Army Profession Legacy

The Army White Paper, The Profession of Arms, provides an insight into what it means for the Army to be a Profession of Arms, what it means to be a professional Soldier, and how Soldiers individually and as a profession meet these aspirations after a decade of war. The Army is made up of numerous jobs that have multiple roles. One in particular is the Human Resource Sergeant. HR Sergeants are a profession of its own; they provide a broader framework for the Profession of Arms, balance the role of the Profession’s leaders, and are greatly influenced by the Army’s professional culture.

For more than three decades, Army Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO) were part of an era of fast promotions through the NCO ranks, with some Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) seeing Soldiers make the rank of Sergeant First Class (SFC) with six to seven years time in service (TIS). Since the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, the United States military was facing a challenge that produced two separate operations simultaneously in the same region of the world which called for thousands of additional service members, especially in the ranks of NCOs. While “fast tracking” was great for the individual, it left many enlisted Soldiers, as well as Officers angry and frustrated with the lack of knowledge these young NCOs were demonstrating when it came to basic Soldiering tactics and techniques. This stems from the decades old Sergeant and Staff Sergeant promotion boards, lack of leadership time, as well as lack of diversity within major Army Component Commands (COCOMS).

The Army’s “Total Soldier Concept” is a concept that Soldiers are proficient well rounded soldiers in all areas to include personal and professional character, technically and tactically capable, are mentally and physically resilient for any given condition and live and project the Army values that epitomize a United States Soldier. With the 13 year “War on Terror” ending many Soldiers that were brought up through the ranks during this time may find themselves challenged by the change in tempo and reorganization of priorities from leadership while in a garrison setting. This can possibly disrupt the overall moral and readiness of Soldiers to include discipline within the unit’s ranks. NCO’s will need to mentor and train Soldier’s, providing them with purpose, motivation and direction to better develop disciplined, trained, and physically fit Soldiers capable of meeting the “Total Soldier Concept”. To do this, NCO’s will need to instill discipline in their Soldiers at all times to manifest proper military courtesy, smartness of appearance and personal hygiene, impeccable equipment maintenance/readiness, zero tolerance for sexual

In the times in which we live technology, knowledge, development strategies and the environment involve a complex panorama that the U.S. Army must face. The most efficient way is through specialized training and looking for means to develop NCOs for the challenges of upcoming event. The NCO 2020 strategy changes the way we educate and train our Soldiers. The educational model used by the military in the last decade was the Noncommissioned Officer Education System (NCOES). This now going to be transformed into Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development System, or NCOPDS. One of the most important goals of this new educational model is that it will provide the Soldier with a long-term career focused on the training, education and experiences acquired during his career, being these institutional, operational or self-development.

Moving forward, our Army's primary purpose is steadfast and resolute: to fight and win our Nation's wars. But we all know that the Army must be able to do much more than that. Today, we require an Army that is adaptive and innovative, flexible and agile, integrated and synchronized, lethal and discriminate. Even more critical in today's complex and uncertain environment, the Army is the decisive arm of the Joint Force in a broad range of missions. Historically the Army has been focused on a specific set of needs, but these needs and the means in which they are resourced have changed. So we must fundamentally change how we do business. As we keep adding rocks to our Soldiers' rucksacks, all leaders must remain cognizant over time. Everyone's load can get too heavy and cause permanent wear and tear. So it is a good idea to

The Human Resource Sergeant is the lynch pin that holds the Adjutant Generals Corps together. This is accomplished by enacting three major points. The Human Resource Sergeant: 1. Trains the next generation of Human Resource professionals in junior enlisted, 2. Ensures Soldiers do not have

To understand whether the Army is a profession of arms, we must understand the term profession and what it takes to be a professional. “Professions use inspirational, intrinsic factors like the life-long pursuit of expert knowledge, the privilege and honor of service, camaraderie, and the status of membership in an ancient, honorable, and revered occupation. This is what motivates true professionals; it‘s why a profession like ours is

Army leaders must balance the link between the Army’s culture and it’s climate and institutional practices. When there is a proper balance it has a huge impact on the mindset of the Army’s Soldiers. Their actions or inactions impacts the five key attributes of the profession, and the four fields of expertise, and have long term effects on the Army’s culture and climate. These actions influence Soldiers’ perceptions that they are serving professional who have answered the call of service to the republic, it is important that Soldiers understand that their role is a calling and not just a job.

