NCO 2020 Strategy

United States Army Training and Doctrine Command:

NCO 2020 Strategy

SPC Parham, Michael Anthony

B Company, 299 BEB, 1 SBCT, 4 ID

The NCO, also known as the Non-Commissioned Officer of the United States Army was created in 1775 with the founding of the Continental Army. Over the generations, the Non-Commissioned Officer grew and flourished, training, teaching and mentoring soldiers to ensure readiness. Thus, the NCO became “The Back Bone of the Army” and the “Leader of Soldiers”. Although the role of the NCO is to lead, train and care for soldiers while enforcing standards, the leader must also continue development themselves as there is always room for improvement. Leader development is the careful, endless and gradual

process that produces soldiers into “competent, professional leaders of character”. As leader development is essential to the readiness of the United States Army, US Army TRADOC also known as The United States Army Training Doctrine, developed the NCO 2020 Strategy to meet the difficulties and hurdles of the 21st century and to ensure and safeguard the readiness of the United States Army.
The NCO 2020 Strategy is defined by US Army TRADOC “A vision and guidance on the ends, ways and means for developing NCOs who are prepared for the challenges of an uncertain future”.

It focuses on approaches to improve human performance. The NCO 2020 will transform the Non-Commissioned Officer Education System (NCOES) into the Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development System (NCOPDS). The NCOPDS as defined by TRADOC “A transparent and grounded approach to managing future changes in the way the Army trains and develops Soldiers”, primarily to develop leaders who are adaptive, ground-breaking and inventive thinkers. The NCO 2020 fundamentally changes the way leaders

think.
Leaders must comprehend that their responsibility is to develop new leaders by teaching, training and providing the supportive knowledge, wisdom and experiences which are essential for a soldier’s growth. Mainly, the NCOPDS will be held to seven leader development imperatives which directs policy and action in developing NCOs with persistent leader characteristics. The NCO 2020 provides these imperatives as
Commitment to the Army Profession, lifelong learning, and development; Balance the Army’s commitment to the training, education, and experience components of leader development; Manage talent to benefit both the institution and the individual; Select and develop leaders with positive leader attributes and proficiency in core leadership competencies for responsibility at higher levels; Prepare adaptive and creative NCOs capable of operating within the complexity of the operational environment and the entire range of military operations; Embed Mission Command principles in leader development; Value a broad range of leader experiences and developmental opportunities.

(US Army TRADOC NCO 2020, 2015, pg. 5).

Along with the seven leadership imperatives to achieve the desired ends, the NCO 2020 strategy is systematized into three lines of efforts which are Development, Talent Management and Stewardship of the Profession. In the first line of effort, NCOs, over time are progressively and deliberately developed into leaders. There are four major objectives for LOE 1, which are specified in the NCO 2020 as STEP (Select, Train, Educate, and Promote), NCO Professional Military Education, Credentialing, and Validate, Record and Track. (TRADOC, NCO 2020, pg.

6).
In the second LOE, Talent Management, which sole purpose is to expand the NCOs core MOS proficiency and leadership. The three major objectives are specified as Broadening Assignments and Opportunities, Operational Assignments, and Professional Development Model. And in the third LOE, Stewardship of the Profession, primarily strengthens the NCO Corps, by continuously improving their military expertise, setting as an example for others and becoming “stewards” of the Army profession. The four major objectives of LOE 3 are Doctrine, Self-Development, 2020 Year of the NCO and Character Development.
The Army’s readiness depends on the leaders, at all heights. Fruitful leaders can distinguish that constantly developing their subordinate leaders is the recipe to the long-term readiness of the United States Army. If the current leaders do not effectively grow their subordinates, then today’s leaders have failed in completing the mission of tomorrow. The NCOs of the US Army bestows the base in which unit readiness depends on. The soldiers of our Army look to their NCO’s for guidance, development and support. The NCO 2020 Strategy is to shape the leaders of today, so they can shape the leaders of the future.