How long does it take to become an NCO?

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 09:43:28 -0500

Given all the practice it takes to become proficient at writing up NCOER's, awards, and counselings as well as learning how to become a well rounded leader, and managing different types of people.

Response by SGT Jim Z. made Feb 9 at 2015 9:46 AM

SGT Jim Z. — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 09:46:46 -0500

SFC Private RallyPoint Member That is an excellent question and I would say it depends on the person and their development. For example, if an SGT/E-5 reaches out to a Senior NCO for mentoring and receives it they may develop faster than say an E-5 that does not.

Response by SGT Francis Wright made Feb 9 at 2015 9:55 AM

SGT Francis Wright — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 09:55:25 -0500

Depends on education, experience, qualifications, and most important how big your MOS is; fore there has to be room to advance.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 9 at 2015 10:00 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 10:00:06 -0500

That's totally depend on the individual. The Army have different levels of NCOES , and each level teach you different subjects that an NCO should know at the level. But become a well rounded NCO takes time , experience and self development. In my experience everyday I learned something new, try to stay current with rules and regulations. I try to strive to remain tactically and technically proficient but that's is only one part of my job. We need candor at a time compassionate and knowledgeable to help our soldiers better. It's take time to master our craft as NCO, is a constant learning, self development and self discovery process.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Feb 9 at 2015 10:24 AM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 10:24:05 -0500

Trick question. You're constantly becoming one. Every day you're learning something new. Constantly changing, constantly learning, hopefully getting better.

As an example.

I PCS to my second unit, meet one of the two SNCO's I'm going to be working with. Ask him what time it is on his watch. And then change the time to match his. He asks why I do that, and I tell him that way we're always in sync. He'd never heard that before.

When he goes to the SNCO Resident program, he's assigned as the Class Leader (because of seniority), and he does the same thing to the SgtMaj. Apparently the SgtMaj had never heard that before, but my SSgt got mad props for it. Solid first impressions.

One of the benefits, and one of the problems with the rank system is no one has any clue how long you've been any particular rank.

I picked up Cpl early (probably way too early), in a Grunt BN. I had to learn fast or I would get eaten alive by a bunch of guys. Being a PoG, I couldn't give them any excuses. I was a Cpl for almost 3 years, just because the way our promotion system works. I learned a lot, from a lot of great leaders. When I picked up Sgt, I was ready, chomping at the bit ready. And it showed to my SNCOs who mentored the hell out of me for the next rank.

But like you said. Practice. I got a lot of practice, and hands on instruction. Others not so much. Learning curve will vary.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 9 at 2015 11:59 AM

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 11:59:04 -0500

To become a NCO - not long. To become a good NCO - it is a continual process that never ends.

Here is a short list of some of the more important factors that affect how long and how well:
Education - I've had Soldiers who had college degrees and couldn't lead water downhill.
Leadership - I've had Soldiers who were natural leaders, but couldn't write.
Opportunity - If you don't have the opportunity, you can't do anything. The right schools, the right vacancies, the right timing, etc
Luck - good or bad, it comes into play. Opportunity falls into this category sometimes.

Response by MSgt Michael Durkee made Feb 9 at 2015 12:36 PM

MSgt Michael Durkee — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 12:36:44 -0500

As many have already mentioned, being a good NCO, leader, and mentor is a matter of continued effort and self awareness.
The illustration may be a bit of a stretch, but we all bring unique abilities and everyone has a different capability and manner of accomplishing their goal. Keep striving to find what works for you and never hesitate to ask for help in fine tuning your tools.

Response by SGT Nia Chiaraluce made Feb 9 at 2015 1:32 PM

SGT Nia Chiaraluce — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 13:32:58 -0500

The best advice I was given regarding this question was to always have the mindset of two positions ahead of you. However, for me this mentality I am quickly learning can be a double edge sword. Set yourself ahead of your peers regarding basic soldier tasks like weapons qualifications, take initiative and show vision without stepping on toes. It doesn’t hurt when you can show your leadership style helps improve soldier’s mindset and improve stats within a squad or section.

Response by SMSgt Bryan Raines made Feb 9 at 2015 1:49 PM

SMSgt Bryan Raines — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 13:49:27 -0500

That's a double edged sword you're asking about. If by "NCO" you mean rank, it depends on the service and individual, some promote/get promoted faster than others. If by "NCO" you mean someone is who is a leader then it depends on the person and circumstances. At different times in my career I have been the E- whatever and grown into the rank and at other times I have been ready for the rank and responsibilities and duties of the rank as soon as I sewed it on. As several have mentioned you must continue to learn and grow as an NCO. The day you stop learning and growing is the day you should reevaluate, start the learning process again or get out.

Response by CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 9 at 2015 2:01 PM

CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 14:01:37 -0500

Which time? :-)

As others have eluded to, there is no magic answer or all inclusive definition of what an NCO is or what standard is needed to achieve to be one. Different people have different expectations, but the quality of a good NCO to me is someone that never stops trying to develop technically and professionally as they strive to take care of their subordinates and be the best example that others would be willing to follow.

Response by 1SG Henry Yates made Feb 9 at 2015 2:08 PM

1SG Henry Yates — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 14:08:06 -0500

I agree with many who preceded me, time and experience fit each of us in different ways, but we never stop learning. It took 6 years for me to pin E5. I pinned E5 twice, because my 1st time, the Army published the wrong cut off scores and I had to remove it and fix my pay by defacto. I began NCO responsibility as an E4. Yelling and being a jerk didn't cut it. I knew I was an NCO when I stood for Doctrine and regulation: I knew when I began to care enough to verify truth beyond assumption, when valued fairness and when I became selfess, evento shield Soldiers from aattention they didn't deserve. For me pinning rank is it's own and should mark that the attribuutes of leadership exist before tje promotion. E5s should work toward E6 responsibility and so on. Writing, mentoring, leading, they come with education, experience and lots of practice. Now the writing, I was scared as all get out, but as I learned about progression, it became easy.

Response by SMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 9 at 2015 4:06 PM

SMSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 16:06:08 -0500

The service your in dictates how long it take for you to attain the rank of NCO however your experiences, maturity, ability to grow, willingness to learn and initiative are the limiting factors in becoming a good to great NCO.

Constantly look around at the people near you. Everyone is better at something than you are, learn the good and the bad from others examples. They are like shortcuts to becoming a better person and leader.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 19 at 2015 8:35 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 19 Jul 2015 20:35:23 -0400

This is an interesting question. In the Army now, you can be promoted around the time you hit 18 months in service if you're really burning through the lower ranks or come in as a specialist and show yourself as a capable leader early on. Is that enough time to be a capable leader? Most people are still a PFC at that point! The average time to promotion to SGT now is about 36-40 months. I was recommended a little earlier due to pushing harder and proving my eagerness to grow and learn. At first, I was a little hesitant to take on the role due to not knowing everything there was to know about intel collection, analysis, and dissemination. The MSG who was pushing me toward it explained it this way- it's not necessarily what you know currently, but your ability to adapt and learn new things in the future. That changed my view of it because most of the time I see an NCO who knows almost everything there is to know technically and tactically. Now I see leadership more as a process. Indeed this is how Army regulation defines it- as a process (ADP 6-22).