The BACKBONE. Fort Benning NCO Academy Newsletter

Transcription

1 Jan Mar 2017 The BACKBONE Fort Benning NCO Academy Newsletter Edition THE NCO Academy Mission Statement The Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE) Noncommissioned Officer Academy educates, trains, and develops leaders at all levels from the operational force by providing excellent academic and performance based evaluations in an institutional training environment to develop smart, fast, lethal, and precise small unit leaders. Students will leave here having the educational experience of their life ready to reenergize their units with the knowledge gained at this institution Each leader will further develop tactical, operational and strategic skills required to be adaptive and build cohesive teams that are resilient and committed to the Army Profession with the ability to succeed in conditions of uncertainty. Standards and Discipline I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E Academy Leadership 2 M-SLC 3 Infantry ALC 4-5 Armor ALC 6 BLC 7 Instructor Spotlight 8 Quarterly Event Spotlight 9-10 Recognition 11 Instructor Application 12

2 From The Academy Leadership Message from the Commandant: The MCoE NCOA is committed to assisting units and NCOs with operational requirements who have Soldiers needing to attend an NCOPDS course prior to their scheduled sequence. We work in conjunction with the School s Branch at HRC to attempt to move students to an earlier date at the Brigade s request, as slots are available. With the changes made to the STEP program in January 2016, Soldiers are scheduled for ALC/SLC by promotion points or sequence numbers and those who attend class prior to their sequence are considered eligible for promotion upon graduation from the course. This can create a situation that might disadvantage some NCOs based on out of sequence schooling. We ask that these requests come only from the Brigade level and be based on operational needs of the unit or personal needs of the Soldier. We look forward to continuing to assist units with meeting their operational requirements, where the development of their NCOs are concerned. Standards and Discipline CSM Mike Ames Message from the Deputy Commandant: More and more students are taking advantage of our follow-on schools program here at Fort Benning, GA. Upon completion of the PME course, students attend a follow-on course allowing them to gain an additional skill, allowing them to return to their unit as a force multiplier to assist to meet both mission and command intent. The requirements from the unit are minimal, and in most cases includes only the approval for the Soldier to remain in a training environment, with little to no cost to the unit itself. Some of the courses have medical requirements and various prerequisites, so in the situation a unit knows of a course they are trying to get for their Soldier as a follow-on, any of the prerequisites that can be completed prior to arriving at Fort Benning, GA, will help the process quite a bit. This program is something to take advantage of for our Maneuver NCO s and leaders and these are the opportunities that when taken advantage of, will shape the future of our Army at every level. Standards and Discipline SGM Pat Maurin

3 Maneuver Senior Leader Course Trends: AFTB, UCMJ, Unit Sponsorship, and Training Management continues to be a challenge. The administrative courseware exams are not difficult, but are being overlooked by the students and causing continued hurdles. There has been an increase in units requesting early graduations for Soldiers; many of them are related to unit training or upcoming deployments that could have been identified prior to the Soldier arriving to school. The physical fitness level of most Soldiers reporting to M-SLC is not to the level expected of senior level NCOs. Many are scoring in the low to mid 200s, well below the 80 points required per event to be eligible to graduate with honors. For class , 88 students were not eligible for any honors because of the APFT. 1SG Richard A. Rolls Maneuver SLC 1SG Recent Changes: Unified Land Operations testing began with class There was an alarming amount of 1 st and 2 nd time failures for this exam. Since this was a pilot no one was sent home for failing to pass the ULO exam. We have worked with our DOTD writers along with our instructors to make improvements and validate all versions of the test for class DA form 6 was removed from the POI. Due to a large number of students requesting the class be taught, the instructors have started conducting the class after POI hours. Students will leave M-SLC with a better understanding of how to implement DA Form 6 in their units. With the updated Criterion website for the written essay assignment, students are getting better feedback from the website on how well they did or didn t do. With the update they are able to correct the identified deficiencies, resubmit their corrected essay and receive a better score. Students will now be able to improve their communication and writing skills. Future Plans: The POI will continue to evolve, moving core curriculum earlier in the course timeline to ensure that students are better prepared before going into CCTT week. Recognition of Combat Vehicles will be added to the list of Student led Classes. While in the CCTT training week it was identified that there has been a need for this class. Students were not comfortable in the simulators due to a lack of knowledge and their inability to properly ID friendly or foe vehicles. OPORD working groups utilizing lieutenants from ABOLC, IBOLC, and the USMC Detachment will continue to grow. Instructors have reached out to the BOLCs during off time to coordinate the use of LTs that have completed their OPORD training to conduct partnership training with M-SLC students to get a better understanding of the OPORD process. LTs are giving more doctrinal training with OPORDs than M-SLC students, however M-SLC students possess the technical and tactical knowledge that you can only get with experience.

