NCO Duties, Responsibilities and Authority

Question 1

What FM covers the duties, responsibilities and authorities of a NCO?

Answer 1

FM 7-22.7

Question 2

What is Responsibility?

Answer 2

Responsibility is being accountable for what you do or fail to do.
(FM 7-22.7 Dec 2002 / 2-14 / PDF 53)

Question 3

What does Individual Responsibility make a soldier accountable for?

Answer 3

It makes them accountable for the personal conduct.

FM 7-22.7 Dec 2002 / 2-18 / PDF 54

Question 4

What is Command Authority?

Answer 4

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.
(FM 7-22.7 Dec 2002 / 2-22 / PDF 55)

Question 5

What are the two most important responsibilities of a leader?

Answer 5

Mission accomplishment and the welfare of the soldiers.

FM 7-22.7 Dec 2002 / 1-52 / PDF 39

Question 6

What does Command Responsibility make a soldier accountable for?

Answer 6

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.
(FM 7-22.7 Dec 2002 / 2-16 / PDF 54)

Question 7

Where would a soldier find a noncommissioned officer’s role in reference to the chain of
command?

Answer 7

AR 600-20

Question 8

The authority of command that one individual exercises over others is acquired as a
result of what?

Answer 8

Grade and assignment.

Question 9

What is a NCO’s principle duty and responsibility?

Answer 9

Training.

Question 10

Name some basic responsibilities of a NCO?

Answer 10

Maintaining discipline
Maintaining government property
Training soldiers
Ensuring the welfare of the soldiers
Executing the mission

Question 11

What is authority?

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Every soldier has two responsibilities. What are they?

Answer 12

Individual responsibilities

Command responsibilities.

Question 13

What is power?

Answer 13

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

Question 14

What are the five types of power?

Answer 14

Legal
Reward
Coercive
Referent
Expert.

Question 15

What is legal power?

Answer 15

The power derived from law and regulation.

Question 16

What is reward power?

Answer 16

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

Question 17

What is coercive power?

Answer 17

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

Question 18

What is referent (charismatic) power?

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

What is expert power?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

How do you determine the amount of supervision needed to accomplish a task?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

To insure your soldiers understand and are carrying out the task, you should do what?

Answer 21

Supervise the task.

Question 22

What is general military authority?

Answer 22

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.
(FM 7-22.7 Dec 2002 / 2-24 / PDF 56)

Question 23

What are the four fundamental steps in supervising subordinates in the accomplishment
of a task?

Answer 23

Assign the task
Set standards
Check progress
Determine if standards have been met (follow-up)

Question 24

What is supervision?

Answer 24

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

Question 25

What are the three different types of duties?

Answer 25

Specified
Directed
Implied duties
(FM 7-22.7 Dec 2002 / 2-10 / PDF 53)

Question 26

What is a specified duty?

Answer 26

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.
(FM 7-22.7 Dec 2002 / 2-11 / PDF 53)

Question 27

What is a directed duty?

Answer 27

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.
(FM 7-22.7 Dec 2002 / 2-12 / PDF 53)

Question 28

What is an implied duty?

Answer 28

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.
(FM 7-22.7 Dec 2002 / 2-13 / PDF 53)