Wightman NCO Academy

The Eighth Army Wightman Noncommissioned Officer Academy was officially established in November 1960 near Ha-Pongam-Ni, South Korea under control of the 7th Infantry Division. The Academy is named in honor to MSG James M. Wightman, of the 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division who distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against an armed hostile force in the vicinity of Tri-Goot, Korea on 9 March 1951. Originally, the program of instruction was known as the Primary Noncommissioned Officer's Course/Combat Arms (PNCOC/CA). On November 1, 1969, the Eighth Army Wightman NCO Academy was reorganized and assigned to I Corps. In March 1971, the Academy relocated to Story Barracks, between Camps Casey and Hovey, and it expanded its services to units in Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, and Okinawa.

In January 1974, a Command Sergeant Major was named as Commandant of the Academy. This placed more direct responsibility on the senior NCOs for the military education and training of the NCO Corps of today's Army. Shortly thereafter, the Academy was once again relocated in 1975 to Camp Jackson and in February 1978, the Primary Leadership Development Course (PLDC) of Instruction was implemented. This placed the first line supervisor, or a Soldier about to become a supervisor upon graduation into the enlisted personnel management system. The primary purpose was to develop leadership, supervisory and management skills, and upgrade combat survivability training, in addition to developing those attributes that would ensure confidence and develop a sense of responsibility required of all NCOs.

In 1983, the establishment of the Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) training center was formed and KATUSA Soldiers began to spend their whole military tour in the U.S. Army. Today, Eighth Army is authorized 3,444 KATUSA Soldiers and the ROKA Training Center is known as the KATUSA Training Academy under the Eighth Army Wightman NCOA.

In August 2005, PLDC changed its title to Warrior Leader Course (WLC) in order to better align itself with relevant curriculum and lessons learned. Later, in August 2015, WLC was renamed to the Basic Leaders Course (BLC). The Academy remained at Camp Jackson for over 40 years until moving to its present day location at Camp Humphreys, South Korea in May 2018. The Eighth Army Wightman Noncommissioned Officers Academy's motto continues to be: "By Example".