NCO 2020 Strategy Analysis

As people and technology continue to evolve so do the ways we fight wars. There is currently a gap in the knowledge and skills between current Noncommissioned Officers (NCO) and the NCOs future operations will demand. This paper goes over what the NCO 2020 Strategy is and how it will close that gap. It will identify the reasons for the NCO 2020 Strategy, the end state, and tasks NCOs must complete in the interim to realize that end state. This paper starts with the statement of the overall vision and intent of this strategy before delving into the three Lines of Effort (LOE). The three Lines of Effort being Development, Talent Management, and Stewardship of the Profession are the three primary areas of focus in the major objectives which simultaneously

It deals with the vision regarding operational assignments, institutional assignments, and the professional development models.

Operational assignments usability is outlined by Army Doctrine Publication 7-0 (2012), "Operational assignments build on the fundamental skills, knowledge, and behaviors developed in institutional training. Operational assignments mature this baseline knowledge into a mission capability at the individual, crew, unit, staff, and leader level" (pg.1). These assignments are very diverse and cover a wide spectrum of duties and responsibilities that go with each chosen Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). One primary commonality shared by all these duty positions and assignments is the standardization of unit level Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development or NCOPD. This ensures that despite NCOs handling numerous responsibilities, their core knowledge and skills remain in effect and progressively increase using the evolving NCOPDS and S.T.E.P. system.

Institutional assignments are the other key ingredient of talent management and these relate to bringing NCOs from the operating force, back to the generating force. NCOs are

NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICER 2020 STRATEGY

Army Doctrine Publication 6-22 (2012) says," A leader stewards the profession to maintain professional standards and effective capabilities for the future" (pg.8). These are standards constantly refined and implemented throughout the force. This part of the vision allows for those trusted leaders of character to exemplify what it truly means to be an NCO and continue its legacy while simultaneously building upon it. Self-development is the key to this line of effort. Through the established means of competitive boards, expert action badges from challenging courses, and the gaining of character development along the way. Stewarding the Profession is a primary focus of the NCO 2020 since it is in this line of effort that we demonstrate a holistic culmination of the development and talent management lines of effort.

Noncommissioned Officer 2020 is the Army's vision for developing the leaders of tomorrow thru a deliberate, continuous, and progressive process. This process is the key to the future of the NCO of 2020 and beyond. While most parts of it have been brought up to full speed, many are still in a work in progress and require further guidance before the vision becomes a full reality and propels the NCO Corps forward into future endeavors. The