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Enlisted professional military education: Army

The Noncommissioned Officer Education System consists of leader development and specialty training at NCO academies and branch service schools throughout the Army.

Major components of the system include:

Warrior Leader Course – a leadership course for soldiers of all branches selected for promotion to sergeant. Conducted at NCO academies, the course normally is four weeks. Instructors trainparticipants to lead team-size units. It is a requirement for promotion to staff sergeant.

Basic NCO Course – a combination of common-core training that can be taught at home station, and skill training at branch service schools that range from a couple of weeks to a few months, depending on the military occupational specialty. BNCOC prepares soldiers to serve as squad leaders. It is a requirement for promotion to sergeant first class.

Advanced NCO Course – a branch-specific course that is taught at service schools, and that prepares promotable staff sergeants to lead platoon-size units. Like BNCOC, the course can range from a few weeks to a few months. It is a requirement for promotion to master sergeant.

Sergeants Major Course – the capstone of enlisted training, this course prepares senior NCOs (E-8s and E-9s) for troop and staff assignments through the Army and U.S. defense establishment.

The Sergeants Major Academy at Fort Bliss, Texas, offers two versions of the course.

The resident course is nine months and taught at Fort Bliss, while the two-year non-resident version can be taken online or through the use of compact discs.

For additional information about the NCO Education System, check out these links:

• AR 350-1 (Army Training and Leader Development), the governing regulation for NCOES - http://www.usapa.army.mil/pdffiles/r350_1.pdf

• Training and Doctrine Command homepage with links to TRADOC schools and major subordinate organizations - http://www-tradoc.army.mil/tradocLinks.htm.

• AR 600-8-19 (Enlisted Promotions and Reductions) describes the linkage of promotions to NCOES - http://www.usapa.army.mil/pdffiles/r600_8_19.pdf