This is a book of quotations by and about noncommissioned officers, and spans centuries of the Army’s experience in peace and war. It includes all members of the Total Army: the Active Army, the Reserve Components (Reserves and National Guard), the Army Family, the Civilian Corps, Veterans, and the Retired Corps, and has three purposes:
1. To share some of the knowledge and practical experience of members of the Army’s Noncommissioned Officer Corps. NCO knowledge and experience is invaluable, for the challenges of military service can only be met through leadership, training, and teamwork, and NCOs provide more than three-quarters of the Army’s leadership.
2. To recognize the contributions of the Noncommissioned Officer Corps to the Army and the Nation, for as Tom Clancy wrote, noncommissioned officers are “the guys who make the Army work.”
3. To encourage more writing by and about the Army’s Noncommissioned Officer Corps. NCO wisdom is both practical and profound, and forms a body of knowledge essential to the accomplishment of the Army’s mission.