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When the Army made the decision earlier this year to install the first noncommissioned officer to head the Sergeants Major Academy, there were concerns about whether an enlistee would be able to wield the sort of power it takes to change the way troops are taught to fight wars today. "There was some angst," Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond Chandler explains from the office where he began his new job as commandant in August. "Change is hard." That has been true throughout the military, particularly since Chandler's days as a young sergeant, when his unit practiced for weeks to pull off...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY — The No. 1 man glances back, ensuring his comrades are in tow. They’re about to search a building known to house insurgents. But where are they, exactly? The team leader signals. They rush in to clear a room. Gunfire! The “up” signal is given. An Iraqi man calmly walks through the door. He says, “Good, now do it again.” Leaders of the 3rd battalion, 8th brigade, 2nd national police division conducted their fourth non-commissioned officer training academy at Forward Operating Base Volunteer in Baghdad last month. Leaders trained shurta - Iraqi policemen - from 3rd...

KABUL, Afghanistan, May 22, 2008 – The Afghan troops stood at attention, moving only to cheer, as Afghan Interior Minister Ahmad Moqbel Zarar confirmed their status May 19 as noncommissioned officers of the Afghan National Police. Noncommissioned officers of the Afghan National Police recite an oath of honor at a graduation ceremony May 19, 2008, at the ANP Academy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Nearly 1,700 NCOs graduated from a five-month course at the academy. Photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Beth Del Vecchio, Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The 1,688 NCOs, the largest group...

After we leave, the Iraqis will have to shoulder the burden of maintaining stability in their country. How well prepared they are for this task will depend on how strong the Iraqi army's noncommissioned officer (NCO) corps is when we leave. NCOs, sergeants and corporals, provide a center of gravity for effective fighting forces and often lead small units. They will be vital to sustaining the Iraqi army through the battles ahead. As a flurry of facts and figures buzz through the air on Capitol Hill today, keep in mind the Army adage that armies are best built from the...

Marine 1st Sgt. Matthew S. Seamans, of Shorewood, Minn., is followed by Marine Lt. Col. James F. Werth, Petty Officer 1st Class Reynaldo S. Datu, and Afghan National Army Maj. Abdul Latif, executive officer of 3rd Kandak (Armored), 3rd Brigade, 201st ANA Corps, as they make their way back from an observation point on top of a mountain to a border checkpoint 500 meters below in eastern Konar Province, Afghanistan. Seamans, Werth, and Datu are part of an embedded training team deployed to Afghanistan from Okinawa, Japan, to work with the ANA. Afghan National Army Sgt. Maj. Shamoor Hamidi...

Soldiers Bring Mobile Communications to Battlefield New vehicle gives commanders more choices, faster. By Spc. Ben Hutto3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq, Aug. 21, 2007 — Staff Sgt. Matthew Hancock looked over the schematics the 82nd Airborne had put together for a mobile tactical operations center and knew that he could build something similar for his battalion. "This is the first time a mechanized Army unit has engineered, built and deployed a vehicle like this. We are proud of what we’ve done. We feel like we have raised the bar for the Army."Staff...

FOB HONOR — As a member of a military transition team, 1st Sgt. Joseph McFarlane spends the majority of his days training and advising members of the Iraqi Army. During the three month that he's been in Iraq, McFarlane, the noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division's MiTT, said he has seen a great deal of progress by Iraqi soldiers. But one area he and his teammates would like to see more improvement in is the development and strengthening of the Iraqi Army's NCO corps. "They have such a lack of...

Marines from 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, for whom this is their first combat tour, are faced with an array of missions that can be overwhelming to inexperienced Marines. Luckily, they have battle tested Marines like Cpl. Josh Z. Senbertrand, 21, from Cape May, N.J., to lead them. The short time between deployments has given birth to a generation of Marines tasting combat for the second, third, or even fourth time. HABBANIYAH -- War in a foreign place has once again given birth to innovative, confident and adaptable Marine leadership. Veterans of this conflict, like many previous campaigns throughout our...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 29, 2006 – U.S. and Afghan noncommissioned officers toured the Pakistan Army’s Junior Leader Academy in Shinkiari, Pakistan, Dec. 28 during the second day of an exchange program tour. Pakistan Army Sgt. Usman, right, a Junior Leader Academy instructor, greets U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Wood, command sergeant major Combined Forces Command Afghanistan, and Sgt. Maj. Safi Roshan, command sergeant major of the Afghan National Army in Shinkiari, Pakistan, Dec. 28, 2006.  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Pakistan officers and NCOs briefed the team on training procedures and processes in an effort to strengthen the...

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 23, 2006 -- At 14, Roshan Safi was leading men in combat, running weapons behind Soviet lines to Afghan resistance forces. Today, at 34, he is the senior enlisted member in the Afghan National Army. U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey (left), senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Afghan Command Sgt. Maj. Roshan Safi (right), the first sergeant major of the Afghan National Army, speak with Afghan and American servicemembers assigned to the Afghan National Army Logistics Command Nov. 22 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo by Kathleen T....

