The Noncommissioned Officer and Petty Officer BACKBONE of the Armed Forces. Introduction The Backbone of the Armed Forces To be a member of the United States Armed Forces--to wear the uniform of the Nation and the stripes, chevrons, or anchors of the military Services--is to continue a legacy of service, honor, and patriotism that transcends generations. Answering the call to serve is to join the long line of selfless patriots who make up the Profession of Arms. This profession does not belong solely to the United States. It stretches across borders and time to encompass a culture of service, expertise, and, in most cases, patriotism. Today, the Nation's young men and women voluntarily take an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and fall into formation with other proud and determined individuals who have answered the call to defend freedom. This splendid legacy, forged in crisis and enriched during times of peace, is deeply rooted in a time-tested warrior ethos. It is inspired by the notion of contributing to something larger, deeper, and more profound than one's own self. Notice: This is a printed Paperback version of the "The Noncommissioned Officer and Petty Officer BACKBONE of the Armed Forces". Full version, All Chapters included. This publication is available (Electronic version) in the official website of the National Defense University (NDU). This document is properly formatted and printed as a perfect sized copy 6x9".

BUSINESS STRATEGY. "The 4 Disciplines of Execution "offers the what but also how effective execution is achieved. They share numerous examples of companies that have done just that, not once, but over and over again. This is a book that every leader should read! (Clayton Christensen, Professor, Harvard Business School, and author of "The Innovator s Dilemma)." Do you remember the last major initiative you watched die in your organization? Did it go down with a loud crash? Or was it slowly and quietly suffocated by other competing priorities? By the time it finally disappeared, it s likely no one even noticed. What happened? The whirlwind of urgent activity required to keep things running day-to-day devoured all the time and energy you needed to invest in executing your strategy for tomorrow. "The 4 Disciplines of Execution" can change all that forever.

For many years, the U.S. Army recognized the need to share information or lessons gained from training and actual combat operations. During World War II and the Korean War, the Army published "combat bulletins" in an attempt to share combat experiences with other Soldiers. During the Vietnam War, Army units published quarterly operational reports that made an effort to share lessons from combat operations. By doing this, units learned from the mistakes others made and were given an opportunity to avoid the same problems. Although these procedures were successful, the Army did not have a formal or permanent program in place to collect, analyze, and share lessons in both peacetime and wartime. As a result, the Army established the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) in 1985. The Army had officially recognized the need to share lessons gained from training experiences and actual combat operations. Since the inception of CALL, the Army, as a learning organization, greatly evolved over time. CALL also evolved. Now, military communities, civilian governmental agencies, and the corporate world recognize the importance of sharing knowledge and learning from past experiences. In many ways, the U.S Army led this effort by allowing commanders to make honest mistakes in training, talk about those mistakes openly, and share what was done to correct those mistakes with other units about to undergo the same training experience. This is an essential precondition for having an effective lessons learned (LL) program: the ability to self-analyze and self-criticize in an atmosphere where there is no blame. The results were instrumental in changing the Army and creating a learning environment that won the Cold War, ensured victory in Desert Storm, and continues to support our Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan today.