NCO Authority

Today i am going to write a summarization on Chapter 2 of FM 7-22.7 Duties, Responsibility, And Authority of the NCO. As a noncommissioned officer, it is your responsibility to know what authority you have as a leader, you must know what authority you have and where it comes from. When exercising your authority you are expected to use good judgement. The Army defines authority as this ( found in FM 7-22.7 ) Authority is the right to direct soldiers to do certain things, Authority is the legitimate power of leaders to direct soldiers or to take action within the scope of their position. Military authority begins with the Constitution, which divides it between Congress and the President. The president as commander in chief, commands the armed forces, including the Army. The authority from the Commander-in-Chief extends throughout the chain of command, with the assistance of the NCO support channel, to the squad, section or team leader who then directs and supervises the actions of individual soldiers. The Army has separated authority into two basic types of authority Command authority and general military authority. Command authority is the authority leaders have over soldiers by the virtue of rank or assignment. Command authority originates with the President and may be supplemented by law or regulation. even though it is called command authority it is not limited to officers, you have command authority in you leadership position as a tank commander or team leader. So in other words if you are appointed as a leader of soldiers whether it be team leader, squad leader and have the rank of a non commissioned officer you have inherent the command authority with the job position to direct and control soldiers. Leading soldiers includes the authority to organize, direct and control