NCOPDS: How the Army Develops its Leaders

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN

03.26.2018

Story by Spc. Elizabeth Clark 

3rd Division Sustainment Brigade

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - The Army is always changing and adapting to the challenges presented by current missions. To ensure Soldiers are ready to combat any threat, the Army has designed tiered training specific to each noncommissioned officer rank.
The NCO Professional Development System teaches leadership skills at all levels of the NCO from corporal through command sergeant major. Through both job-specific and broad leadership training, the NCOPDS molds Soldiers into competent leaders.
In the Basic Leader Course, future NCOs learn to adopt the role of a sergeant that their units expect of them. They will be in charge of training the junior Soldiers that they themselves were not long ago.
The Basic Leader Course teaches junior enlisted Soldiers basic warrior skills, such as land navigation and troop leading procedures. The point is not to re-teach what these Soldiers learned through initial entry training, but rather help them better understand it so that they can teach their own Soldiers one day.
As much as leadership courses can teach you, there is no substitute for good first line leaders. What a student can learn in three weeks an NCO utilizes every day. A key example would be the counseling process. At BLC, the instructors show Soldiers how to properly fill out counseling forms and conduct a mock counseling session with a Soldier. While this is effective in helping junior leaders the correct way to fill out these forms and conduct these sessions, they should already be familiar with the process by going through it with the first line leaders.
Another key aspect of professional development happens at the unit level. Unit training with senior leadership will lay down expectations of NCOs for their future professional development. This can help disseminate information on changing Army policies and allows these leaders to ask the seniors questions.
A feature that all of these things have in common: the leaders themselves. The quality of a leader can heavily influence a subordinate’s morale and motivation. To develop junior Soldiers, leaders must be competent and provide purpose, direction and motivation to their subordinates.
Leaders must also develop themselves and demonstrate the drive to improve themselves while also being attentive to their Soldiers.
Through their professional development, Army leaders are able to meet any changes presented to them. While the education system may evolve, NCOs will remain the backbone of the Army. This will allow them to remain flexible to change and stay diligent in the development of future leaders.

• Date Taken: 03.26.2018
• Date Posted: 03.26.2018 07:45
• Story ID: 270564
• Location: BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF
• Hometown: FORT STEWART, GA, US