Is today's Army an officer's Army?

I have served as both an NCO and officer on active and reserve status. NCOs have a lot of power where the rubber meets the road. Officers "manage" (I hate that word within the military) and are accountable for results. Good officers identify and trust their quality NCOs. It is all about teamwork.

I'll probably be one of a few people that responds negative.

The Army... God Bless It... is much as it has always been.

It is a amalgamation... or a combination... of all the cohorts. It takes all the cohorts to be successful! Officers, Warrant Officers, NCOs, Enlisted, Civilians, and yes... even contractors. We do not function well without any of the cohorts.

Before anyone gets upset and on a high horse... check the truth of what I say. Read about the history and the formations of the Romans, the British Army, the Mongols, the Persians, the Colonial Army, the Blue and the Grey, etc... pick the Army. Then read a little more!

Do the officers get the attention (both good and bad)? Hell yes! That's what they get paid for! As the responsibilities increase... so does the rectal pain... and the glory. My opinion. It seems the rectal pain beats out the glory most times. Why? It is the nature of the beast.

I hope this is not an "Officer vs NCO" debate.... this debate is a fallacy. Again, it takes the Cohort!

It has always been "One Team, One Fight, Mission First, Soldiers Always!"

Let's keep this thought forefront in our mind and Charlie Mike (Continue the Mission)

my 2 cents

There is a different leadership role for Officers and NCOs. Respect is the key. A NCO is the first Line supervisor directly responsible for the soldiers assigned them. Office do have a slightly different more administrative role. There should be a balance in leadership and NCOs need to work well with officers. But I do believe that there is a need to accept that experience also counts and that Officers can show respect for the years of service of their senior NCOs. Great Leaders always lead from the front. If you are and Officer or a NCO the actions of your troops reflects you leadership ability.

I would just love to see the day when an officer felt there was no need for NCOs. The NCOs do not have the power they once had and it shows.

The relevance of NCOs is up to those very NCOs. If NCOs act professionally and stay current on doctrine and world events, as well as remain tactically and technically proficient, the Officer corps will take them seriously. If NCOs let their power slip away through shortcomings in any of the above areas, they will lose their relevance. Obviously, some command climates are more supportive of NCOs than others, but it's ultimately up to the NCOs to prove their worth and relevance and that starts with the senior grades.

There are some worthwhile comments in responses to this question. In my experience when NCO's start asking these type questions there is a breakdown in trust between officers and NCO's.
This normally happens when an officer has had a bad experience with an NCO and because of this he feels he cannot trust any NCO. NCO's work for the officers. The Platoon Leader and his Platoon Sergeant and Squad Leaders should be joined at the hip. This applies to the Company Commander and First Sergeant and on up through the through the Chain of Command. The officers should command and expect the NCO's to carry out their orders. The NCO's have to held accountable for any failure to follow through as directed. Officers must also realize that mistakes will be made. These mistakes should be the bases for corrective training. NCO's have to given the latitude to learn from their mistakes. The Platoon Sergeant should be assisting the Platoon Leader prepare his training schedule and mission orders. The Platoon Leader then leads. The Platoon Sergeant assists him by pointing out both good and bad things he observes in the performance of both the Platoon Leader's and Squad Leader's performance. Then they should reinforce the things they did well and train harder on the things they did wrong. You have to train as if you're going to war tomorrow. Last but probably most important is that I have during my career seen Squad Leaders and Platoon Sergeants fail to give proper respect and courtesy to their Platoon Leader. For instance I have seen new Lieutenants come to formation looking like they got their uniforms out of a grab bag. Rather than helping the Lieutenant prepare his uniform as it should be worn they ignore his appearance and let him be embarrassed by being chewed out by the Company Commander. As a rule this young officers have a whole lot of book learning but very little practical experience. It behooves the Company Commander and First Sergeant to insure that the Platoon NCO's take care of their Platoon Leader. We have to get them started on the right foot.

NCOs have been castrated in many ways! Yet NCOs are the backbone of the Army, Officers cant do their jobs without us, especially butterbars... behind every good officer is a better NCO.. lol rant over

there's been no change in power/responsibility the problems i have seen are from extreme micromanagement and not properly delegating said power or authority. both commissioned and non-commissioned have a vital role to play and both burdens can be to much at times. officers that fail to trust there ncos and micromanage there soldiers are a detriment as well as ncos that need to feel its a pissing contest of power and o's/nco's alike that have a medal chasing hero complex need to be smashed! just my thoughts

A major I used to work with (note I said "with" and not "for") once made the comment that "Captain's run the Army". My reply to her was "Yes, ma'am, that is true but NCO's make it run". She looked at me kind of funny as I let the words sink in and I repeated it.

"Officers may the formulate the plans and make the decisions. NCO's provide advice, knowledge, and experience. We (NCO's) should always express our opinions -whether they be positive or negative of a decision or plan in private BUT always in the end "salute and execute".

Successful Officer/NCO teams compliment one another. I have been fortunate to work WITH some exceptional Officers that listened to my opinions and advice and before we went out before the troops always ensured we were on the same page and presented a unified front.

If NCO's feel that they are losing ground to Officers or vice versa it is because either side seceded too much of their inherient authority or have not taken the time to develop the working relationship that is needed.

Yes, there is a definite line drawn between what is considered "Officer's business" and what is considered "NCO's businesss" and neither side should cross those lanes. This is where A NCO who is not doing his or her job is just as worthless as an Officer who does not do their job.

NCO's have a huge amount of authority and wield a good bit of influence over Soldiers - not only Enlisted but junior Officers as well. A well respected competent NCO can project authority and confidence as easily as an Officer with the same attributes. When people complain that they have "lost" or had "authority" taken from them they often need to look at themselves first.

Over the past twenty years I think what has happened is NCOs have allowed the Officer Corp to take the power we had. There are a couple of reasons I say this:
1. We did not police ourselves well enough and Officers had lost faith in our abilities as leaders.
2. We gave it back to them because we could not handle the responsibility.
I am sure people will be upset about this post but our actions as a Corp the past 25 years have not been stellar. I do know that there are great NCOs and they have the trust of their officers but the majority do not trust our judgement. As Leaders we must gain their trust and take back the "power" we once had by virtue of the trust we earned back.