The Sergeants Major Course

Mission

Develops senior enlisted leaders of the joint force and allied partner nations to be agile, adaptive, and competent leaders of character capable of leading and advising organizations, while meeting the challenges of warfighting in a multi-domain environment.

Vision

The premier professional military education (PME) institution focused on providing the Army with agile and adaptive senior enlisted leaders, who embody the principles of the Profession of Arms.

About SMC

The SMC on Fort Bliss, TX, became CGSC’s fourth school and a branch campus in 2018. The SMC is the capstone event of the Army’s Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development System (NCOPDS) and educates master sergeants and sergeants major, to effectively assist commanders and field grade officers to accomplish their units’ missions. Each academic year, the SMC offers the ten-month Sergeants Major Course-Resident (SMC-R) to senior U.S. and international noncommissioned officers (NCOs), and the Sergeants Major Course-Distance Learning (SMC-DL) to primarily Army Reserve and National Guard NCOs around the world. In 2019, CGSC received Higher Learning Commission (HLC) authority and Department of the Army approval to offer a Bachelor of Arts in Leadership and Workforce Development to eligible graduates of the SMC-R and SMC-DL.

The SMC consists of academy-level staff of administrators and curriculum developers and five academic departments under the supervision of the SMC Director: The Department of Army Operations (DAO), the Department of Command Leadership (DCL), the Department of Force Management (DFM), the Department of Regional Security Studies (DRSS), and the Department of the Profession of Arms (DPA).

In addition to delivering resident and distance learning, the SMC provides a one week International Military Student Pre-Course (IMSPC).

NCO WORLDWIDE WEBSITE

For detailed information on the Sergeants Major Course and student requirements

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DISTANCE LEARNING GRADUATION CEREMONIES

Departments

Department of the Profession of Arms (DPA)

DPA provides an overview of select topics in the profession of arms and mission command. Students will enhance their critical and creative thinking skills using a blend of military and civilian case studies to analyze contemporary and historical issues to gain a greater understanding of the challenges they will face as a Sergeant Major. The major areas of study are NCO history, Army leadership and the profession, legal considerations, Army ceremonies, and mission command.

Department of Regional Security Studies (DRSS)

DRSS develops senior enlisted leaders’ ability to analyze strategic and operational environments and translate that analysis into actionable advice for commanders and staff. DRSS builds a coherent analytical progression: (1) core strategic concepts (power, strategy, national policy, leader roles), (2) joint and multinational capabilities that shape theater options (JADO, cyber/electromagnetic, information, multinational operations), and (3) operational problem framing and planning (operational art/design and the Joint Planning Process). Students then apply these tools to evaluate campaigning across the competition continuum (competition, crisis, and armed conflict) and to assess low intensity conflict and irregular warfare dynamics.

Department of Army Operations (DAO)

DAO provides an overview of the Army’s operational concept. This overview explains the combined arms employment of Army capabilities to create and exploit relative advantages that achieve objectives, defeat enemy forces, and consolidate gains on behalf of joint force commanders. The students will enhance their understanding of these areas through an examination of history, theory, doctrine, experience, and blended learning. The major areas of study are the Army operational concept, Multidomain Operations, large-scale combat operations, Army Design Methodology, and the Military decision-Making Process. The major areas of study are the operational environment, mission command, and planning for multidomain operations (MDO).

Department of Command Leadership (DCL)

DCL provides an overview of leadership doctrine, theory, and resilience. Students will enhance their critical and creative thinking skills to maximize influence beyond their chain of command to support the mission and goals of their organization. The students will use a blend of military and civilian case studies to analyze contemporary and historical leadership issues to gain a greater understanding of the challenges they will face as a Sergeant Major. The major areas of study are leadership theory, organizational leadership techniques, and resilience.

Department of Force Management (DFM)

DFM provides an overview of the key force management systems and processes which drive change and transformation across the Army. Additionally, students develop an understanding of how the Army builds and maintains readiness, increase their knowledge of the Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) system, and examine how the Army sustains combat power to support combatant commanders.