Nothing happens without sergeant supervision. It starts with the most basic and mundane task, and continues to the most complex and critical. Sergeants plan and lead physical training every morning. They supervise preventive maintenance checks and services on every piece of equipment that a company owns. In an infantry platoon conducting a patrol, they place their Soldiers in a perimeter when the patrol leader says to stop, assign sectors of fire and disseminate the platoon leader’s plan. In contact, they do the same, giving fire commands, directing the direct fire assets they have, and calling for MEDEVAC when there are casualties. Their supervision ranges to the more complex. In 2005, 1st Sgt. Bryan Byrd’s company was responsible for the Kadhimiya section of Baghdad. This neighborhood contains the Kadhimiya Shrine, the third holiest location in Iraq, and the most important in Baghdad. Early 2005 brought three difficult times for this area- the elections and the Shi’a holidays of Ashura and Arba’een. Insurgents had attempted to damage the shrine in 2004 through the use of suicide bombers, and followed the incidents by inciting riots and marching on the local forward operating base. In order to mitigate the most dangerous threat, the chain of command decided to block every road leading to the shrine. The obstacle plan had over 20 obstacles, composed of concrete barriers, which had to be put in place by a combination of organic assets and Iraqi contractors. Further, the work had to be done at night, after curfew, and it had to happen in just one night to prevent insurgents from exploiting any gaps in the obstacle plan. Under Byrd’s supervision, it happened flawlessly all three times. The insurgents were unable to conduct any attacks inside the defense, and the one attack that took place was immediately outside of it, illustrating their inability to infiltrate the obstacle belt.

Every officer remembers a noncommissioned officer who taught them what it means to be leader at a critical time in his development. Sgt. 1st Class Ken Rosier was my first platoon sergeant. In garrison, he was clearly in charge- maintenance, personnel issues, individual training were all right in his wheelhouse, and the platoon was well cared for. He knew tactics and could execute them well, but when we got the field, I could detect a difference in his demeanor. The change wasn’t because he was didn’t know what to do or how to do it. It was because that was supposed to be my wheelhouse. I learned from him that the officer is the planner and the decision maker the NCO is the advisor and the one to execute the plans and decisions. That is what makes him vital to his organization. While being able to run the fastest, do the most push-ups and to be always up front are all important, the true value an officer brings to the unit is his intellect.

Army culture is such that Soldiers are loath to ever say no when given a task. Our ‘‘can-do” attitude is one of the things that make the organization able to accomplish so much under any conditions with any amount of resources. Sometimes saying no is the right thing to do, and often it is an NCO to speak truth to power, and tell officers the real impacts of their decisions. In 2004, Byrd was the NCOIC for his brigade commander’s personal security detachment in Baghdad. Early on in the deployment, the brigade was assigned the largest area of operations in the division, encompassing large tracts of farmland and the western Baghdad suburbs. The brigade commander traveled extensively with his PSD. The pace was exhausting, especially for the HUMVEE drivers and gunners. Often, the commander would stop at a fortified static checkpoint within the brigade AO for a few hours of rest. After a few days, the PSD and especially the drivers began to wear down, and so Bryd went to the commander.

‘‘Sir, we have got to give these drivers some rest, or someone’s going to get hurt,” he said. The commander replied, ‘‘What do you mean? We got four hours of sleep last night.” Byrd calmly said, ‘‘No, Sir. You got four hours of sleep last night. The Soldiers established the perimeter, performed maintenance on the vehicles and weapons, and THEN started a rest plan. They got less than two hours.” The commander adjusted accordingly, because Byrd had the courage to speak up.

The role NCOs play makes the U.S. Army unique among armies around the world. Speaking truth to power, mentoring junior officers, and providing supervision at the point of execution are just three examples of the many critical functions that NCOs perform. Every officer and every junior enlisted Soldier can recite story after story of how an NCO made a difference in their lives, or how they made a unit successful. It’s important that the Army properly recognizes NCOs for what they do, and how they have been, are and always will be the backbone of the U.S. Army.