"Academy NCO’s Leadership in the Field Earn Them An Image" (Ivy Leaf, September 20, 1970, page 6)     by   Glenn R. Troester

“Staff Sergeant Dwight Davis has gone home.  Nothing very noteworthy about that.  In fact, there is nothing noteworthy about Sergeant Davis either.  Except the fact that he kept 25 people alive each day for a year, and earned their respect while doing it.  And for the fact he stayed awake all night many times because he knew his men were tired, and someone should make sure they stayed awake on guard; or someone should hear that quiet warning sound a guard might miss.  It was always that same someone.

Helping Hand

It was Sergeant Davis who helped his platoon leader during those terrifying First Days, the days when the second lieutenant, his gold bars barely six months old, wearing his new camouflage cover on his helmet, carrying a new rucksack packed too full with too much unnecessary baggage, and scared to death, must confront his platoon, appear cool, confident, competent and take command.  And the platoon always seems to be nothing but old hardened veterans; rugged, tough combat troops sure of themselves and their abilities.  But Sergeant Davis stood by the lieutenant and although he actually ran the platoon, he encouraged and directed the platoon leader, and congratulated him on the fine way he was running things.

Eventually, the lieutenant did take over.   But Sergeant Davis still worried about his men, still made sure they had enough of the proper supplies and equipment, still checked their condition even though the medic attended them, and still was  the one who helped the wounded onto the LZ or into the penetrator, and ensured their equipment was properly tagged and evacuated.  And when his men went on a sweep while he stayed behind, he stayed with tense nervousness by the radio, and worried about them until they returned.  When one of his platoon members was hungry or thirsty, Sergeant Davis was always the first to give the man his own food or water.

None of this is noteworthy about Sergeant Davis.  What is noteworthy is the fact that Sergeant Davis only spent two years in the Army.  He is a school-trained NCO.  Noteworthy too, he is just one of hundreds like him, a strange and fantastic phenomenon. 

Back in the states, the academy NCO went to Basic and Advanced Individual Training, like everyone else.  Then, at either the whim of the Army and his leadership test scores, or under his own volition, he finds himself in the NCO Academy.  He undergoes weeks of rigorous training and it is all geared toward one goal, and he knows it.  Someday he will be a squad leader or platoon sergeant in Vietnam.

Distrusted

After he graduates, the new NCO bears the hard looks of some career NCO’s with equal rank but many more years service.   He endures humorous jokes about himself, and descriptive appellations such as “Instant NCO” or “Shake and Bake.”  He is initially given a stateside assignment for his on-the-job training to learn in practice what he learned in theory. Then comes THE DAY; that which was the intended result of all this time, training and preparation.  The NCO goes to Vietnam.  And here, he justifies every hour and every dollar and everyone used to train him.

 In the Army barely a year, and barely older than the men he must lead, he finds himself in the Vietnam jungles suddenly responsible for the lives of men he doesn’t even know.  His job traditionally belongs to an older man of several years experience, and at least one grade his senior.  But there aren’t enough such men to go around.  So, it falls to the lot of the academy NCO’s to take the responsibility, make the most of a bad situation and do the best job possible.

And the best is what he does.  Sometimes at the cost of his life, often with valor, but always with the highest professionalism and distinction.

Throughout Vietnam, the academy NCO is a true hero, respected by his men for his sacrifices and unceasing and tireless effort for them; by his platoon leader and higher commanders for his matchless performance and unsurpassed competence, and by everyone else for the contribution he makes for bringing his men home safely at the same time he accomplishes his mission.

Lasting Image

 Sergeant Dwight Davis has gone home.  But there are many others like him in Vietnam, and still more are coming.  I was his platoon leader.  But he left me with something I didn’t have before I knew him.  He left me an image.  An image of a citizen soldier, who saw a job to be done and did it flawlessly.  An image of a man who will always stand just a little taller in my book than the average run of men.  An image I share with countless others throughout Vietnam.  An image of the best America has to offer.  The image of a leader.”