The Technician Badge, a replacement for the Mechanics Badge, is purposefully designed to acknowledge and reward the exceptional skills possessed by drivers, maintainers, technicians, specialists, repairers, and special equipment operators.

Traditionally, the Army has incentivized Soldiers to become self-taught lifelong learners and to seek higher education for self-development. The traditional paradigm of self-development through higher education, prioritized earning degrees. However, Army Leadership ADP 6-22 teaches that leader development is a mutually shared responsibility across three domains: the institutional force, the operational force, and the individual.

In the past, centralized selection boards were instructed to give preference to leaders with any degree. While this resulted in many highly educated noncommissioned officers, generally the degrees obtained did not necessarily align with their career management field or the career map in the U.S. Army Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Guide DA PAM 600-25. The tuition assistance money spent on those degrees did not generate a return on investment for the Army with practical and applicable skills relevant to military service. The Army Leader Development Strategy’s individual domain motivates the service member to respond to the challenge of self-improvement in a way that aligns with their career management field.