{"id":51954,"date":"2023-08-04T14:40:08","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T14:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/08\/04\/new-sergeant-major-of-the-army-calls-nco-development-a-top-priority\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:23:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:23:29","slug":"new-sergeant-major-of-the-army-calls-nco-development-a-top-priority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2023\/08\/04\/new-sergeant-major-of-the-army-calls-nco-development-a-top-priority\/","title":{"rendered":"New sergeant major of the Army calls NCO development a top priority"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Army\u2019s new top noncommissioned officer is the odd man out in his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a Wednesday media event preceding his Friday assumption of responsibility as the 17th sergeant major of the Army, Sgt. Maj. Michael R. Weimer confessed that he deviated from the footsteps of his forebears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy father was an officer, and my grandfather was an officer,\u201d Weimer said. \u201cMy daughter\u2019s on a journey to actually be an officer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weimer said he wanted to be a noncommissioned officer almost from the start of his military career, though he admitted he\u2019s \u201cnot sure\u201d he understood why at the time. Now he\u2019s the service\u2019s top enlisted soldier after nearly three decades in the special operations community<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked what he would consider to be a metric of success for his tenure as sergeant major of the Army, Weimer explained the importance that enlisted leaders play in making the Army \u201cthe envy of the world.\u201d His response echoed one of the \u201ctruths\u201d of special operations<\/a>: humans are more important than hardware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe always talk about modernizing the tank \u2014 absolutely critical. Modernizing the Next [Generation] Squad Weapon \u2014 absolutely…all are critically important,\u201d he said. \u201c[But] modernizing, innovating professional development, leader development to the leaders that we\u2019re going to need for 2030, 2040? I\u2019m passionate about that. That\u2019s what I\u2019m going to talk about four years from now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weimer said that he believes improving the quality and engagement of NCO leadership will play a key role in reducing persistent challenges with suicides, sexual harassment and assault, and other quality-of-life issues. He said he wants their training pipeline to better resemble real life, and that he wants real life to better resemble best practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I go to [professional military education] and I see what right looks like, but then I go back my unit at whatever echelon I\u2019m at, and the two don\u2019t match up, there\u2019s an issue there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service\u2019s new top enlisted leader said he\u2019s also \u201cpassionate\u201d about instilling a \u201cwarrior mindset\u201d up and down the ranks. Weimer acknowledged that doing so will look different for soldiers across the service\u2019s diverse career fields, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, as the service reorients its force structure, tech and doctrine to prepare for potential large-scale conflicts with enemies like China, Russia or Iran in the decades ahead, Weimer wants to ensure that its people are ready too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe goal is to be so lethal and so intimidating that you deter any of our adversaries [from] actually wanting to go to large-scale combat operations,\u201d he said. \u201cNobody wins from large-scale combat operations[.]\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weimer will take the reins from Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston, who retired after nearly 36 years of service.<\/p>\n\n\n\t