The Pen and the Sword: The New Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development System—NCO 2020.

The article describes the projected operational environment (OE) for the U.S. Army's noncommissioned officer (NCO) corps and the case to revise the organizational program the Noncommissioned Officer Education System (NCOES). The article argues that a need for improved education programs for NCOs known as NCO 2020 was necessary. It discusses U.S. Army preparatory programs for operations in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environments (VUCA), and the need for implementing a data-driven process using the document "Army Leader Development Strategy, The U.S. Army Learning Concept" (ALC 2015).