Why become an NCO? What was your first time being one like?

Being an NCO is a huge responsibility and carries various challenges as well as difficulty. As a new NCO you could be bombarded with the task of figuring it all out. I have a wise beyond his years SSG for a mentor. He told me to learn something from all of my superiors good/bad. Take the good and incorporate it into your leadership style to better yourself and in turn better your soldiers. Carry the negative lessons with you to keep you humble and grounded. Never forget where you came from and the work you put in to get there. Just because your of higher rank that doesn’t make you better than anyone else. Treat your soldiers right be firm but fair. Being an NCO is stressful at times but it equals out when you see the progress your soldiers are making from the support and assistance you gave them. It’s a great experience although not everyone is meant for this purpose.

In my day you had to walk the walk and do the deed it was scary
Leaders aren’t born they are made
I have always believed you have to care about who you lead
Troops can understand some shortcomings they don’t forgive or forget you not caring about them

Everyone's experience will differ, so keep that in mind when people illustrate what their initial experiences were with being an NCO. For me, it was not a hard transition, as I had had years of experience filling roles traditionally done by E5s and E6s. Although having people stand at parade rest for me was odd at first.

You have to ask yourself if you can (or want to) provide leadership, training, and guidance, and if the answer is yes, then becoming an NCO is what you should aspire to be. If not, then don't; however, the Army wants to develop leaders, and you're career will be curtailed; eventually it becomes "up or out". For the technically proficient who aren't interested in the authority and responsibility of the NCO ranks, the old specialist rank system I would support bringing back, but that won't happen, so ask those questions of yourself, and proceed accordingly.

SPC Dennis,

An NCO is a special breed of individuals whom have been given the opportunity to pass on and develop those new to the Army. Becoming an NCO, whether it be CPL, SGT or simply continuing on the path through the Corps, has many different meanings to each and every person. As a young PFC I was introduced to many "toxic" leaders and was quickly taught what not to do. Witnessing and experiencing this hardship, a sense of purpose and drive was established deep into my heart to provide those around me with the best leadership that I possessed within my abilities.

As an NCO, I have been provided with the opportunity to provide and influence those around me through a variety of means; primarily that of Direct Contact. Through this contact I have been able to instill within those that I meet the best qualities of every leader I have possessed while diminishing the possibilities for them to learn bad qualities or to learn "the hard way". I cannot sit here and proclaim that I am some awesome person and leader as I have my downfalls, just as anyone, but I will say it is an experience that has made me love the Army more. As a buck SGT, your going to make mistakes and in all honesty regardless of how long you have been in or what your rank, THERE WILL BE MISTAKES. Just accept it, move on and learn from it while your soldiers learn with you.

All I can say is to look at this opportunity as your way to directly influence those coming up in the Army. It is your chance to make sure they are better off than you were, it is your chance to influence the leaders of tomorrow, and it is your chance to leave your mark on the largest and most powerful military force in the world. Those of us who currently serve in the capacity of the role of an NCO can only do so much as we continue to progress however, we can facilitate someone such as yourself to excel far beyond that of what we have already achieved and continue to watch the leaders of tomorrow develop. Take the torch Soldier, Lead the Charge SGT, stand tall and be the NCO you have been molded to be.

SGT Vereecke

This a little older post however, it’s something I saw. I will say this becoming an NCO a buck sgt if you will I will say it’s the best job in the army. It’s where the rubber meets the road. You have direct impact on soldiers, you also have the chance to lead and direct them to be better than you to do show them the ropes and you are able to train them by giving hip pocket training and sgt time training. However, it’s your responsibility to make time for these things and that’s why I say you are the rubber that meets the road. You take care of your troops and in return they will take care of you.

Becoming an NCO is an opportunity to go from being a follower to a leader and mentor. You are still a "doer" when it comes to getting the job done, but as an NCO you are now involved at a much higher level. You are also responsible for training, teaching & guiding the military's next generation - and that is no minor matter.

When I became an NCO, everything was a near-vertical learning curve; but it was an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. The skills I learned as an NCO I still apply on regular basis to this very day.

I wanted to help junior Soldiers in their professional development. I was a SPC for a hot minute and saw a lot of bad leadership to the point where I was ready to call it quits. After I PCS'd to my current unit, I was reinvigorated to push forward. I wanted to pass on all that I had learned and help guide junior Soldiers to achieving their goals.

My favorite promotion and the one that made me the most proud was pinning on SGT stripes. It was the first promotion that really felt earned (points were high) and going from SPC to being an NCO in a group of 40 something soldiers that I suddenly outranked was a challenge and experience I’ll never forget. Loved the day to day NCO business of helping and leading soldiers.

Hadta get promod to have a life. Co cdr gave me up to drive for the Bn Cdr,299th FSB Ft.Hood . Hadta drive 6 days/wk. Shortly after getting promoted i suffered partial amputation of lwr rt forearm. After initial rehab,I was put in charge of mgng the HazMat pt for 1st Cav in charge of all the screwups. Got the 1stSgt to move me to Asst in Supply for the Change of Command inventory where I learned alot and started realizing I Could still be productive, even though my dom. hand took over a year before I could use it again. Shout out to my Doc of that time Major Peterson performed a miracle to save my hand. Severed 10 tendons,2 nerves and an artery.
Ty Army for lettin me remain productive for 9 yrs after that til further injuries made me choose to leave service after Kosovo.

If you have to ask "why become an NCO" your NCOs have failed you. They should have been the inspiration and guides that got you there. I was surprised by being called to the E5 board. I did not know I had been recommended. We were pulling the pack from my APC, and I was told to get up to Be HQ asap. That is the way that Ben did it. None of us had study guides, none of us were in Class A's.. We were all in duty uniform straight from whatever we were doing. I didn't even know it was a.promotion board until I reported to the SGM.
When I was promoted, I just started doing g things the way I had seen the most successful NCOs do them.