Non Commissioned Officer Evaluation Report

Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) Daniel A. Dailey outlined many topics of discussion such as grooming standards, pay, and other numerous benefits for Soldiers, one of his most important topics is one of readiness. During a meeting with the House Appropriations Committee on 26 February, 2016, SMA Dailey outlined his top priorities (Lopez, 2016). SMA Dailey stated “readiness will always be our number one concern”. One of the issues the US Army has been faced with in recent years, is a drawdown of troops, while being tasked with combat and non-combat operations around the globe. During this meeting, SMA Dailey discussed issues of being prepared to meet the demands of the future battlefield many years down the line, and not just the next few years

According to Military.com (Cox, 2015), the SMA stated enlisted promotions “will not get easier” as the Army is downsizing. Maintaining a strong and ready force in a downsizing environment will take only the best and most qualified to be recommended for promotion. This was deemed so important, the Army reconstructed the Non Commissioned Officers Evaluation Report (NCOER). It was believed that many personnel were made to look great on paper with their peers receiving top blocks, when in reality they did not meet the same qualifications as their peers. The Army has an “up or out” mentality, to where only the best will be promoted and subpar performers may face the risk of being discharged. In certain Military Occupational Specialties (MOS), the educational standard is higher than ever before. Many individuals are now facing the fact that higher education is a necessity for promotion. No longer are the days that a good evaluation report and a high school diploma will automatically be recognized as a way to obtain senior leader

Courses such as the newer Master Leaders Course (MLC) and the Executive Leaders Course (ELC) are ways the Army’s Training Doctrine Command (TRADOC) prompted and executed the missing education gap for senior enlisted personnel (Kimmons, 2017). The NCO Corps is known as the backbone of the Army; however, it was believed that important fundamentals were missed when NCO promotion rates skyrocketed during the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns. The SMA further believed credentialing the schools within the NCOPDS to equivocate to civilian college credits to further assist Soldiers in reaching their educational goals. Regardless of the college transfer the NCOPDS would assist senior enlisted personnel to understand the challenges they would face at the next higher, or current level of leadership. Other online courses such as Joint Professional Military Education courses were further developed for senior leaders to work in conjunction with other branches to enhance understanding and readiness. In retrospect, the Chinese’s military just recently decided to stand up a joint readiness center in 2015. This example demonstrates commitment to readiness the U.S Army has employed over its adversaries to induce joint-training for its mid-level leaders before the