4 Infantry Advanced Leader Course Trends: 1SG Kente L. Bryant Infantry ALC 1SG We have seen a drastic increase in Soldiers Marksmanship abilities and knowledge. During class only one NCO out of 151 failed to qualify during marksmanship week. That is a huge success both for the Infantry Force and the school house. Please ensure your NCOs read the regulations prior to coming to ALC. If they have a good understanding of basic rifle marksmanship prior to getting here it will improve their success rates. The overall goal of our Marksmanship program is to train NCOs on how to master the skills that are vital to training their Soldiers in becoming better marksman. This is done through repetition, coaching, teaching, and mentoring by NCO cadre and peers. Units across to force are continuing to support their future Infantry Squad Leader for follow on schools. We will continue to do the leg work to ensure your Soldiers have the necessary resources needed to follow on to their respective functional training. Please ensure your NCOs have done their homework about the courses they wish to attend. If they are going to Ranger School the Soldier needs to have been tested and successfully passed all RAP Week drop events prior to leaving their home station. We will further validate the Soldier s ability to successfully pass all events prior to them going to School. Recent Changes: NCOs will now be required to, and be critiqued on, a Deliberate SBF Emplacement as part of their tactical evaluation. Training conducted leading up to the graded SBF emplacement will produce an NCO who has never been in a Weapons Squad with a basic knowledge and understanding of a Weapons Squad Leader and their roll in support of platoon operations. NCOs coming to the course will be more involved in the daily planning process. They will be required to plan, prepare, and execute training for their peers. Most will be done by small groups prior to each range or STX. The training and focus will be geared towards Training Management, Risk Management, and Range Operations. The Marksmanship Culminating event has been removed and the eight hours of training will be replaced with marksmanship training aids and the EST2000 from a Squad Leaders Stand point. Future Plans: On 29MAR17 the USAIS was briefed on a proposed six week POI for FY19. The major topics of discussion were adding platform capabilities such as Bradley s and Stryker s to the POI and the way ahead for our marksmanship program. Adding platform capabilities as part of the POI will further bring relevancy to the course as it pertains to the current Infantry force. We will continue to evolve the course to ensure we are training your NCOs on what is relevant. IN ALC SELF STUDY PROGRAM The purpose of the self-study program is to provide future students of the course reference material to review before attending the course.

5 The following references will be utilized in the lesson plans at IN ALC: ADP 7-0 Training Units and Developing Leaders Forward Observer Procedures: ATP Techniques for Observed Fire Machine Gun Employment: FM MK 19, 40 mm Grenade Machine Gun Mod 3 FM Browning Machine Gun Caliber.50 HB M2 FM Crew Served Machine Guns 5.56mm and 7.62mm Rifle Marksmanship: TC Rifle and Carbine TC Direct Fire Engagement Process Tactics: ATP Infantry Platoon and Squad ADP 3-0 Unified Land Operations ADP 3-90 Offense and Defense FM Infantry Rifle Company FM 6-0 Commanders and Staff Organization and Operations ADP 1-02 Operational Terms and Military Symbols 11C Only- Plotting Board/Fire Support Planning: ATTP Tactical Employment of Mortars FM Mortars ADRP 1-02 Terms and Military Symbols ATP Techniques for Observed Fire Infantry Advanced Leader Course ATTP Tactical Employment of Mortars FM 3-09 Field Artillery Operations and Fire Support On top of the above references, it is recommended students refresh on land navigation and Basic Rifle Marksmanship (students are required to qualify with an M4 with iron sights in the course)

