America is synonymous with Freedom and Opportunity - obtained, sustained and protected by Soldiers. They are America's Persons of the Year, every year.

SMA Richard A. Kidd

I have never yet had a soldier stand up and say, “I’m not proud to be a soldier.” Noncommissioned officers lead, train, and take care of every one of those young soldiers out there. The people who make the biggest contribution to the Army are the NCOs, so if you think the Army is accomplishing its mission, and the soldiers are doing well, you have the Noncommissioned Officer Corps to thank for that.

SMA Robert E. Hall

NCOs need to get involved in activities within their own area of control and influence. They need to be concerned with the people on their left and right flanks, but to be more concerned with those people and things in their own lane. Soldiers need their sergeants to get down in the dirt and dig the foxhole or to crawl up under a vehicle and get greasy. I have yet to have a soldier for whom I have done this fail me- no matter how many butt chewings that soldier may have gotten.

SMA Gene C. McKinney

If you listen carefully, you can hear them. They are the echoes of marching soldiers. From the numerous camps, posts, and stations around the world, these echoes rise to form a mighty thunder, a thunder made by the best-trained, best-led, best-equipped Army in the history of the world. One of the strengths of our great Army is the unique ability of our soldiers to rise to the occasion and get the job done, no matter what the adversities or the situation, during war and peace. Soldiers who wear NCO’s chevrons on their sleeves represent a unique Army strength. Our most precious resource- our soldiers.

SMA Julius W. Gates

The most impressive thing about any Army is the individual soldier. He will always be the one responsible for taking and holding the ground in support of our foreign policy, mission, goals, and objectives. Even with sophisticated technology and advanced equipment, an Army cannot fight, sustain, and win a war without individual, quality soldiers. NCOs are the ones who provide the small unit leadership so necessary for our Army’s success. Young soldiers look at their first and second line bosses as “higher headquarters.” The NCO is Department of the Army to them. The desire to excel must become an NCO’s way of life- the corps is only as good as the core.

SMA Glen E. Morrell

When General Creighton Abrams interviewed me for the job of Sergeant Major of the Army, he asked me what I would do to get our Army moving again if I were Chief of Staff. I told him the success of the Army is in direct proportion to the involvement of the Noncommissioned Officer Corps.

SMA Leon L. Van Autreve

The most precious asset we have in the U.S. Army is the soldier; the scarcest asset is time. On a visit to one of our installations, I was shown an automated system which is designed to significantly improve artillery fire support. Being a former tanker, I was impressed by a system which, according to reports, will revolutionize the battlefield. As I was leaving, the young soldier who had operated the control console and had overheard my praise of the system stood up as I walked past him and said, “Sergeant major, this sure is a great machine, but it doesn’t do anything unless I tell it to.”

SMA William A. Connelly

What I have seen during this past year has come as a revelation to me: the scope, the depth, the know-how, the ingrained dedication of the members of the Army team. From taps to reveille, from reveille to taps, wherever the cooking fires of our bivouacs burn, you will find the American soldier on the job because he has a job to do.

SMA William O. Wooldridge