Seventh Army NCO Academy History

The Seventh Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy was originally established as the United States Constabulary Noncommissioned Officer Academy and is one of the oldest NCO Academy's in the Army.
7th Army NCO Academy

The Seventh Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy was originally established as the United States Constabulary Noncommissioned Officer Academy and is one of the oldest NCO Academy’s in the Army. Due to the shortage of NCOs in the Constabulary, Major General I. D. White, Commanding General of the U.S. Constabulary, directed then Brigadier General Bruce C. Clarke, Commanding General of the 2d Constabulary Brigade, to open a school for the purpose of training NCOs. The first class was enrolled on 17 October 1949, with BG Bruce C. Clarke as the Commandant. The Academy was designated the Seventh Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy on 1 November 1951, when the Seventh United States Army absorbed the functions and facilities of the Constabulary.

At its inception, the Academy occupied two adjoining Kasernes: Stetten Kaserne and Jensen barracks, located in Munich, Germany. On 31 October 1958, after nine years in the Bavarian capital, the Academy moved to its second location at Flint Kaserne, Bad Toelz, Germany. In January of 1972, the office of the Commandant, which up until that time was held by a general grade or field grade officer, was officially designated as a Command Sergeant Major position. The first enlisted Commandant was CSM Lawrence T. Hickey.

In July of 1983, a significant change took place in the program of instruction. The curriculum changed from the Primary Leadership Course (PLC) to the Primary Leadership Development Course (PLDC). Effective 4 September 1990, the Seventh Army NCO Academy relocated to and became a tenant unit of the Grafenwoehr Training Area (GTA). In January of 1999, the Academy added a third PLDC training company, which made it the largest PLDC in the United States Army. In October of 2005, the Academy transformed the Program of Instruction from PLDC to the Warrior Leader Course and in October of 2015 it changed to the Basic Leader Course; utilizing Grafenwoehr training sites to train an adaptive and creative NCO.

In 2003, the NCO Academy started receiving International Military Students (IMS) and has since trained over 1,000 of our European and African allies.

The 7th Army NCO Academy earned the recognition as an “Institute of Excellence” during three consecutive Accreditations from the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy and TRADOC with the most recent being in September of 2015.

One Response

  1. I completed the academy in September of 1981.A house fire destroyed diploma /Certificate and all of my personal paper work.
    Is there any way I can get a replacement ? It would mean the world to me. Not only that, the time I spent at the academy is not even reflected on my DD214. Please HELP

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