Giving ‘Em Hell with the Gunny: Where Are Our Leaders?

By R. Lee Ermey

In recent years, my beloved Marine Corps has worked its way through issues like LGBTs, in the military and women in combat. But these brushfires are trivial compared to the tasks facing the Marine Commandant—and indeed all top military leaders—over our disappearing cadres of NCOs, the men and women in small units who make the right things happen, 24/7, on every mission.

• RELATED STORY: The Gunny: Great Snipers, Ungrateful Libs!

Corporals and sergeants—the NCOs—are the backbone of our Marine Corps and Army small-unit combat operations. They are the vital link between the commanding officers and the troops who will be carrying out their unit’s mission. And right now, they are disappearing.

The problem is so severe that it has recently brought our top Marine and Army generals to speakers’ podiums. Only a month before he was named to head the combined Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Commandant General Joseph Dunford told the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Exposition that the Marine Corps needs to boost the number of sergeants and make up for a lack of experienced small-unit leadership.

The current number of NCOs in the ranks “does not meet our force structure requirements,” General Dunford said. “My primary focus now concerns our enlisted leadership.” …read more

Source:: Tactical Life