The HR Sergeant's Role In The Army Profession

Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO) are considered to be “the backbone of the Army”. These Soldiers take the officers

The Human Resources Sergeant plays a vital role in the Army Profession of Arms. An Army professional must have various attributes of good character and leadership skills and the “Be, Know, Do” qualities to be called a profession at all. All leaders must embrace the challenge of balancing multiple responsibilities at once within their profession in order to accomplish any mission. As a United States Army Human Resources Sergeants, we must always consider the culture of the Army and its Profession as an important factor to mission accomplishment. Human Resources Sergeants are those who provide the services needed for admin functions which in turn fuel’s the Army Profession of Arms.

The Human Resource Sergeant’s Role in the Army Profession is to take care of our organization in preparing us for what is taking place now and what the future holds. As we quote the creed in stating, “I am an expert, and I am a professional”, we should be experts in our roles and carry out those roles as professionals. We are to take care of soldiers just the way we expect our leaders and counterparts to take care of us in their delegated professions. We play an integral part in everyday tasks and assignments. Similar to NCOs we are the “Backbone” of our organization.

The situation in today 's Army is clearly much different from what existed years ago. Many changes have occurred, moving the Army 's EO program from a strictly educational and training initiative to a multifaceted management program with clear goals and objectives. These goals and objectives are also an integral part of human relations and are nurtured and developed through a professional military education system.

The Importance of the Role of Human Resources Sergeant in the Profession of Arms Being a professional within the Army can be strenuous at times. Just ask any Human Resources Sergeant. As the Army continues to grow, so does the role of a Human Resources Sergeant. The Profession of Arms provides detailed knowledge of the overall responsibilities of the HR Professional. Compared to other professions, the Army is a Profession of Arms that produces the most intellectual and talented professionals.

The question we must ask ourselves is what exactly the Profession of Arms is and what is our role as Human Resource Sergeants (HR Sergeants) what is it that we bring to the fight, what’s our contribution to the Army’s overall objective. As we emerge from years of war, from constant back to back deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, we find ourselves in an era of persistent conflicts where we find ourselves embroiled in conflicts all around the world. In a world that seems more dangerous today than it was yesterday it is important we remain vigilant and remain capable of fighting and winning our nations wars. We must never forget the ethics instilled upon us by the Army. We must hold fast to our Army Values to which our profession is

Stewardship of the Army Profession is the last of the Five Essential Characteristics of the Army Profession, but in terms of importance, it is just as, if not more important than the other four. The United States Army’s ADRP-1, or Army Doctrinal Reference Publication 1, even defines stewardship as “the responsibility of Army professionals to ensure the profession maintains its five essential characteristics now and into the future”. Such importance is placed on this characteristic because Stewardship of the Army Profession is the one that ensures the other four are maintained. I sought out the definition of stewardship because despite having spent almost three and a half years and West Point, I was not entirely sure what the doctrine behind Stewardship was. In doing this, I felt like I was better prepared for both this paper and ensuring that the corrections I made were stewarding the profession. With this newly acquired knowledge, I set out to make my corrections.

As stewards of our profession, commanders ensure that military expertise continues to develop and be passed on to aspiring professionals through operational development. It is during this developmental phase that Professional Soldiers put their knowledge and skills to the test. Operational Army units certify and recertify their Professional Soldiers through repetitive and realistic training events including the Combat Life Saver Course, platoon live fires, and exercises at the National Training Center. In the course of these challenging and realistic experiences, the Army’s operational units develop Soldiers and leaders prepared to maintain high standards, discipline, and operational readiness. Operational development and adaptability will continue to drive changes in Army doctrine, organization, leadership, and education as we enter the post-war era. Without this kind of development, the Army could not maintain a well-disciplined professional fighting force.