CHICAGO, Sept. 26, 2006 -- The Army and the Marine Corps’ top enlisted leaders took part in a poignant Gold Star Mothers Day ceremony at Chicago’s Navy Pier on Sept. 24. Gold Star Mother Sandra Miller fights back tears after placing a yellow rose at the base of the Marine Corps flag. Photo by Master Sgt. Gerrold Johnson, USA  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston and Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps John L. Estrada read the names of 23 servicemembers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the global war...

KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 24, 2006 – Senior enlisted leaders from Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States met for the first time this week to share insights between their respective armed forces and future interoperability. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Wood, Combined Forces Command Afghanistan’s senior enlisted leader, talks with senior NCOs from the Afghan National Army and Pakistani armed forces at Kabul International Airport Aug. 22, shortly before the beginning of the first meeting between senior NCOs of the three nations. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Matt Summers, USAF  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “Building a relationship between these...

The honor guard arrives with the colors during the 101st Brigade Troops Battalion NCO Induction Ceremony. Story and photo by Sgt. Rachel Brune101st Sustainment Brigade Q-WEST BASE COMPLEX -- Fourteen newly-promoted noncommissioned officers of the 101st Brigade Troops Battalion were inducted into the NCO corps in an induction ceremony July 19 at the MWR Theater here. The Soldiers inducted belong to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Company A, Company B, 620th Movement Control Team and 55th Postal Detachment. After viewing a musical slide show depicting NCOs in action around the battalion, Command Sgt. Maj. Stephen D. Blake, 101st Sustainment Brigade, led...

David Danelo’s new book, Blood Stripes, comes on the market at exactly the right time. Just as Americans are trying to understand what might have happened at Haditha, where Marines may have killed as many as fifteen Iraqi civilians, Danelo offers a thoughtful and insightful look into the Iraq war through the eyes of enlisted Marines. Until recently a Marine Corps infantry captain, Danelo served at Fallujah and obviously thought a great deal about what he saw there. Unusually for a first-hand, “live reporter” style author, Danelo picks up quickly on one of the most important issues in military theory,...

12/13/2005 - BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFPN) -- Security forces pride themselves on making a good first impression for base visitors. Now they are instilling that same pride and professionalism in Iraqi Airmen. Three Air Force security forces members are training the Iraqi protection force that will ultimately inherit security operations at New Al Muthana Air Base here. The Airmen have been training their Iraqi counterparts for two months, said Tech. Sgt. Jared P. Skinner, NCO in charge of security operations at the base. “We have been primarily training Iraqi enlisted members to develop the mid-level NCOs to perform flight sergeant and...

TIKRIT, Iraq (Army News Service, Nov. 14, 2005) -- A full ensemble of cooks, infantrymen, supply clerks and other Soldiers from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division were put into a special unit known as the Iraqi Security Force Government Team, also known as ISFGT, at the beginning of their deployment to provide aid to the Iraqi government in Sal Ad Din Province. Six days a week, they have provided security for Iraqi government conferences and elections, operating out of the Provincial Joint Coordinating Center in downtown Tikrit. Security, information drives the train “The ISFGT’s main mission is to get the...

KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 25, 2005 – The top enlisted soldier in the U.S. Army arrived here earlier this month to discuss soldier issues with Afghan National Army senior noncommissioned officers. Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston met with two of the ANA's highest-ranking NCOs Oct. 11 and discussed themes universal to every nation's soldiers. Preston's visit corresponded with the ANA Corps Commanders Conference. As ANA commanders presented their topics, Preston and ANA NCOs talked about their soldiers. Preston's visit, he said, signified the importance of the ANA's NCO corps to Afghanistan's future and how NCOs are making a...

[VHFCN] Real news from Iraq Went to an AUSA dinner last night at the Ft. Hood Officers' Club to hear a speech by MG Pete Chiarelli, CG of the 1st Cav Div. He and most of the Div. have just returned from Iraq. Very informative and, surprise, the Mainstream Media (MSM) isn't telling the story. I was not there as a reporter, didn't take notes but I'll make some the points I remember that were interesting, suprising or generally stuff I had not heard before. It was not a speech per se. He just walked and talked, showed some slides...

On the 11th anniversary of the Battle of Mogadishu, which I wrote about in "Black Hawk Down," Maj. James Lechner was again fighting an urban battle, this one in Samarra, Iraq. Maj. Lechner had sustained a terrible gunshot wound to his lower right leg as a lieutenant in Mogadishu. Now he was commanding a unit responsible for training and then leading the 7th Battalion of the new Iraqi army on a mission to retake the northern city, which had been held for some time by insurgent forces. "There must be something about me and the first week in October," Maj....

Her name is maybe Nancy, Susan, or Ann, and she lives in a modest home in Virginia. Appointed to her post by President Bill Clinton, it was a “thank you” for her work on his campaign, a customary tactic of all Presidents. The only problem is her job. It is at the CIA Headquarters at Langley, Virginia, and she actually decides what some independent contractors and Agency operatives will do overseas to gather intelligence or conduct direct action missions. Most of these men are former Special Forces officers and NCO’s, a few former Navy SEALs, and a couple ex-Marines. This...