sgt. Maj. Jesse L. Andrews Jr., left, and Master Sgt. Stanley Hood, deputy commandant, Jan. 1, 2008, on Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Emily J. Wilsoncroft  (Click photo for screen-resolution...

NUKUALOFA, Tonga, Sept. 18, 2007 – While Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, was here today meeting with senior Tongan military and government officials, his senior enlisted leader, who had accompanied the admiral, was noticeably absent. Air Force Command Chief Master Sgt. James A. Roy arrives in Tonga to discuss NCO development in the Tongan armed forces as Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, meets with senior Tongan military and government officials. Photo by Donna Miles  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Air Force Command Chief Master Sgt. James A. Roy...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2007 – The U.S. military is battling terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq so Americans don’t have to fight them in the homeland, a senior air-defense noncommissioned officer said. “If we’re not over there solving that problem now, it’s definitely going to be on our front door,” Army Sgt. 1st Class Steven M. Adams told American Forces Press Service. Adams, 34, has served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Qatar, and is currently assigned to U.S. Space Command, at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. He is among an elite group of soldiers trained to operate the Joint Tactical Ground...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2007 – It will take 10 years to breed Iraq’s noncommissioned officer corps, the general who oversees training for Iraq’s security forces said today. Often described as “the backbone of the Army,” a noncommissioned officer, or NCO, is an enlisted member of an armed force who has been given authority by a commissioned officer. The NCO corps includes all grades of sergeant, in addition to corporals. “Growing an NCO corps is not a month-long deal; it’s a decade-long deal,” Army Lt. Gen. James M. Dubik, commander of Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, told online journalists and “bloggers”...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2007 – A 17-year Air Force veteran who led vehicles more than 20,000 miles across Kuwait and Iraq during 18 missions -- rolling over streets often flanked with armed insurgents and littered with roadside bombs -- is sharing the message of his service with the American people. Tech. Sgt. Howard L. Watkins served as a convoy commander with the 70th Medium Truck Detachment based at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Through the Defense Department’s “Why We Serve” speakers program, he carries the lessons of his military experience and shares them with the American public at speaking events across...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24, 2007 – Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Jeffrey Duncan has served for 21 years and still says there’s no end in sight. Duncan has had several opportunities to be commissioned as an Air Force officer. However, he said he prefers to be enlisted. “I chose to stay enlisted, because I like working with troops more,” he said. Duncan is one of eight servicemembers who have served overseas in the war on terrorism who have been chosen to speak to American communities and businesses across the nation in the Defense Department’s “Why We Serve” public outreach program. The...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2007 – Most Afghans and Iraqis appreciate the efforts of U.S. troops deployed in their countries because they know the servicemembers are helping them obtain a better future, a veteran Army noncommissioned officer said. “They’re glad to see you. You know you’ve made a difference and an impact,” Army Sgt. Daniel Alvarado, 36, said of the attitudes of Afghans and Iraqis he met during back-to-back tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Alvarado is one of eight servicemembers who have served in Iraq, Afghanistan or the Horn of Africa who have been selected to speak to...

BAGHDAD — Noncommissioned officers are known as the backbone of the U.S. Army. They train their Soldiers, care for their needs, and ensure they have and know everything necessary to be successful on the battlefield. NCOs were once an important factor in the Iraqi army as well, but under the Baath Party regime, their importance dwindled as officers took on all aspects of leadership. For years, the Iraqi NCO Corps weakened. Now, with the help of U.S. and coalition forces, that corps is being rebuilt into an important force in the modern Iraqi Army, starting with the most senior Iraqi...

FORT HUACHUCA - As the fight continues in Iraq there is more of a need to be able to understand the enemy, an Air Force noncommissioned officer said. To that end, some of the best information about the insurgents' intentions can be found in paperwork that is discovered on people or just lying around, Tech. Sgt. Dwight Bechel said last week. Recently returning from a deployment where he worked with the Army doing document exploitation, Bechel was the first airman assigned on the post to support a traditional greensuit tasking. A foreign instrumentation intelligence instructor with the 314th Training Squadron,...

Soldiers with Troop A, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, out of Fort Bliss Texas, practice reflexive fire drills at the Spears Academy range in Mosul, Jan. 26. The Soldiers are brushing up on their weapons skills in preparation for the inaugural class of Iraqi Army soldiers at the troop-run noncommissioned officers academy. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Antonieta Rico, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment) MOSUL -- Soldiers with 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, launched a noncommissioned officers academy for Iraqi Army soldiers at Forward Operating Base Marez Feb. 3. The Spear Academy grounds include a firing range, obstacle course,...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2006 – The morale of American GIs serving in Iraq continues to be high, regardless of the danger, difficult conditions and family sacrifices they face, the Army’s top enlisted leader said yesterday. In a joint interview with the Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston recalled the stoic attitude displayed by soldiers and family members of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, after learning the unit’s Iraq tour was being extended. Preston, the senior enlisted advisor to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker,...

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 28, 2006 – Almost five years into the mission, American troops are still highly motivated about their duty in Afghanistan, the top enlisted man for Combined Forces Command Afghanistan said. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Wood travels the country with the commander, Army Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, and on his own. He is in a unique position to see what the joint force assigned here thinks. “The morale is great because it doesn’t take long after servicemembers get here to understand what the focus is,” Wood said during an interview. “The baseline for this theater is the...

A few days ago, I received a telephone call at my office wanting to verify the employment of someone. I am not the human resources person, but am in another capacity completely. The name they gave was my middle name and my last name. All the woman on the phone would say is, “This is Kelly from NCO Financial. I need to verify employment for ______ ______.” At that point, I asked what the call was about. Kelly just repeated that she was verifying employment for ______ ______. My middle name is a family sir name, so it could be...