Military Review English Edition September-October 2014 | Page 26

Building
Partnership
Capacity 101

The New Jordan Armed
Forces Noncommissioned
Officer Corps
Col. Joseph Rank, U.S. Army, and
Lt. Col. Bill Saba, U.S. Army
Col. Joe Rank is the senior defense official and defense attaché in Amman, Jordan. He has served as
defense attaché in Yemen and Lebanon. He holds a B.A. and M.A. from Wheaton College and an
M.A. from University of Virginia and the National War College.
Lt. Col. Bill Saba is an Army foreign area officer specializing in the Middle East. He worked with
the country team in the defense attaché office, Amman, to assist the Jordan Armed Forces with
noncommissioned officer development. He holds an M.A. in international policy and practice from
George Washington University.

A

s war has become more complex over the span of military
history, nations striving to
build modern armies increasingly have
recognized the need for highly trained
and professional small-unit leaders. It
was the need for small-unit leaders that
gave birth to the noncommissioned
officer (NCO) corps, and this necessity
continues to demand NCO presence on
the modern battlefield.
24

Where the U.S. Army has striven
to build partnership capacity among
partner armies in complex multinational operating environments, the
need to promote professional NCO
development has been one of many key
lessons. One significant example of an
NCO development initiative emerged
in 2010, through the U.S. Army’s partnership with the Jordan Armed Forces
( JAF) in Afghanistan.
September-October 2014  MILITARY REVIEW