This is an oral history interview with Sergeant Major of the Army (Ret.) William o. Wooldridge, the first Sergeant Major of the Army, conducted on 6 February 2000.
SMA Wooldridge contributed a great amount to the U. S. Army and had a lasting effect on the way we do business today. He established the office of SMA, recommended the structure for our NCOES system, recommended changes to the enlisted promotion...
SMA Wooldridge served as Sergeant Major of the Army from 1966-1968. He declined to serve a second tour as SMA and accepted another assignment to Vietnam.
During his career, SMA Wooldridge participated in 14 combat campaigns and received numerous...
SMA Wooldridge was born in Oklahoma and moved to Cross Cut Texas very early in life, so to this day he considers himself a Texan and proud of it. His Dad was an Oil Field Foreman but moved the family to his parents Ranch after his father pass away...
Sergeant Major of the Army William o. Wooldridge has set the example for all soldiers to follow. He has show soldiers what it is to be in charge, to change, taking care of soldiers, seek self-improvement. A true leader ofsoldiers, always up front,...
SMA Wooldridge military experiences and leadership skills were instrumental in setting the foundation for his ultimate assignment. William O. Wooldridge was born on August 12, 1922. He was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Wooldridge was the 8 of 10...
"Take care of each man as though he were your own brother. He is." These are the words of the first Sergeant Major of the Army, William O. Wooldridge.
William was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, on 12 August 1922. He was the eighth child out often...
Thesis: The impression of leadership at the early point in a soldier’s career leaves a significant impact on the skills, attitudes, and knowledge. This played a significant role in the development of PVT William O. Wooldridge, enabling his...
The creation of the Office of the Sergeant Major of the Army in July 1966 represented a major milestone in the development of the United States Army. For the first time in history, an enlisted person assumed the role of a senior enlisted adviser...
Compared to other countries military NCO Corps, The United States NCO Corps is the best throughout the world. Although numerous NCOs contributed tremendously to making the NCO corps what it is today, this paper will address significant...
Compared to other countries military NCO Corps, The United States NCO Corps is the best throughout the world. Although numerous NCOs contributed tremendously to making the NCO corps what it is today, this paper will address significant...
William O. Wooldridge was born on 12 August 1922, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. William was the eighth often children. At the age of five the family moved to Cross Cut, Texas where Wooldridge stated that life there was "hard but satisfying" (Elder,...
The Army established and office that is very vital to our Army. The soldiers selected made huge strides to better our enlisted force. They paved the way for quality of life, NCOES, pay raises, better equipment and better promotion opportunities to...
The intent of the this briefing was to provide an introduction into the establishment of the Office of the Sergeant Major of the Army, as well as the significant contributions that SMA Wooldridge, SMA Gates, and SMA Tilley had on the history of the...
Sergeant Major (SGM) retired William O. Wooldridge was born on August 12, 1922 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on November 11, 1940 at Fort Worth, Texas shortly before the outbreak of World War II.
He became the first Sergeant...
Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) development by the United States from 1952 through 1965 is marked by extreme urgency. The initial impetus for the development did not proceed within military channels; this paper explores possible reasons...
From 1966 to present, we have had thirteen Sergeants Major of the Army (SMA). Each one of them has made a lasting contribution to the Army and NCO Corps during his tenure in office. Some of those significant contributions were in the areas of...
NCO History Papers: In 2003 the Sergeants Major course introduced a new NCO history lesson. The lesson requires each student to pick a topic relating to NCO history and develop it during the course. Each student delivers a number of short briefings...
Sergeants Major of the Army (SMA) have made many contributions that have changed, or in some way, affected the non-commissioned officer (NCO) corps and the Army. From the inception of the position, SMAs have refined the duties of their position,...
According to history and an article titled “A Short History of the NCO”, written by L.R. Arms, the noncommissioned officer or NCO position began in 1775 with the birth of the Continental Army. This was made possible by Freidrich von Steuben....