This is a transcript of an interview with Sergeant Major of the Army Leon L. Van Autreve (USA- ret.) conducted in 1994 for the Sergeants major of the Army History Project.
Leon L. Van Autreve dedicated his military career to establishing and enforcing standards and improving the reputation of the Non Commissioned Officer Corp. From the battlefields of World War II to the jungles of Vietnam, Leon Van Autreve led...
The NCO Corps has made vast contributions to our Army. The significant impacts we have made in our Army is something we need to study and pass on to our subordinates, so that they, too, will know and understand the traditions and richness of our...
Leon L. Van Autreve, the 4th Sergeants Major of the Army, held the position from July 1, 1973 through June 1975. He was born in Eeklo, Belgium, on January 29, 1920 and died March 14, 2002. Rejuvenation of NCO Corps was SMA Van Autreve's greatest...
Leon L. Van Autreve, the 4th Sergeant Major of the Army, was sworn in on July 1, 1973 and served until his term ended in June of 1975. He was born in Eeklo, Belgium, on January 29, 1920. He entered the Army in August 1941 from Delphos, Ohio. After...
The Noncommissioned Officers (NCO) priority is always to focus on how they can train their soldiers to win in combat. The coach, teach and mentor method of training is the preferred system used widely in the Army. As the SMA it is a duty and...
William O. Wooldridge was born on 12 August 1922, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. William was the eighth often children. At the age of five the family moved to Cross Cut, Texas where Wooldridge stated that life there was "hard but satisfying" (Elder,...
The creation of the Office of the Sergeant Major of the Army in July 1966 represented a major milestone in the development of the United States Army. For the first time in history, an enlisted person assumed the role of a senior enlisted adviser...
United States. Army. Engineer Center and Fort Leonard Wood.
The Essayons, originally published as the Fort Leonard Wood Guidon in 1966 then as the Guidon from 1966 to 1987. Became Essayons in 1988 and remained that way until 1999 when it reverted back to Guidon. It has been and continues to be a record of...
United States. Army. Engineer Center and Fort Leonard Wood.
The Guidon came into being as a weekly publication in 1966 under the title Fort Leonard Wood Guidon. Between 1966 and 1987 the title was simplified to Guidon before becoming Essayons in 1988. The name reverted back to Guidon in 1999. It has been...
According to history and an article titled “A Short History of the NCO”, written by L.R. Arms, the noncommissioned officer or NCO position began in 1775 with the birth of the Continental Army. This was made possible by Freidrich von Steuben....
The highest ranking enlisted position in the army is held by none other than the Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA); a position, which has been bestowed to only 13 Soldiers over the past 40 years. The position was established in July 1966, by then...
This briefing discusses the contributions of the first twelve Sergeants Major of the Army in terms of NCOES, standards and discipline, and Soldier's quality of life. The-Sergeant Major of the Army advises the Chief of Staff on enlisted affairs,...
United States. Army. Engineer Center and Fort Leonard Wood.
The Essayons, originally published as the Fort Leonard Wood Guidon in 1966 then as the Guidon from 1966 to 1987. Became Essayons in 1988 and remained that way until 1999 when it reverted back to Guidon. It has been and continues to be a record of...
I met the 2nd Sergeant Major of the Army, George Dunaway in the fall of 2002 in Las Vegas, NV. He is a small man in stature, but he fills a room with his presence. I was there for a military conference as a member of the 104th Training Division....
The Office of the Sergeant Major of the Army (OSMA) has not always existed. The establishment of the position reflects a milestone in the history of the noncommissioned officer (NCO) and the importance of communicating the Soldier’s concerns to...
The US Army has a unique leader, the Sergeant Major of the Army that acts as the spokesperson for the enlisted Soldier and recommends solutions to Soldier problems to the Army's Chief of Staff (Bainbridge, 258). The responsibility inherent with the...
This paper discusses NCOs in the American Army (1945-present), outlining various distinguished Sergeants Majors of the Army, and the roles of the Recruiter Noncommissioned Officer, DRILL SERGEANT, and the Noncommissioned Officer Education System...
During the United States Army’s two hundred and thirty two year history the most significant period in the history of the Noncommissioned Officer is that from 1945 to the present day. During this time the United States Army Noncommissioned...