NCO Duties, Responsibilities and Authority

FM 7-22.7.

Responsibility is being accountable for what you do or fail to do.

It makes them accountable for the personal conduct.

Command authority is the authority leaders have over soldiers by virtue of rank or assignment. Command authority originates with the President and may be supplemented by law or regulation.

Mission accomplishment and the welfare of the soldiers.

Command responsibility refers to collective or organizational accountability and includes how well the unit performs their missions.  For example, a company commander is responsible for all the tasks and missions assigned to the company; his superiors hold him accountable for completing them. Commanders give military leaders the responsibility for what their sections, units, or organizations door fail to do. NCOs are therefore responsible to fulfill not only their individual duties, but also to ensure that their team and unit are successful.The amount of responsibility delegated to you depends on your mission, the position you hold and your own willingness to accept responsibility.

AR 600-20

Grade and assignment.

Training.

Authority is the legitimate power of a leader to direct those subordinates to him or to take action within the scope of his position.

Power is the ability, either physical, mental or moral to have a positive control over the actions of others.

The power derived from law and regulation.

The power derived from the capacity of the leader to provide desired rewards to a soldier for good performance.

The power which influences a person to perform or behave in a manner contrary to how that person desires to behave at the time.

The power derived from the leader's personality and is effective as a means of influencing soldiers to the extent they respect and admire the leader.

The power derived from the leader's accumulation of knowledge, skills and capabilities.

By considering your soldiers' competence, motivation and commitment to perform the task.

Supervise the task.

General military authority is authority extended to all soldiers to take action and act in the absence of a unit leader or other designated authority. It originates in oaths of office, law, rank structure, traditions and regulations. This broad-based authority also allows leaders to take appropriate corrective actions whenever a member of any armed service, anywhere, commits an act involving a breach of good order or discipline. For example, if you see soldiers in a brawl, you have the general military authority (and the obligation) to stop the fight. This authority applies even if none of the soldiers are in your unit.

Keeping a grasp of the situation and ensuring that plans and policies are being followed; the art of checking without undue harassment.

Specified duties are those related to jobs and positions. Directives such as Army regulations, Department of the Army (DA) general orders, the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), soldier’s manuals, Army Training and Evaluation Program (ARTEP) publications and MOS job descriptions specify the duties. For example, AR 600-20 says that NCOs must ensure that their soldiers get proper individual training and maintain personal appearance and cleanliness.

Directed duties are not specified as part of a job position or MOS or other directive. A superior gives them orally or in writing. Directed duties include being in charge of quarters (CQ) or serving as sergeant of the guard, staff duty officer, company training NCO and NBC NCO, where these duties are not found in the unit’s organization charts.

Implied duties often support specified duties, but in some cases they may not be related to the MOS job position. These duties may not be written but implied in the instructions. They’re duties that improve the quality of the job and help keep the unit functioning at an optimum level. In most cases, these duties depend on individual initiative. They improve the work environment and motivate soldiers to perform because they want to, not because they have to. For example, while not specifically directed to do so, you hold in-ranks inspections daily to ensure your soldiers’ appearance and equipment are up to standards.