7th Army Training Command instructs future Ukrainian Observer Coach Trainers

Photo By Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Tarr | Sgt. 1st Class Michael Perez, commandant of the Observer Coach Trainer Academy assigned to the Joint Multinational Readiness Center, 7th Army Training Command prepares to give a class to Ukrainian Soldiers, Oct. 3, at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center in Ukraine. Perez assisted the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine by training 18 Ukrainian Soldiers on how to perform observer coach trainer duties. The primary focus of the JMTG-U is direct training in the near term while helping the Ukrainian armed forces to build a sustainable and enduring combat training center at the IPSC.  

YAVORIV, UKRAINE

10.07.2016

Story by Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Tarr 

U.S. Army Europe and Africa     

YAVORIV, Ukraine--A mobile training team from 7th Army Training Command, based out of Germany, instructed 18 Ukrainian Soldiers on the Observer Coach Trainer course at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center here during the week of Oct. 3.

Observer coach trainers are responsible for ensuring that units are trained to standard and receive the proper feedback following an exercise. Typically, they will mirror the unit’s leadership to observe how they plan and execute missions, identify their strengths and areas of improvement, and, ultimately, control the training scenario to ensure it is realistic.

The five-day course began in the classroom, focusing on core OC-T competencies such as duties and responsibilities, planning and executing a training exercise, how to conduct an after action review, safety on the battlefield, and OPFOR training. At the end of the week, the Ukrainian Soldiers had hands-on experience in creating and developing situational training exercise lanes.

The Ukrainian students are required to set up STX lanes, which are short, scenario-driven, mission-oriented, exercises that are designed to train Soldiers’ on collective task, to ensure they are fully efficient in training future Ukrainian Soldiers.

“They have to be able to start resourcing their ability to maintain and operate autonomously,” said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Perez, commandant of the OC-T assigned to 7th ATC. “They have to be able to schedule a bus, lane recon for STX, resource PYRO, which is time consuming, miles gear, OPFOR, and any special equipment they may need for training.”

This is only the first step to the Soldiers becoming observer controllers, however. Once the Soldiers pass the OC-T course, a team of qualified OC-T's from 7th ATC, called the Raptor Team, will observe them as they conduct OC-T duties.

“The Raptor Team will help assess them and make sure they are doing all of the hands-on portions correctly,” said Perez.

Perez is currently on his third cycle of training Ukrainian Soldiers and said that he feels like he is making a difference within the Ukrainian Land Forces by helping them to become a stronger force.

“Once the system is 100 percent up and running, just like we do at our training centers, it will help the Ukrainian army learn better and learn from each other so they can be more successful,” he said.

Other than the training, Perez hopes the Ukrainian Soldiers will see the multinational countries that have come together at the JMTG-U to help them generate better-trained units.

JMTG-U's mission is to help establish an enduring and sustainable combat training center. Part of this mission includes developing instructors and OC-Ts to assume the training responsibility from U.S. troops.

• Date Taken: 10.07.2016
• Date Posted: 10.07.2016 09:49
• Story ID: 211532
• Location: YAVORIV, UA