JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
Nearly 100 U.S. Army noncommissioned officers gathered at the Joint Base Langley-Eustis Transportation Museum to celebrate the U.S. Army NCO Corps' 238th birthday at Fort Eustis, Virginia, Dec. 17, 2015.
"Today is all about the NCO Corps' past, present, and future; leading, training and taking care of Soldiers. We want to represent the NCO Corps well," said Sgt. Maj. Joel Zecca, the provost sergeant major of the 733rd Security Forces Squadron.
Zecca began the celebration with a brief look at the NCO Corps' history, which dates back to 1777 shortly after the birth of the Continental Army. He went over the significance of leadership roles during the Revolutionary War and the publication of Friedrich von Steuben's set of regulations, more commonly known as "The Blue Book," a book that standardized the duties and responsibilities of noncommissioned officers.
Before cutting the ceremonial cake, the eldest NCO at the event, Sgt. Maj. Keith Hunter, a senior training developer of the 128th Aviation Brigade, reflected on the branch's leadership, which, more than two centuries later continues to strive to uphold the NCO Corps Creed's two basic responsibilities- accomplishment of the mission and the welfare of its Soldiers.
"Seek to leave a legacy," said Hunter to the junior NCOs at the celebration. "From the time you get up in the morning, you need to breathe energy into your formation. Take every opportunity and every engagement with a Soldier to professionally develop and mentor. Establish, enforce standards and discipline. Hold your Soldiers accountable. Seek for your legacy to be professionally well-trained Soldiers because that's what we do as noncommissioned officers."
The mentorship of the more experienced NCOs at the ceremony left sergeants like Sgt. Robert Trommer, the youngest at the celebration, with a feeling of pride.
"For Sgt. Major Zecca to go back and recognize where the NCO Corps came from and how young everyone was, it makes me feel like I've actually accomplished a lot in a short period of time," said the Soldier who made sergeant at the age of 21. "It makes me strive to want to grow even further."
While there have been changes in the last 238 years, some even as recent as Trommer's and Hunters' time in service, the importance of the NCO has stood the test of time. From the Revolutionary War to today's war on terrorism, NCOs have continued to demonstrate the Army's core values which depict the leadership necessary to be called the "Backbone of the Army."
Trommer summed up the significant event as a tribute to NCOs past and present. "It shows what we went through to get to the position where we are now, where NCOs lead Soldiers and how we're always up front. We lead from the front."