Fort Hood Senior Noncommissioned Officer Arrested a Second Time on Child Sex Assault Charges
A senior enlisted soldier stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, has been indicted in civilian court for alleged sexual abuse of a child, marking the second time he has faced similar charges in recent years, according to court records. Sgt. Maj. Victor Manuel Rivera was arrested on June 18 and released on a $90,000 bond on […]
Army Set to Overhaul Length of Noncommissioned Officer Academies to Cut Costs
Army planners are moving toward a sweeping overhaul of the service’s professional military education pipeline for noncommissioned officers, part of an aggressive push to slash costs. The overhaul is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks and primarily aimed at slashing the cost of sending soldiers to school — particularly travel expenses like rental […]
Soldier Who Was Inspector General Noncommissioned Officer of the Year Faces Sexual Assault, Harassment Charges
The Army inspector general’s noncommissioned officer of the year for 2019 is facing a general court-martial on charges related to sex crimes, according to court documents. Master Sgt. Christopher Dehn, 37, is set to be arraigned June 5 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state on four counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual […]
Army Eliminates Online Training Requirement for Noncommissioned Officers, Saying It's Too Burdensome
The Army has eliminated a significant part of its online training for enlisted troops — a learning program that has drawn the ire of the rank and file for years — and in effect revamped how it handles enlisted promotions. Effective immediately, the Distributed Leader Course, or DLC, is discontinued and will no longer be […]
Army Reserve Reports Hitting Goal for Sergeants Amid Push to End Noncommissioned Officer Shortage
After years of a shortage of noncommissioned officers in the Army Reserve, the service component may finally be gaining ground on its leadership deficit. The Army Reserve has struggled for half a decade to promote junior soldiers to sergeant, a reverberating impact that has led to shortfalls in the senior NCO ranks. But now, the […]
Temporary Promotions for Army Noncommissioned Officers to End in June
The Army said Thursday it is suspending its controversial program that promotes noncommissioned officers before they attend an academy. The service will suspend the temporary promotions starting in June in one of the most significant changes to its promotion system in recent years, it said in an announcement. The Army will also realign required noncommissioned […]
First Wave of Army Noncommissioned Officers Gets Automatic Promotions for Completing Recruiting School
Dozens of noncommissioned officers received fast-track promotions for graduating the Army’s recruiting school in recent weeks — part of a controversial move by the service as it desperately grapples with a depleting pool of NCOs interested in serving in the role. Of the 145 soldiers who attended the Army Recruiter Course, 56 NCOs were automatically […]
Army Noncommissioned Officers May No Longer Get Promoted Before Required Schooling Under New Policy
The Army is dramatically scaling back a two-year-old policy that allowed noncommissioned officers to be promoted before they attended an academy required for their next rank, according to a policy memo recently issued to the force. In January, active-duty enlisted soldiers and their full-time counterparts in the Army Reserve will no longer be able to […]