Who here has worn stripes and bars; or has a perspective on the benefit of officers being enlisted first?

I've met some great Officers who were never NCOs, met some guys I thought were dirt bags that had been an NCO. It is the individual when it boils down to it. Either they will or will not be a good leader and Officer. Can understanding where their joes are coming from help them? I would certainly imagine so. I don't think it's something that necessarily always makes someone a better leader/Officer.

I did the E-1 to E-4 thing and then O-1 on up. The most significant thing about it was learning from the get go the necessity and effectiveness of the NCO community. As a JO, new NCOs were shocked that I wanted them to do their job and that I'd tolerate variation in style points. Then they'd see me in a uniform that required ribbons and the dots connected.

The other thing you get into early is habits. Aboard ship, if you see a piece of trash on the deck, you pick it up. Got some looks from ENLs when I was doing that later on as an O-5. Same goes for stepping aside when a sailor was carrying a load down the passageway.

The recognition of career progression as something that doesn't happen on its own because I had to work it in both environments. So when I ultimately had my own commands, I'd make sure the NCOs were involved in effectively rating their subordinates and that they knew my SEL was the go-to in quickly taking care of issues that came up with the troops. They also knew that I didn't want to know how things got done, just that they did and the ENLs were well taken care of. I can't think of the number of times when I told myself that the Seabee, Chief, JO, etc. did a better job than I would have done because they were better at it. That's why it takes so many specialties and skill sets to be effective. Just stay the hell out of their way and marvel at the results.

Some of the best Officers that I served with were prior enlisted. They had a grasp of how things worked and the lane difference between NCO's and Officers. The most difficult ones were from West Point.