6 Armor Advanced Leader Course During the 2 nd Quarter of FY17, Class graduated 97 Students on 24 March We are seeing a steady increase in the graduation rate from previous years. Class started on 20 March 2017 and is the first 19D TRAP class of three for the remainder of FY17. What this means is that there are an additional 40 training seats per class for 19Ds with a total of 109 seats. If the training seats are not filled by Sergeant Promotables, they will be filled with Sergeant Non-Promotables. Recommend CoCs submit 4187s to HRC Schools Branch for Sergeant Non-Promotables who you believe are capable and ready to complete this course. If you have a Sergeant Non-Promotable who is selected by HRC but you do not feel they are ready, it is recommended to contact HRC for a deferment. The Armor ALC Website update will be complete no later than 1 May It will have all of the information future students will need to prepare for attendance. It will also be able to be accessed by a smart phone or a tablet. Link: To enable Leaders to better prepare their NCOs, I have broken down both the 19D and 19K ALC Courses below. Armor ALC Course Academics - 55% Physical Readiness Training Evaluation 5% Tactical Leadership 15% Military Vehicle Capabilities Brief 5% Leadership Essay 5% Peer Evaluation 5% Academics 1SG Sean T. McCracken Armor ALC 1SG Assessment Type Material Allowed FY 17 ( & ) 19D Assessments Blackboard Written Performance Fully Referenceable Notes Only Student Handout Not Referenceable 1st Exam (Pass/Fail) 2nd Exam Dismissal (Pass/Fail) Land Navigation X 89/38 28/9 9 Property Accountability X X 108/3 02/1 1 Maintenance Management X X 121/0 0/0 0 Troop Leading Procedures X X 106/14 14/0 0 Operational Terms and Symbols 1 X X Operational Terms and Symbols 2 X X 118/2 1/1 1 Route Reconnaissance Overlay X X 97/22 13/9 9 Combat Reports X X 100/20 20/0 0 Tactics I (Recon) X X 94/15 14/1 1 Tactics II (Security) X X 95/15 14/1 1 Tactic III (Stability) X X 104/5 05/0 0 Terrain Board X X 109/0 0/0 0 Assessment Type Material Allowed FY 17 ( & ) 19K Assessments Blackboard Written Performance Fully Referenceable Notes Only Student Handout Not Referenceable 1st Exam 2nd Exam Dismissal (Pass/Fail) (Pass/Fail) Land Navigation X 62/37 26/11 11 Property Accountability X X 91/4 3/1 1 Maintenance Management X X 92/7 7/0 0 Troop Leading Procedures X X 80/5 5/0 0 Operational Terms and Symbols 1 X X Operational Terms and Symbols 2 X X 81/4 2/2 2 Sector Sketch X X 54/21 21/0 0 Combat Reports X X 58/27 20/7 7 Tactics I (Offense) X X 63/14 12/2 2 Tactics II (Defense) X X 74/1 1/0 0 Tactic III (Stability) X X 68/7 7/0 0 Terrain Board X X 70/0 0/0 0

