Long Hard Road: NCO Experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq

Abstract : The call to war is often met by young Soldiers who lack an understanding of what they are about to encounter. These young Soldiers must be trained, prepared, and then led in battle by those with experience and understanding -- the Noncommissioned Officer Corps. In an effort to preserve the history of the U.S. Army Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) and to provide future noncommissioned officers with an understanding of the actions necessary to prepare Soldiers and to lead them in war, the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy undertook a program to gather and publish the stories of NCOs who had served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Most of the papers received were from students of the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Course who had already deployed to either Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom. This work highlights a few of those stories. A wide range of topics have been chosen to allow the reader to understand the preparations, training, and actions needed for NCOs to accomplish their missions. The work is prepared in two sections: the first is titled "Stories from Afghanistan" and the second is titled "Stories from Iraq." "Stories from Iraq" is further broken down into "Fighting the Iraqi Army" and "Fighting the Insurgency." Each story has a brief introduction to provide the reader with a background and setting for the story. Timelines also are provided to assist the reader in following the stories in relation to other events that are taking place during the same time frame. In addition, maps provide the reader with an understanding of where in Afghanistan or Iraq those events occurred. To help readers understand many of the acronyms used by the U.S. Army and specific units, a glossary is made available as well, though it is by no means inclusive of all Army acronyms.