A Report On Ficer Corps - 1012 Words

GySgt Daniel Daly once said, â€Å"Any officer can get by on his sergeants. To be a sergeant you have to know your stuff. I’d rather be an outstanding sergeant that just another officer.† Imagining and Marine Corps without any NCOs is to imagine a Marine Corps that doesn’t exist. There would be no boot camp because there would be no drill instructors. There would be no outstanding specialists to transform into warrant officers; aircraft, weapons and trucks would rust and break down never to be repaired and finally and most importantly there would be no accountability. Noncommissioned officers are as old as war itself. In the seventh century the smallest tactical unit in the Roman legion was commanded by a centurion who is akin to a gunnery sergeant. The condottieri, or mercenaries, we professionals who served under any state that would pay and feed them; in their companies the ranks of corporal and sergeant were born. In 1778, Baron von Steuben wrote the main pur pose of the noncommissioned officer corps is to decentralize command authority in an orderly fashion down to the smallest element in an organization. In other words, NCOs exist to teach Marines, execute orders, take care of people and cushion the contact with officers. On becoming an NCO we receive a certificate of appointment; often referred to as a warrant. This document is the basis of our authority, rank, status and responsibilities and the words on it sum up the reasons why the Marine Corps