7 Basic Leader Course Trends: We are seeing many incomplete packing lists. Most notably, ASUs are not ready for wear. (i.e. unserviceable items, not cleaned and pressed, not altered for proper fit and appearance). 1SG Nicholas K. Spinks BLC 1SG We are seeing some issues with CAC cards that will expire during the course. These students are taken to DEERS to have a new card issued and this may result in lost classroom time. Students are arriving with orders (DD1610, DTS Orders, or Service School Worksheets) that have incorrect class numbers and course dates. This information can be obtained at Land navigation is the top attrition event in the course. The passing percentage from FY15 to FY16 has improved by 30% and FY17 is showing greater results. In addition, we are still identifying that most of the students are receiving map reading and land navigation training for the first time when they arrive. The students are not aware of the location of the Basic Leader Course s Welcome Letter and Student Guide. This information can be obtained at This is pertinent information to the overall success of the Soldier prior to arrival. Recent Changes: The MCoE BLC has incorporated the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF2). Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness (CSF2) is designed to build resilience and enhance performance of the Army Family; Soldiers, their Families, and Army Civilians. CSF2 does this by providing training and self-development tools so that members of the Army Family are better able to cope with adversity, perform better in stressful situations, and thrive in life. Future Plans: The MCoE BLC will integrate Maneuver Performance Triad (MP3) training into its PRT program. The MP3 is the MCoE s initiative of a comprehensive Army program that gets back to the basics of health: sleep, activity, and nutrition. Through this program we will educate young leaders to target these components and how they interact to influence the performance and health in themselves and their Soldiers. The goal is to build and sustain Soldier health in order to optimize personal and unit performance, resilience, and readiness.

8 NCOA Instructor Spotlight After 11 years in the Army, with a fast paced operational tempo and with four Combat Deployments, I received orders to Fort Benning, GA in The idea of taking a knee at a TRADOC post, was not at the top of my want list, especially with so much still going on around the Army. I was originally pinpointed for another Brigade at Fort Benning, but heard of an opportunity at the Henry Caro Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and before I checked in, came by the academy to ask about opportunities to become an instructor for the Armor Advanced Leader Course. I attended a series of courses to become certified to become a Small Group Leader (SGL) and began the process of shadowing the other instructors and start to observe all day to day operations at the schoolhouse. I noticed from the start that the environment within the schoolhouse was not what I expected. The culture was being driven from the Commandant down through the schoolhouses and leadership to get rid of the idea that being an instructor was the opportunity to take a knee. Instead, being an instructor was an opportunity to be a force multiplier and ensure that we were doing everything possible to develop the future leaders of our NCO Corps in a real and tangible way. After completing all the required certifications and before I started to facilitate my own classes, my Senior SGL pulled me to the side and said something I will never forget, I know you are used to running a platoon but every seven weeks you will get 16 new students and you have to own them as you would if you were back in an operational unit. By understanding this it made the job rewarding to me, realizing the effect I was having on so many NCOs. This stayed with me through every cycle I taught at the schoolhouse and was a daily reminder of the importance of developing leaders at all levels. During my time at Fort Benning I was given the opportunity to attend some of the many courses that are provided here, as the leadership at the NCO Academy is supportive of instructor career progression and encourage us to attend military schools and to continue on with our civilian education. Being here for just over three years and about to leave for my next duty station back in the operational Army, I look back and see how wrong I was about my initial impression of what this assignment would be. Not only was it a great opportunity to engage with current and future Section Leaders within my MOS and to have a positive impact on their careers, but it also had a great impact on me as a leader. Beyond the career opportunities with schooling here, the ability to interact with so many great NCOs from across the Army, allowed me to have daily interaction with a great deal of experienced NCOs that I would not have otherwise seen. I am leaving here a more adaptive leader and critical thinker, ready to get back to the force and prepare for the next mission. - SFC Michael Woodward

