MAGAZINE
SPRING 2020
“ FUNDAMENTAL ECHELON AND ESSENTIAL ELEMENT FOR 525 YEARS ”
Art and his exceptional warrior virtues . It is the period of greatest splendor of the Army and the Sergeant , who is responsible for the duties described above and has the added responsibility of instructing each of the different elements of this perfect war machine ( pikeman , arquebusiers and musketeers ). During the seventeenth century , the Sergeant ’ s fame darkens at the same pace as the fame of the Thirds with the decline of the Empire . But it will not be until the Ordinances of Carlos III , in 1768 , ( Ordinances that were in force until 1978 ), that it will finally appear , consolidated as a hierarchical rank - albeit as an enlisted rank . As the complexity of war tactics increases , the number of Sergeants per company increases to three , and the post of First Sergeant is created . In 1912 , a Law is published in which two categories are created in enlisted corps ( one consisting of Soldier , First Soldier , Corporal , and another of the Sergeant , Master Sergeant and NCO rank ). Servicemen who had at least six months of service were allowed to apply for the sergeant posts . They were required to sit an examination . But it is not until 1931 , that the Government of the Republic , signs a Law that , for the first time , organizes and recognizes the prestige of this group , laying the foundations of the newly created NCO corps ( in which the Sergeant is not yet included ). It is composed of First Sergeants , Master Sergeants , “ subayudantes ” and Sergeant Majors . Subsequently , in 1934 , the Sergeant is integrated into the NCO Corps , and remains there to this day . Forty years later , in 1974 , in the “ Camp Martin Alonso ”, in Tremp ( Lérida ), the “ Academia General Básica de Suboficiales ” ( Non-commissioned Military School ) is created . This is where the common non-commissioned training course is taught . It is the birthplace of the “ Básica ” ( commonly call NCO in our School ). After that , forty-four promotions , and twenty-seven thousand
three hundred and forty-four Sergeants graduated from the Academy . In 1993 , the first female sergeant , belonging to the XVII Promotion , graduates , being the first of seven hundred and ninety-one who have done so until this year .
Two months before , Law 13 / 1974 on the organization of the Basic Noncommissioned Corps was passed . This was created due to the need for younger staff , with high levels of technical experience and adequate knowledge . It required a renewal of the training system of the NCO Corps , in which the formation of the noncommissioned officers was regulated for the first time in the 525 years of the history of the Sergeant . This is like saying that the noncommissioned officers are a “ fundamental echelon and essential element ” of the Army and we must “ love and care ” for them .
Currently , military education , for those who join the NCO Corps , takes place over a period of three years . After an initial period at AGBS ( NCO School ) where students receive general military training , they continue in the academies of their respective specialties in which , in addition to continuing with their specific military training , they pursue studies to obtain a degree of “ Superior Technician ” in the General Educational System . LC
Upper left , fragment of the painting “ La patrulla ” by Augusto Ferrer Dalmau Upper right , fragment of the painting “ Piquero del Tercio 2 º de Asturias ” by Augusto Ferrer Dalmau 45
This article was previously published in NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Spain - Journal 2019