Teaching approaches for senior noncommissioned officer classrooms

Teaching Thoughts

Non-commissioned officer works under the authority of a commissioned officer in the military, but technically, they do not have any command. With time, non-commissioned officers rise to higher positions of nominal powers depending on how military is organized. They act as liaisons between highly ranked officers and the regular officers of the military. With this, they play an important role in the army and act as a military backbone. Teachers (class leaders) are chosen from the group of the same academia by non-commissioners of the same class, who in turn learn and perfect their skills as they teach the rest. Training while performing duties in the army takes place simultaneously for non-commissioned officers. They carry increasing levels of responsibilities in the army and demand greater levels of respect and deference. While under training, several teaching aids should be put into consideration. First, teaching of non-commissioned officers should be based on their respective branches of their military academy (platoons). A class should be composed of similar military academies and specific oriented professions to enhance professionalism. The professionals (teachers) taking the non-commissioned officers through the teaching process gain skills and entirely focus on "duality" for faculty ranks for all academies. This implies that students train for both educational and professional skills.

Senior non-commissioned officers are divided into three ranks, that each officer must be eligible and should meet the requirements of each class. Sergeant First Class is the lower class, which ranges to approximately fifteen to eighteen years of military experience. A soldier should be in a position to bring out the experience and bear it quick, with accurate decisions. Platoon sergeant is in position of advising platoon leader and the primary assistant, with the duty of caring and training the soldiers. Platoon sergeant teaches the platoon collective tasks, individual tasks to soldiers under their equivalent small units. They are also in charge of the platoon in the absentia of the platoon leaders. Platoon sergeant is considered key in the command structure of the Army and has sergeants staff who work under him.

Master sergeant and first sergeant are a level higher than the sergeant first class. It is the middle class of the senior non-commissioned officers and is the principal at the battalion level. The duty of the master sergeant is to dispatch duties and leadership to the platoon, although under the same professionalism as that of senior first sergeant. First sergeant is the life-blood of the army, since almost all the units under army merge under him. First sergeant instructs the platoon sergeant, advises the commander, holds formations and assist in training of all members enlisted. First sergeant is proud of the unit and hence makes the success of the unit known to others. At times, first sergeant is referred to as the "Mother of the Company."