BAGHDAD, Iraq (Army News Service, Sept. 8, 2004) -- History has taught us many lessons on what to do after a war is won.

Germany and Japan are just two examples of defeated countries that rose from the ashes of defeat to become leaders in the international community with the direct assistance of the United States. In no small respect, the U .S. military’s noncommissioned officers and their troops became the ambassadors of goodwill in these countries, and played a major role in winning the hearts and minds of the people.

Earning the trust of the people is essential if any reconstructive effort or peacekeeping mission is going to be successful.

Today’s problems in Afghanistan and Iraq are similar. The NCOs and their troops are the ones seen everyday on the streets of the cities and towns. It is their behavior that shapes the views of the local population and reflects what America is all about.

One of the hardest tasks for the NCO is to not blame all the people for the acts of a few. We have trained our Soldiers to be war fighters, and justifiably so, but America’s Soldiers are still filled with compassion for children and the downtrodden.

It is difficult for the NCOs to see their Soldiers attacked by insurgents and not become cynical toward the populace. But, thank God, our NCOs have proved they have the values and ability to put those feelings aside and perform the acts of kindness we see them doing the world over, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cynicism only undermines our ability to build a rapport with the population.

The NCO is instrumental in ensuring the populace understands America’s values and that it is a truly compassionate country. In Vietnam, our Soldiers built orphanages and schools, treated the sick, and spent untold hours assisting the Vietnamese, even while being attacked daily by insurgents.

U.S. Soldiers have performed similar deeds in every conflict our country has been involved in, and the NCO has always been at the forefront of these activities. Without the noncommissioned officer, many of these endeavors would not have succeeded, or even existed. The NCO has to be the positive influence in both peace and war. NCOs make things happen.

The NCO must always remember that planning is done at a higher level, but implementation of orders is an NCO responsibility. The NCO is responsible for teaching and training his or her subordinates, not only in war fighting techniques, but also how to approach the populace, how to understand and appreciate their culture, and how to treat them as they would want to be treated.

Trying to understand the rules they live by is as foreign to our culture as ours is to theirs. A smile to civilians from one of our troops is a language that anyone can understand, and lays a foundation that reconstruction can build on.

NCOs and their troops are crucial to showing the population that America liberates, not conquers; that we truly want to help their people gain a better life. It is imperative that NCOs realize that they are the key to winning not only wars, but also the peace.

(Editor’s note: Roger W. Putnam is a retired command sergeant major who participated in the occupation of Japan, the Korean War, two tours in Vietnam, and who also served as the VII Corps CSM in the early 1980s.)