WEST FORT HOOD, Texas -- The top NCO
of the unit charged with recruiting and training
Soldiers stopped and talked with Operational Test
Command NCOs on a wide range of topics Friday.
Command Sgt. Maj. David S. Davenport Sr., the honcho of
NCOs at the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command,
swung by OTC to mentor Soldiers on NCO 2020 Strategy.
"What I'm working on is how we're going to improve the
NCO Corps for the next 30, 40, 50 years," he said.
STEP is a topic Davenport brought up immediately, which
he said means Select, Train, Educate, and Promote.
"STEP is nothing more than a policy that is a force and
function to get you, the Soldier, to school. Because if
you don't go to school, you don't get … promoted," he
said along with all the NCOs in unison response.
Davenport clarified that STEP is not automatic
promotion.
"S means that you must be selected based on your
performance, your potential, and your character," he
said.
"Character matters to be a noncommissioned officer," he
stressed. "We want leaders of character. Not bad
character, but good character, who uphold the Warrior
Ethos, our Army Values -- we want role models for our
Soldiers, so character matters."
He went on to describe a particular problem the Army is
having.
"We've got a lot of great young Soldiers … E4s … that
are fully qualified to go to the sergeant board, and
they're not going," he explained. "About 19 percent is
all we're recommending."
He went on to say these younger Soldiers haven't done
anything wrong.
"They've done absolutely nothing wrong," Davenport said.
"They're not flagged, they're not pending any UCMJ.
They're good young men and women."
He explained the problem is evident when you start
looking at why they're not going to the local promotion
board.
He said, "You see things like, 'Specialist Mack, I'm not
recommending you for promotion this month because you
did not score 270 or above on the PT test.'
"Is that our Army standard?" he asked the NCOs.
Of course, they responded, "No."
"What is the Army standard?" asked Davenport, giving
them food for thought.
"Specialist Barrios, I'm not recommending you for
promotion this month because you did not attend Sergeant
Major Schmidt's Soldier of the Month Board," he said as
another example.
"Is that an Army standard," he asked the NCOs.
"No!" they exclaimed collectively.
"So, we're not recognizing young Soldiers based on
standards that are not Army standards and it's causing a
problem," said Davenport.
"I think we can do this (right) if we identify the
problem and get at it," he added.
During almost an hour of two-way interaction with the
NCOs, Davenport said it is important that he get out to
speak with NCOs about what affects the NCO Corps.
"Whether they are Guard or Reserve, or FORSCOM, TRADOC,
or here at the Operational Test Command, I'm more than
willing to spend an hour or two hours to communicate
about the work we're doing with NCOs," he said.
He said he was happy to visit OTC and learn about its
mission.
"I learned about the complexity of the OTC mission and
the responsibility it has to our Army, to make sure that
what we put in Soldiers' hands -- what they shoot, and
the tactics they use to fight with -- that it's
validated through an arduous process," he said.
For those interested in more of what the TRADOC CSM has
for all Soldiers, turn to his blog at
http://tradocnews.org/category/straight-from-the-csm/
Davenport is hosting a virtual Town Hall Nov. 3 from
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, the third
in a series, that will help Soldiers learn how to get
ahead in their careers.
"This is a very important topic," Davenport said,
"especially for those of you who want to advance in your
career but don't have a clear understanding of how to do
it."
To join Davenport's Town Hall,
turn browsers to: http://www.tradoc.army.mil/watch/
During the Town Hall, Davenport
will also be responding to direct questions via his
Twitter at #TRADOCtownhall, or the TRADOC Facebook page
at: https://www.facebook.com/USArmyTRADOC