The Importance of the role of Human Resources Sergeant in the Profession of Arms: Human resource sergeants have numerous roles in the profession of arms in today’s Army. Not only are the non-commissioned officers vital to this profession; so is each person that forms a part of this organization, to include department of defense civilian employees. A few elements come into consideration when describing this theory: what is the meaning of being a profession, the balancing role of the profession’s leaders, and the army professional culture. All of which form part of the human resources sergeant’s role in the army profession. When it comes to defining a profession, key words and “must have” characteristics come in play: expertise, trust, and service are the ones that draw my attention the most.

In order to address the role that the human resource sergeant plays in the Profession of Arms, it is important to understand the concept of being a profession. Being a profession as stated in “ An Army White Paper, The Profession of Arms”, “ produces uniquely expert work, not routine or repetitive work. It earns the trust of their clients through their Ethic, which is a means of motivation and self-control.”(2010). In order to view human resources as a profession, it is imperative that we see our positions as a way to expand on our current knowledge of human resources. We need to enjoy what we do, find satisfaction in helping others, and be aware that what we do in our day to day tasks, greatly affect the career and livelihood of our Soldiers.

Human Resources (HR) Professionals at all levels must have a basic understanding of what it means to live the Army Values, both on and off duty. Being an HR Professional inherently means one serves in the Army and, therefore, the Army values are not optional notions or cliché sayings; they are an expectation. The Army Values feed into the ethics, or moral fabric, of the Army like gas to an engine, requiring a constant supply in order to run in a frictionless fashion. Likewise, In the Army White Paper, “The Profession of Arms” (2010) it emphasizes, “The U.S Army’s Professional Ethic is built on trust with the American people…” (p. 2).

As the Army transitions from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, the organization is well served to take a long look in the mirror. After ten plus years of deployments, our combat tested warriors are sure to possess more than enough valuable knowledge to reinforce and improve upon our status as a profession. A TRADOC published paper explains “to be a professional is to understand, embrace, and competently practice the expertise of the profession.” I believe the profession of arms exists and there are many components that reinforce this argument. Among these components, initial entry training and institutional learning, shared values, and a monopoly on our mission are three of the most important tenants. All Soldiers must graduate

Growing up we all dreamed of profession we wanted to be as a child because of what we saw in our communities. For me I wanted to be a teacher because my grandfather always said that education was something nobody could take from you. I became that teacher 20 years later after that thing called life happened; kids, marriage and work. Later in life I decided to go in the Army. I am now a Human Resource Sergeant in the Profession of Arms. There are four key elements I would like to give my opinion about they are (1) What it mean to be a Profession; (2) The balancing role of the Profession’s Leader; (3) The Army Professional Culture and (4) The HR Sergeant’s Role in the Army Profession.

The core responsibility of the Human Resources (HR) Sergeant in the Profession of Arms is to support the Soldiers in a division level command. The HR Sergeant is responsible for all administrative functions such as personnel actions, financial and personnel accountability, records review, types all correspondence, processes operational orders for tasking, and prepares and processes enlisted actions. These are just a few of the many responsibilities of the HR Sergeants. HR Sergeants are not only responsible for the administrative support of their Soldiers, but have a duty to be a tactically proficient Soldier themselves. They are required to meet all the same standards of basic combat training. They are essential players in the success of all missions by ensuring the readiness of all Soldiers. “The profession requires unwavering, deeply held values on which to base ethic. Those values, when well internalized, are manifested in the character of individual professionals” (The Profession of Arms, 2010).

The Role of Human Resources Sergeant in the Profession of Arms remains the same at all levels, regardless of where we are at in the world, both at war and at times of peace. Field Manual 1-0 says it best. “HR support is executed at tactical, operational, and strategic levels. It includes all activities and functions executed within the Army personnel development system life cycle management functions (structure, acquisition, distribution, development, deployment, compensation, sustainment, and transition) to man the force and provide personnel support and services to Soldiers, their families, military retirees, and Department of Defense (DOD) civilians and contractors who deploy with the force.” (FM 1-0 HUMAN RESOURCES SUPPORT, 2014)