By Bernard Tate, Headquarters
(This is the command sergeant major’s quarterly message to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.)
Most people think of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a civilian agency with some Soldiers in it. But Command Sgt. Maj. Micheal Buxbaum has a different take.
“We’re really a green-suit Army organization, but we just happen to have a lot of civilian employees,” said Buxbaum, the USACE command sergeant major.
The command sergeant major has a point – USACE is an Army direct reporting unit, led by Army officers. Like any other Army command, USACE also has a sizeable group of noncommissioned officers, commonly called NCOs or sergeants. When asked to estimate of their number, Buxbaum thought for a few moments, and then said “Counting our NCOs in Afghanistan and Iraq, we have a couple hundred. That doesn’t count the 249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power). All of their Prime Power Soldiers come to them as either E-4 promotable or sergeants. So 90 percent of the 249th’s Soldiers are NCOs.”
The Army has designated 2009 as the Year of the NCO, and Buxbaum wants to highlight what USACE sergeants, and NCOs in general, bring to the table.
“It’s not like years ago when the NCOs were just someone on the ground level getting things done,” Buxbaum said. “Today NCOs are just as well-educated as many of our officers. In a lot of cases, because officers are often required to travel on TDY or some other tasker, they put NCOs in charge temporarily. So you could have a master sergeant holding down a major’s job for awhile.
“So a lot of the old limitations aren’t there any more, and the Army wants to highlight that in 2009,” Buxbaum said. “Today’s NCOs are more than just a set of stripes and a loud barking voice. We’re critical thinkers, we’re tactical thinkers, and we play a critical role. The Chief of Staff of the Army states that ‘America’s strength is its Army.’ You can take that one step further and say the Army’s strength is the noncommissioned officers. We’ve always been called the backbone of the Army, and 2009 is an opportunity to highlight that.”
Except for a few official slots like the command sergeant major or the 249th Soldiers, most of the Corps’ NCOs are activated Army Reservists or National Guard – citizen Soldiers who volunteered for activation with USACE, or were activated to fill a need. Most are experienced senior NCOs – staff sergeants, sergeants first class, master sergeants, and even sergeants major.
Those NCOs fill a surprisingly wide variety of jobs in USACE.
“Here in Headquarters we have NCOs down in Human Resources, and the general’s driver and his aide are NCOs,” Buxbaum said. “In the districts we’re putting them in operations and security slots. We’ve even got some working as contract specialists, overseeing contracts and quality assurance and quality control. So pick an area and there’s probably an NCO working in it.”
Leadership is a primary role for NCOs everywhere in the armed forces, even in USACE where there are almost no lower enlisted Soldiers.
“Our NCOs aren’t doing a lot of traditional squad leader and platoon sergeant leadership, but many of them are still leaders,” Buxbaum said. “For example, in one case we have a master sergeant in a security section. He’s the military security manager, and three civilian employees work for him. So he looks at himself as their squad leader, making sure things get done.
“In Iraq and Afghanistan, a lot of our NCOs see themselves as squad leaders to make sure the civilian employees have all their battle gear and know how to use it properly. And they keep track of security and the latest intel. So they’re still in a leadership role; they’re just leading and taking care of civilians.”
Buxbaum was hard-pressed to single out a few NCOs who do especially good work.
“Oh, there’s a bunch of ‘em,” he said. “I’d have to start with Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Koontz in Los Angeles District. He took me on a tour of the border fence, which is an amazing project.
“There’s Master Sgt. John Walls in Europe District,” Buxbaum continued. “Any USACE employee returning from Iraq or Afghanistan, if you go through Europe he personally tracks you, stays with you, and visits you. He’s a phenomenal NCO doing phenomenal work.
“Then you’ve got all the guys in theater. There’s a list of them as long as your arm,” Buxbaum added. “The Soldiers we have in Iraq and Afghanistan are doing excellent work that makes a difference in those countries. All of them are volunteers. They went to their National Guard or Reserve unit and said ‘I want to volunteer for a tour with USACE as a Soldier.’”
Some Army major commands have planned celebrations for the Year of the NCO. Because USACE is subdivided into independent divisions and districts, no command-wide events are planned.
“But we do have opportunities, and I’ve talked to district and division commanders about that,” Buxbaum said. “You can highlight the NCOs you have in-house. Whether they are active duty, National Guard, or Reserve, tell your folks about them and what they do. ‘This is Master Sgt. Jones, and this is what he does for us.’ That’s a little different for us, because most of the time we NCOs aren’t used to being forward in the limelight.
“But noncommissioned officers really do bring something to the table in USACE,” Buxbaum said. “They may not be degreed engineers; they may not have all the scientific background. But they bring the common sense, boots-on-the-ground, get-your-hands-dirty mentality that is a huge plus to our business. So introduce your NCOs and tell people what they do.
“And the main thing I would like everyone to do, if you have NCOs working in your area, talk to them,” Buxbaum added. “Find out what makes them a sergeant first class. Figure them out. They may be there only on a short temporary assignment, but they bring something to the table.
“I want everyone to get linked together,” Buxbaum concluded. “If we can do that, not just in 2009 but in every unit where we have NCOs, we’ll be a success. We’ll go from good-to-great if we can do that, and I believe we can.”
PHOTOS
Sgt. 1st Class Kurt Holzer poses with students at al Abrar School in Iraq. Behind him is Staff Sgt. Tim St. Clair. (Photo courtesy of Gulf Region Division)
Staff Sgt. Jessee Mckee (right) discusses a road project with the district sub-governor of Jaghato in Afghanistan. (Photo courtesy of Afghanistan Engineer District)