Building the Armys Backbone

In September 1939, Canadas tiny army began its remarkable expansion into a wartime force of almost half a million soldiers. No army can function without a backbone of skilled non-commissioned officers (NCOs) corporals, sergeants, and warrant officers and the army needed to create one out of raw civilian material. Building the Armys Backbone tells the story of how senior leadership created a corps of NCOs that helped the burgeoning force train, fight, and win. This innovative book uncovers the armys two-track NCO-production system: locally organized training programs were run by units and formations, while centralized training and talent-distribution programs were overseen by the army. Meanwhile, to bring coherence to the two-track approach, the army circulated its best-trained NCOs between operational forces, the reinforcement pool, and the training system. The result was a corps of NCOs that collectively possessed the necessary skills in leadership, tactics, and instruction to help the army succeed in battle.