Quality of Career Non-Commissioned Officers

Concern was expressed about the loss of large numbers of quality noncommissioned officers (NCO's) from the services. Beyond the loss of too many skilled NCO's, the concerns centered on whether those NCO's staying in the services are of the same quality level as those who are leaving. GAO made a trend analysis which examined three quality indicators: (1) mental category; (2) educational level; and (3) pay grade.