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[♪solemn music playing♪]
You don't punch in and punch out at the end of the day.
You're a noncommissioned officer from the moment you wake up until you go to sleep at night.
Without the NCO, the Army just doesn't work.
The NCO--we're the ones who actually train for missions,
we're the ones who really motivate the soldier,
we're the ones who are firsthand working with soldiers to accomplish actual missions.
So that's why we're the backbone of the Army.
They can and are making a difference in the world at a critical time for our nation.
They don't mind being part of an organization that's the best in the world at what it does
and is seen across the world as the best Army in the world.
I'm inspired by previous NCOs in that I had the choice of joining this Army or not--a volunteer Army.
[♪triumphant music playing♪]
It wouldn't be so if not for the service and sacrifice of NCOs--of soldiers--for the last 234 years.
Together we go through a lot of hard times.
If one is out here in the field, we're all out here in the field.
If one is having a hard time, we all have a hard time.
We have never had a Noncommissioned Officer Corps or a Junior Officer Corps that is as skilled as this one is.
They have been down the street every single day
looking the devil in the eye.
They are an amazing group--every single one of them.
[♪♪]
What makes me a good NCO is being able to take care of soldiers.
It's not about what rank I wear or what title I have;
it's about taking care of soldiers.
A good NCO can save a soldier's life.
In this year, the Year of the Noncommissioned Officer,
we especially recognize the role, leadership, and service of our NCO Corps.
Our Army is truly the strength of our nation,
and our noncommissioned officers are the glue that is holding our Army together
in this era of persistent conflict.
We do this because we know we have an important job to do.
And we train soldiers to be future leaders.
I love it. It's the best job I've ever had, being a noncommissioned officer.
I think the average American has to understand what a national treasure he has in the Army
and the Armed Services--not just the Army.
But at a different level, what a national treasure they have in their Noncommissioned Officer Corps.
The only way you can grow those noncommissioned officers is from the ranks,
from the soldiers out there, through their experience that they gain
to step up into those leadership positions of responsibility.
Regardless of the pay, regardless of anything else that they would challenge me with,
I'd rather be a noncommissioned officer than be anything else.
Everything that we know and everything that we do
is an inheritance from the legacy of service of 234 years of noncommissioned officers.
So we serve to pass on that knowledge to generations of people to come
and to act as the most professional corps of noncommissioned officers that, ideally, the United States has ever known.
[♪triumphant music playing♪]