9 Quarterly Training Spotlight Adaptive Leaders, Critical Thinkers and the MCoE Noncommissioned Officers Academy Student Leader Development Program by Staff Sergeant Jeffrey Yurk As dawn breaks on an Army still in the midst of a more than 10-year War on Terror, the United States Army is, at present day, filled with some of the most combat experienced Noncommissioned Officers in the history of our military. After years of fighting a war on multiple fronts, through multiple operational and tactical environments, our Maneuver Noncommissioned Officers have seen their tactical proficiency grow to unprecedented levels; but in many cases, at the expense of their technical proficiency. The Henry Caro Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Fort Benning, Georgia is at the forefront of assisting the operational force in developing these combat experienced warriors into the truly great leaders and Noncommissioned Officers of tomorrow. At the heart of this leader development are the Infantry and Armor Advanced Leader Courses, designed to focus on the technical and tactical leadership at the Squad Level, learning critical tasks and developing leadership and skills to take back to their parent units that will assist them as they take on one of the most important tasks in the United States Army; the Squad Leader position. In the Armor Advanced Leader Course, the Branch Chief, 1SG Sean McCracken, has spearheaded a Student Leader Development Program (SLDP) that has the distinct goal of developing adaptive leaders and critical thinking at the Squad Leader level through the use of facilitating a discussion based on the Army Leadership Requirements Model and lessons learned from the events in the book, Black Hearts, by Jim Frederick, of which 1SG McCracken has firsthand knowledge and experience, while deployed with the 101 st Airborne Division in The SLDP was created after my first class here at the NCO Academy in the summer of 2016, when I realized that Armor ALC still primarily focused on tactical and technical skills as a Cavalry Scout or Armor Crewman. While all these skills are critical to becoming a Section/Squad Leader, there was something missing in the development of the overall leadership component of these NCO s attending ALC. Prior to the SLDP, there existed a block of instruction on these topics in the Course Program of Instruction (POI), but a 2-hour class on power point was not, in my opinion, doing the job. explained 1SG McCracken. While I was assigned as a Tac NCO at West Point, the Academy had a similar program. This program taught Cadets what every graduate must be, know, and do; to truly embody a leader of character. This program is where the idea to create SLDP came from. However, West Point has 4 years to accomplish this and I only have 7 weeks, so I chose one book, Black Hearts, which shows the students what the lack of standards, discipline and leadership can do to a unit. Black Hearts is also relatable to the students because it happened in the timeframe and in a conflict many had been in. Right from the initial orientation, the 19D and 19K students of the Armor ALC course are introduced to the book and assigned the initial block of chapters to read by the end of week 2 of the course, with the stated goal to begin weekly discussions of the book and portions of ADRP 6-22, Army Leadership. At the conclusion of the second week, discussions are scheduled for Thursday or Friday at the end of the day, broken down by MOS to facilitate a smaller group discussion.

10 Quarterly Training Spotlight Adaptive Leaders, Critical Thinkers and the MCoE Noncommissioned Officers Academy Student Leader Development Program Continued In the first few weeks, 1SG McCracken functions as the leader, pushing and pulling information, with it very obvious from the get go, which students actually read the material, and which students are only along for the ride early on in the discussion. Right out of the gate we are tackling real leadership issues from the book that we can relate to said SGT Joseph Gryniewicz, attending AR-ALC from 4-10 CAV, 4 th Infantry Division. We knew right away this was not going to be a normal Army class; this was going to be something unique. You could already see the class starting to get to know each other just from the discussions taking place As the first discussion comes to a conclusion, you begin to see the first NCO s speak up about the initial failures in leadership in the book and how it relates to Army doctrine. While the students begin to leave the first discussion, you hear brief conversations of the book, even stories from the NCO s, talking to each other, and you see the seeds beginning to be planted. Once we really got into it, and began to see how it fit in with what we were learning as leaders here at ALC, it really drove home the differences between good and bad leadership in what we had already seen in our time in the Army, said SGT Anthony McAmis, a 19D AR-ALC student from 2-14 CAV, 25 th Infantry Division. You could really start to see the buy in from the students with what we were doing. By the time the second discussion comes around, something interesting has happened with the group dynamic. 1SG McCracken is no longer just the leader of the group, and instead, he has become the facilitator of the discussion. As you look around, the discussions are active and the participants have grown, and you hear confident stories from some of the other experienced NCO s in the group that have been there, or have had similar experience with good and bad leadership in their time in the Army. 1SG McCracken is no longer just pulling and pushing information to them, instead, he has become a respected mentor in the group, guiding the conversation and keeping it on track, always bringing them back around when they get off topic. Gone are the initial short discussions, and now students are engaging each other through the lessons of the book and through the correlations back to the Army Leadership manual. I didn t know what to expect, but the informal setting with 1SG McCracken allowed us to really talk about things in a different environment and it became something I looked forward to each week. said SGT Justin Cooper, a 19K student from 1-1 CAV, 1 st Armor Division. As the weeks go on, the details of the book are discussed, with a lessons learned at the end of each group discussion, relating the successes and failures of the book, back to the Army Leadership Requirements Model, with the conclusion of the program being a 500 word writing assignment. In the assignment, the students have to select two characters from the book and compare and contrast the different leadership styles and the effects on their unit, allowing growth through writing, and critical thinking from the students relating their own experiences back to the discussions from the course. In the end, the program has the stated goal of developing adaptive leaders and critical thinking at the Squad Leader level, and it goes about accomplishing the mission in an environment where our NCO s have the opportunity to wrestle with Army doctrine, lessons learned from the book Black Hearts, and through the spirited discussion of a combat experienced Maneuver NCO Corps. The Student Leader Development Program is yet another tool helping to continue to shape our Noncommissioned Officers into the leaders of tomorrow.

