[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 159 (Friday, September 29, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E919-E920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING REUNION OF U.S. ARMY NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICER CANDIDATE COURSE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 29, 2023

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute 
to hundreds of United States Army veterans who are gathering in and 
around our nation's capital the week of September 25, 2023, to join in 
reunion of their graduation from the Noncommissioned Officers Candidate 
Course (NCOCC).
  The program was established for the training of noncommissioned 
officers in the U.S. Army. The program operated at Fort Benning, GA, 
Fort Bliss, TX, Fort Knox, KY, Fort Sill, OK, and Fort Leonard Wood, 
MO, from 1967 to 1972, during the height of the Vietnam War. As a proud 
graduate of the program and fellow Vietnam War veteran, I ask my 
colleagues to join me in honoring and saluting these leaders, combat 
veterans--many of them wounded--and unsung heroes.
  As the Vietnam War progressed in the 1960s, the Army was running out 
of noncommissioned officers in several combat specialties. In order to 
meet these unprecedented requirements for Noncommissioned Officer

[[Page E920]]

(NCO) leaders, the Army developed a solution based on the proven 
Officer Candidate Course. If a carefully selected soldier can be given 
23 weeks of intensive training that would qualify him to lead a 
platoon, then others can be trained to lead squads and fire teams in 
the same amount of time. From this seed, the NCOCC was born.
  Army Chief of Staff Gen. Harold K. Johnson approved the concept on 
June 22, 1967, and on September 5, the first course at Fort Benning 
(now Fort Moore), Georgia, began with Sgt. Maj. Don Wright serving as 
the first NCOCC Commandant.
  Potential candidates for the course were selected from groups of 
initial entry soldiers who had a security clearance of confidential, an 
infantry score of 100 or over, and demonstrated leadership potential. 
Based on recommendations, the unit commander would select potential 
NCOs, but all were not volunteers. Those selected to attend NCOCC were 
immediately made corporals and later promoted to sergeant upon 
graduation from phase one. The select few who graduated with honors 
would be promoted to staff sergeant. The outstanding graduate of the 
first class, Staff Sgt. Melvin C. Leverick, recalled ``I think that 
those who graduated [from the NCOCC] were much better prepared for some 
of the problems that would arise in Vietnam.'' The NCO candidate course 
was designed to maximize the two-year tour of the enlisted draftee.
  Though over 300 hours of instruction was given, eighty percent was 
conducted in the field. The final basic phase was a ``dress rehearsal 
for Vietnam,'' a full week of patrols, ambush, defensive perimeters, 
and navigation. Twice daily, the Vietnam-schooled rangers critiqued the 
candidates, and all training was conducted tactically.
  These men, many now of advanced age, served our country with great 
honor under challenging circumstances. Four were awarded the Medal of 
Honor. Six are still missing. Many--1,118 in all--never made it home.
  Mr. Speaker, it is evident that these outstanding noncommissioned 
officers and combat veterans were an indispensable part of our armed 
forces and served our country with bravery, dedication, and honor.

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