Should an officer/NCO be required to hold a leadership position prior to being a primary staff officer/NCO?

I'm inclined to go the opposite route. A great deal of the skills learned in a staff position will help you in a leadership position.

Formal writing, counseling, time management, tact, humility, public speaking, Powerpoint (sadly), computer skills, information management, and countless other skills are crucial to being a leader in todays Army.

You can be the reincarnation of Audie Murphy and Chest Puller's love child, but none of that matters if you can't manage your people, the ocean of paperwork, the countless taskings, schools, and training requirements, and no one's being counseled/rated.

Some Soldiers are good staff members. Some Soldiers are good direct leaders. Some Soldiers are neither. :)

I served in leadership roles before my time on a brigade and then a division staff. Honestly at first, it was a hindrance to me. I was told I was too angry. :) I thankfully had an outstanding field grade Artillery officer who was transitioning back to staff himself that helped simmer me down quite a bit. I learned the invaluable lessons, like trying to anticipate everything the commander could possibly ask before setting foot in his office and so many others. Once I understood that you have to approach a staff like a living Rube Goldberg machine where turning the right knob, lighting the right candle, and throwing the right switch is far more effective than busting in like a bull in a china shop.

Once I learned that, my leadership experience started to pay dividends as you have the ability to see outside the staff bubble and say, "wait.. wait.. wait.. If we do this, someone is going to blow up the building." Being a successful staff NCO/Officer is about being a master of human interaction and networking. You then leverage that network to get things accomplished without stepping on toes and with a well built consensus.

Once you've achieved that, going back into a higher level of command/leadership, those staff skills can work wonders at large scale organization, especially in the patience department. It is kind of like a chicken or the egg kind of an argument. All I can say is that while not everyone is cut out for command or critical leadership billets, time on a staff is still important. You learn so much about what the shops can really bring to the table (for some reason, no one ever seems to ask?). When you can get into an "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" that serves the command and the mission, it is gravy! It's also gives some pretty good job satisfaction. Of course, all this goes out the window if your staff is about as functional is an IPad after the EMP Apocalypse.

My personnel opinion, based on my own experience, is yes they should. But, we all know that a lot of times certain staff positions are filled by NCOs and Junior Officers who are awaiting a leadership slot, or looked as less than desirable for one. I served as the S-2 NCOIC during OIF-III with the same BN I had been a Tank PLT PSG during OIF and I think having been in that position prior, helped me a great deal. Later on I served as the OPs NCOIC for ASG-Kuwait in support of OEF/OIF/OND and again it helped me having had my leadership positions prior to serving on staff.