The U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy is seeking input from the NCO Corps on an appropriate new name for the institution as it transitions from an organization focused on training, to one that is focused on education.
"The Sergeants Major Academy has been transforming for the past two years and is not the academy of yesteryear," said Col. Donald E. Gentry, the school's commandant. "We have evolved from an institution that trains to one that is focused more on education; producing broadly-skilled, adaptive, and critical thinking NCO leaders fully capable of operating across the full spectrum of operations while supporting ARFORGEN."
Gentry added that the term 'academy' is synonymous with a school identified for special training or instruction in a special field or area; whereas the term "University" or "College" is better identified with where the academy is going in its transformation of the Noncommissioned Officer Education System.
"While there are still parts of NCOES that focus on the training aspect, especially MOS specific training, we are placing more emphasis on educating the force at all levels of NCOES," said Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond Chandler, academy command sergeant major. "Starting with the Warrior Leaders Course all the way up to the Sergeants Major Course, we want to produce adaptive, critically-thinking NCOs capable of leading Soldiers well into the future."
The Sergeants Major Academy was founded on July 1, 1972, with one mission, to provide selected senior NCOs a broad and in-depth educational experience, designed to qualify them for promotion to Sergeant Major and subsequent service to top level positions throughout the Army.
The mission of The Sergeants Major Academy today is to "serve as Training and Doctrine Command's lead for the Noncommissioned Officer Education System (NCOES), executive agent for Structured Self-Development Program, and ensure quality training, education, and professional development for the Noncommissioned Officer Corps."
While the academy does not currently grant academic degrees, it is a future goal of the institution. USASMA currently partners with several colleges and universities that grant undergraduate and graduate level credit for the Sergeants Major Course (SMC) Curriculum and also has degree programs specifically designed for the SMC.
Individuals wishing to comment on the proposed name change are asked to provide their suggestions via email no later than 30 June to Mr. Sylvester Smith, Director Strategic Initiatives Group at usasma.namechange@conus.army.mil.
The announcement of the new name for the academy is expected to occur during opening ceremonies for Class 60 of the Sergeants Major Course.
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