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NCO News

Ex-NCO comes up short in welterweight boxing main event

PABLO VILLA

Sammy Vasquez Jr. entered the ring Thursday night for a nationally televised welterweight boxing match, believing it was a bout he couldn’t afford to lose...

Article published on: February 3, 2017

Former NCO looks to get back on track in boxing’s welterweight division

PABLO VILLA

It would have been easy for Sammy Vasquez Jr. to take a step back. After suffering his first professional loss and a health scare last summer, the budding welterweight boxing star...

Article published on: February 1, 2017

NCOs discuss Army warfighting challenges at professional development session

MARY B. GRIMES - CECOM Public Affairs

With an eye on 2017 and beyond, Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew D. McCoy, U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, wrapped up 2016 by hosting a professional development presentation for the Command, Control, Communications, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, or C4ISR, community.

Article published on: January 30, 2017

Army’s top recruiter draws inspiration from troubled past

DON WAGNER - Army News Service

For Staff Sgt. Ernie Nieves, the Army’s top recruiter for fiscal year 2016, being a recruiter is the perfect opportunity to give back to the community. “I treat every applicant like they are family, like my own children,” he said. “My job gives me a platform to mentor...

Article published on: December 23, 2016

How Do We Deal with Russia?: The Status Quo and a Strategically Pragmatic Approach Forward

Lt. Col. Klaudius Robinson

As NATO prepared for its 2016 Summit, the U.S. needed to carefully consider their way forward in dealing with Russia. The author outlines priorities and key factors to ensure practical trumps paranoia in strategic planning.

Article published on: June 10, 2016

Ukraine’s Battle at Ilovaisk, August 2014: The Tyranny of Means

Maj. Michael Cohen, U.S. Army

The author sifts through the various, conflicting information on Ukraine’s military, militia, and government to paint a clearer picture of how, exactly, Ukraine directly contributed to the destruction at Ilovaisk.

Article published on: June 10, 2016

Assessing the Decisive Action Fight

Col. Joe Roach and Maj. Clay White, U.S. Army

As the Army transitions away from COIN and continues training for the decisive action fight, assessment processes must follow suit. Currently, adapting the assessment procedure is not where it needs to be. The authors address some of the key issues.

Article published on: June 24, 2016

Mission Command: Evolution of a WfF applied to Recruiting Operations

Sgt. 1st Class Alex Joy and Capt. Joseph Harmon, U.S. Army

Recruiting Command suffers a range of organizational issues as it strives to meet its commander’s intent. The authors explain how mission command can be used to improve recruiting efforts.

Article published on: June 24, 2016

The Warrior Way for Building Partnerships

Lt. Col. Archambault, U.S. Army

As the U.S. continues to prioritize partnerships, it is important for those in the Army to discuss best practices for making the most out of working with other military entities. The author covers principles for partnership at the unit level.

Article published on: July 8, 2016

Understanding Organizational Climate and Culture

Prof. Carey W. Walker and Professor Matthew J. Bonnot, Command and General Staff College

Organizations strive to solve problems and manage internal anxiety. Understanding how these challenges are affected by leader choices and collective understanding of why and how an organization does what it does provides leaders more options for overcoming internal stressors and meeting organizational goals. The authors analyze organizational climate and culture in easy to understand and practical terms.

Article published on: July 8, 2016

Attritional War: The Neglected Phase of Modern Warfare

Thomas Neely

Having lost three modern wars due to inability to categorize and understand the phase of war that begins after conventional war is over, it is imperative that this be remedied. The author argues that conventional wars spin into attritional war, and attritional war cannot be won.

Article published on: July 22, 2016

Muddling Leadership and Management in the United States Army

Capt. Charles R. Gallagher, U.S. Army

The author contends that too often the Army seeks to solve complex problems through management processes while underutilizing leadership due to the muddied overlap of the terms leadership and management.

Article published on: August 12, 2016

Managing Talent Before it Manages You—How Leaders Can Influence Performance at the Company Level

Capt. Daniel R. Reynolds and Capt. Thomas E. Meyer, U.S. Army

The authors argue that battalion and company-level leaders need to build intentional and dynamic talent management processes. They outline a strategy for recognizing and developing leaders.

Article published on: August 12, 2016

Embracing Complexity: Adjusting Processes to Meet the Challenges of the Contemporary Operating Environment

Lt. Col. Thomas Kopsch, German Army, and Maj. Amos Fox, U.S. Army

The authors argue that current planning processes under-develop their characterizations of problems. They suggest a framework to mitigate operational problems occurring from ill-structured problems.

Article published on: August 22, 2016

Mandatory Education: A New Paradigm to Improve the NCO Corps

Staff Sergeant Timothy D. Couchman, U.S. Army

The author argues that making higher education mandatory for the NCO Corps will improve professionalism, career stability, moral behavior, and enhance national security preparedness.

Article published on: September 23, 2016

The Ironic Hindrances of Slaughter: A Case Study in Mission Command and Moral Autonomy

Lieutenant Colonel Peter D. Fromm, U.S. Army, Retired

The author argues that mission command must include an ongoing education in the principles of right action.

Article published on: September 23, 2016

Taking the Surge Global in the Age of Facebook

Capt. Robert Cohen

The author argues that in order to avoid continual repeats of recent disappointments in the Middle East, the U.S. and its allies must adopt a global counterinsurgency approach.

Article published on: September 16, 2016

Improving While Operating: The Paradox of Learning

Prof. Carey W. Walker and Professor Matthew J. Bonnot, Command and General Staff College

Organizations must master innovation and adaptability while simultaneously staying on top of day to day tasks. The authors walk through how to navigate organizational leadership and stay focused on success.

Article published on: September 2, 2016

The Resonance of History: The Influence of Soviet-Era Mujahidin Networks in Eastern Afghanistan

By Dr. Brian R. Price

The author discusses the current situation regarding human terrain tools for working with local populations, providing two case studies on successful use of investigating local histories towards acquiring a comprehensive picture of social dynamics.

Article published on: October 25, 2016

“Dance With the One Who Brung Ya”: Using Informational Interviews to Enable Career Transition

Col. John Buckley, U.S. Army, Retired

The author uses strategic planning methods to explain how to leverage informational interviews as part of a successful transition to the civilian sector.

Article published on: October 21, 2016

Strategic Command: General David Petraeus and the Execution of Strategic Leadership

Maj. William J. Denn, U.S. Army

The author examines Gen. Petraeus’s career in order to show how Petraeus’s development and implementation created organizational change that the Army can continue to study and learn from.

Article published on: October 7, 2016

Big Data War Games Necessary for Winning Future Wars

Maj. Mark Van Horn, U.S. Army

The author argues that innovations in the information and cognitive sciences will pull war games into the era of big data and revolutionize how the Army prepares itself to win future wars.

Article published on: October 4, 2016