11 NCO Academy Recognitions M-SLC Class Instructor of the Cycle GYSGT Kevin J. Cook, NCOA Support of the Cycle Mr. Arthur Dyer, Armor Restoration Center Distinguished Honor Graduate SSG Paul R. Karnes B Co, Special Troops Battalion, US Army Garrison Honor Graduate SSG Daniel J. Kissane 2-357th Infantry Battalion, 189 th Infantry Brigade Iron man SSG Daniel A. Woolwine (IN), HHC, 3-81 Armor Regiment, 199 th Infantry Brigade Leadership Awardees SSG Andrew B. Sivley (IN), HHC, 2-23 rd Infantry, 1 st Stryker BCT, 4 th Infantry; GYSGT Joshua W. Flesher(AR), B, 1 st Tank Battalion, Marine Detachment Infantry ALC Class Infantry ALC Class Instructor of the Cycle SSG Colin Boyle, NCOA Instructor of the Cycle SSG Christopher Walker, NCOA Support of the Cycle Mr. Douglas Marshall, Survey Analyst Support of the Cycle Mr. Bruce West, Range Ops Honor Graduate SGT Charles Davis (11C) Honor Graduate SSG Dominic F. Carabajal (11B) HHC, 2 nd BN, 325 th Airborne IN Regt A Co, 2 nd Ranger BN Honor Graduate SSG Charles E. Simmons(11B) Honor Graduate NO CLASS THIS CYCLE (11C) C Co, 6 th RTB, Airborne Ranger BDE N/A Iron man SGT Travis F. Williams (11B) Iron man SGT Christopher B. Rodriguez (11B) C Co, 1 st BN, 75 th Ranger Regiment C Trp, 3-61 CAV, 2 nd BDE Leadership Awardee Frank M. Verduzco (11C) Leadership Awardee SGT Garrett R. Hudson (11B) B Co, 1/27 th In BN, 2 nd BDE Pittsburgh Recruiting Company, Harrisburg Recruiting Battalion Armor 19D ALC Class Instructor of the Cycle SSG Louis Ziacik, NCOA Support of the Cycle 3-16 CAV Support Troop Distinguished Honor Graduate SSG Randall Henrion B Co, 5 th RTB, ARTB, MCoE Honor Graduate SGT Anthony McAmis A Trp, 2-14 CAB, 2IBCT, 25ID Iron man SGT Michael L. Valadez A Trp, 1-7 CAC, 1ABCT, 1CD Leadership Awardee SGT Ryan R. Tiura Long Beach/Los Angeles Recruiting BN/USAREC BLC Class Instructor of the Cycle SSG Lapelis Zilvinas, NCOA Support of the Cycle Mrs. Claudette Shelton, QM Tech Distinguished Honor Graduate SPC Lukas K. Zurcher ATC, 1-58 th AVN Regiment, 164 th Theater Airfield OPS GRP Honor Graduate SPC Matthew Vecchione C Co, 1-11 th AVN regiment, 110 th AVN BDE Iron man SPC Fahmid Doha B Co, 3 rd Battalion, 75 th Ranger Regiment Leadership Awardee SPC Tracy J. Rios B Co, 1-11 th AVN regiment, 110 th AVN BDE Armor 19K ALC Class Instructor of the Cycle SSG William H. Fellows, NCOA Support of the Cycle Mr. Jim Rosson, NCOA Distinguished Honor Graduate SGT Jessie J. Branksy HHC 3-69 AR 1ABCT, 3ID Honor Graduate SGT Balke A. McMutrie B Co, 2-12 CA, 1ABCT, 1CD Iron man None Selected N/A Leadership Awardee SGT Kyle E. Roper A Co, 166 AR, 3ABCT, 4ID BLC Class Instructor of the Cycle SSG Dianeya Nodarse, NCOA Support of the Cycle Mr. Chris Goff, TIYA/HVAC Tech Distinguished Honor Graduate SPC David J. Dorfman 389 th Army Band Honor Graduate SPC David A. Pace B Co, 3 rd BDE, 75 th Ranger Regiment Iron man SPC Kevin C. Mackie 3-81 Armor Regiment, 199 th BDE Leadership Awardee SPC Kayla E.Voorhee 75 st MP Det, 86 th MP (CID), 3 rd MP GRP

