80th Training Command course helps new leaders adapt to The Army School System

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Phillip Eugene | Melissa Barnes, The Army School System Leader Course manager, oversees a small group assignment during a session at Fort Knox, Ky., April 28, 2014. The course familiarizes leaders who transfer from the operational and functional environment with TASS policies and procedures in accordance with U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Regulation 350-18.  

FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, UNITED STATES

05.28.2014

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Phillip Eugene 

80th Training Command (Reserve)

FORT KNOX, Ky. - Master Sgt. Rafael Camacho describes the 15 years he spent teaching the Army Supply Specialist reclassification course as some of the most rewarding times of his life.

The Army Reserve Soldier says it's gratifying to meet former students who tell him of the positive impact he's had on their careers.

"They remember you and they're grateful," said Camacho, the 94th Training Division's Quartermaster Program of Instruction and Quality Assurance manager. "I've had people call me from Iraq and Kuwait thanking me for what I did for them in the classroom."

Camacho has also been a senior instructor, and an operations noncommissioned officer at the battalion and brigade levels. In addition to his current duties at the 94th TD, he teaches the course management and instructor management portions of The Army School System Leader Course conducted quarterly by the 80th Training Command (TASS).

The course familiarizes leaders who transfer from the operational and functional environment with TASS policies and procedures in accordance with U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Regulation 350-18.

"Someone coming into TASS … can go through our blocks of instruction and learn how TASS works in the 80th, and how the 80th works with TRADOC," said Sgt. Maj. Gerald Brandsasse, the course developer. "That way they're not walking blindly into their assignments."

The 80th TC supports United States Army Reserve Command and TRADOC by conducting Military Occupational Specialty reclassification, as well as NCO and Officer Education System training. With units located nationwide, the 80th TC consists of more than 7,300 Army Reserve Soldiers assigned to 13 brigades aligned under three major subordinate divisions, one of which is the 94th Training Division headquartered at Fort Lee, Virginia. The other two are the 102nd Training Division headquartered at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and the 100th Training Division, headquartered at Fort Knox.

Brig. Gen. John J. Elam, commander 102nd TD, attended the course at Fort Knox in April 2014. He said the class helped him identify a need for quality assurance enhancements at the 102nd.

"I want to make sure my division staff is going out working with the brigades and the battalions," Elam said. "Making sure … the resources are there on time, making sure the instructors are properly credentialed with the proper development so they can properly teach their courses."

Melissa Barnes, the course manager, says it's import that leaders understand instructor credentialing as well as the school accreditation processes.

"The biggest piece of what we do is accreditation," Barnes said. "That is what keeps us alive and what we struggle with. If they don't understand the accreditation process and how the cycle works, they're gonna struggle."

While deployed to Afghanistan in 2005, Lt. Col. Mabry Sumner, commander 1/80th Engineer Battalion, said one of his fellow Soldiers with TASS experience used POI from his time as an instructor to help train Afghan engineers.

"Working with the Afghan engineer school house and Regional Command North he helped them develop POI for their courses," said Sumner, who also attended the course in April 2014. "That was something we were able to bring to the fight because that one individual had TASS experience."

Training senior leaders to be TASS managers requires a different approach and different techniques compared to teaching a specific MOS, but Camacho says he relishes the opportunity.

"I love teaching, I love talking to people, I love passing information to them that helps them learn," said Camacho, who as a civilian is the logistics director of the Military Intelligence Readiness Command. "I love the interaction between the student and the instructor … I love being on the podium helping people grow professionally."

• Date Taken: 05.28.2014
• Date Posted: 06.07.2014 20:43
• Story ID: 132437
• Location: FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US
• Hometown: FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US