Stewardship of the Army Profession is the last of the Five Essential Characteristics of the Army Profession, but in terms of importance, it is just as, if not more important than the other four. The United States Army’s ADRP-1, or Army Doctrinal Reference Publication 1, even defines stewardship as “the responsibility of Army professionals to ensure the profession maintains its five essential characteristics now and into the future”. Such importance is placed on this characteristic because Stewardship of the Army Profession is the one that ensures the other four are maintained. I sought out the definition of stewardship because despite having spent almost three and a half years and West Point, I was not entirely sure what the doctrine behind Stewardship was. In doing this, I felt like I was better prepared for both this paper and ensuring that the corrections I made were stewarding the profession. With this newly acquired knowledge, I set out to make my corrections.

As stewards of our profession, commanders ensure that military expertise continues to develop and be passed on to aspiring professionals through operational development. It is during this developmental phase that Professional Soldiers put their knowledge and skills to the test. Operational Army units certify and recertify their Professional Soldiers through repetitive and realistic training events including the Combat Life Saver Course, platoon live fires, and exercises at the National Training Center. In the course of these challenging and realistic experiences, the Army’s operational units develop Soldiers and leaders prepared to maintain high standards, discipline, and operational readiness. Operational development and adaptability will continue to drive changes in Army doctrine, organization, leadership, and education as we enter the post-war era. Without this kind of development, the Army could not maintain a well-disciplined professional fighting force.

As the Army transitions from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, the organization is well served to take a long look in the mirror. After ten plus years of deployments, our combat tested warriors are sure to possess more than enough valuable knowledge to reinforce and improve upon our status as a profession. A TRADOC published paper explains “to be a professional is to understand, embrace, and competently practice the expertise of the profession.” I believe the profession of arms exists and there are many components that reinforce this argument. Among these components, initial entry training and institutional learning, shared values, and a monopoly on our mission are three of the most important tenants. All Soldiers must graduate

We must adapt our strategic approach to the enemy and future conflicts so that we can be successful on the battle field. However, we must do this without negatively affecting our culture and climate. With proper balance, leaders and future leader alike will see this Army as a profession and not “time-servers filling a government job (The Profession of Arms, 2010,

There have been many doctrinal changes in the United States Army throughout the past decade. During the Global War on Terror, there has been a shift of experience to reflect more towards Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) proficiency. This is due to the military needing more outcome to produce Operational Readiness rather than common Soldier task proficiency. This change has had both positive and negative effects on the Army. On one hand we have very experienced technical Soldiers; and on the other hand we have Soldiers who do not completely understand the Whole Soldier Concept. This concept could bring a perfect balance to create a better quality leader for future military operations. The following paper will discuss both sides of Army

Webster’s dictionary defines the word profession as a type of job that requires special education, training, or skill. Many Soldiers would not consider the Army as a profession but a way of life. Some think the word profession belongs to everyday jobs like a plumber, mechanic, or doctor. Dr. Don M. Snider stated “the Army is a profession because of the expert work it produces, because the people in the Army develop themselves to be professionals, and because the Army certifies them as such” (Snider, D. M. 2008). In October 2010, the Secretary of the Army directed the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) to lead an Army wide assessment of the state of the Army Profession. We have been at war as a Country for over a decade and the Army

Professional soldiers differ from the ordinary citizen particularly in psychological and personal characteristics and qualities. A soldier professional does not want a war, but he wants to be prepared for the worst possible variant of development. We can say that working in the armed forces is characterized by several attributes. I think the expert work, self-improvement, ethics, fulltime commitment and discipline are the most important ones. The expert work comes out from the requirements for controlling highly specialized equipment and procedures that occur only under the conditions of the armed forces. For example, an engineer knows the procedures for mine-clearing, building floating bridges, command and controlling submarines, fire control of air defense systems, logistic equipment transfers and many others. All of these activities call for a maximal professional approach and adherence to precisely specified procedures, which can be achieved only by professionals with many years of experience. So, to move forward and improve our professionalism it is very important to consider self-improvement. In my opinion, learning from experienced master soldiers, be active in self learning and have good motivation are the right ways to succeed. A profession of arms can be, and it certainly is, a dangerous way to meet our life necessities. It would be quite ridiculous if somebody stated he worked for armed forces only for loyalty to the