12 NCO Academy Instructor Application Give back to the NCO Corps! The Henry Caro NCO Academy is always accepting applications for those NCOs interested in becoming the best Instructors the Army has to offer. You will be challenged every day training and educating NCOs from across the Army and will be helping to shape the future of our NCO Corps. Basic Instructor Badge: Future instructors will attend the Army Basic Instructor Course and earn the special qualifying identifier 8 and can earn the Basic Instructor Badge as early as 6 months once you are certified. Civilian Education: Our Instructors have ample time to complete civilian education whether online or in the classroom. The Fort Benning Education Center and the participating colleges do an outstanding job at providing classes that our flexible with our schedules. Functional Courses: The leadership here at the NCO Academy understand and encourage the continued development of our Instructors and provide multiple opportunities for functional course attendance. Our Instructors have graduated from Airborne, Pathfinder, Ranger, Army Reconnaissance Course and many other courses while assigned here as an Instructor. Promotion Potential: Instructors assigned to the NCO Academy have a high potential for promotion. Over the past two promotion boards, 15 SSGs have been selected for SFC and seven SFCs have been selected for MSG. Select the link below to apply NCO Academy Contacts and Links Phone Website The Henry Caro NCO Academy (706) michael.j.ames2.mil@mail.mil The Commandant (706) The Deputy Commandant (706) patrick.m.maurin.mil@mail.mil Maneuver Senior Leader Course First Sergeant (706) richard.a.rolls3.mil@mail.mil 19 Series Senior SGL michael.w.labadie2.mil@mail.mil (706) Series Senior SGL eric.j.cross.mil@mail.mil Infantry Advanced Leader Course First Sergeant (706) kente.l.bryant.mil@mail.mil 11B Senior SGL (706) kyle.d.skaggs.mil@mail.mil 11C Senior SGL (706) john.e.whitney.mil@mail.mil Armor Advanced Leader Course First Sergeant (706) sean.t.mccracken.mil@mail.mil 19D Senior SGL (706) vincent.m.foster.mil@mail.mil 19K Senior SGL (706) jeremy.w.lovell.mil@mail.mil Basic Leader Course First Sergeant (706) nicholas.k.spinks.mil@mail.mil Senior (706) andrea.g.pitts.mil@mail.mil