Photo By Terrance Bell | Spc. Donghwa Lee, Alpha Company, 244th Quartermaster Battalion, locks in on the...... read more read more
FORT LEE, Va. (July 27, 2017) -- Staff Sgt. Cindy Rozo and Sgt. 1st Class Rodney Gibson are Quartermaster School instructors responsible for providing advanced individual training students with the know-how to perform their real-world missions.
The two also are caring noncommissioned officers attuned to the issues facing those they instruct.
In the roles of the latter, they were struck by the length of time some Soldiers spend in AIT units here following graduation. For example, students vying for airborne school slots can wait up to three months. The time can be even longer for recent naturalized citizens awaiting background checks.
In the meantime, the graduates – called holdovers – perform barracks maintenance along with an assortment of other duties not related to their chosen military occupational specialty, potentially dousing their enthusiasm and contributing to a loss of morale and sense of frustration, said Rocco.
“For that reason, SFC Gibson and I came up with this idea to create a program for our Soldiers in which they can actually learn their jobs while waiting to go to their units, so they won’t have to be retrained once they get there,” she said.
Differing in nature from MOS training, which is basic and mostly classroom, the holdover program touts hands-on experiences in environments similar to where Soldiers might work at their permanent assignments.
It started about two months ago with unit supply and automated logistical specialists assigned to the 244th Quartermaster Battalion. Since then, about 30 graduates have logged an average of 20 hours working at unit supply rooms; the Transportation Motor Pool; and Supply Support Activity, Logistics Readiness Center.
At the SSA, Soldiers have honed skills relating to the issue and receipt of supplies and equipment, inventory, accountability and materiel storage. Spc. Sunho Kim, a 28-year-old who completed the 92A Automated Logistical Specialist Course in November 2016, was one of a group of graduates attending ALS training July 20 at a SSA warehouse. He said the program is a bright spot in what has been a difficult existence.
“The difference is we don’t feel like our time is being wasted,” said the Soldier raised in South Korea and awaiting the completion of a background check. “We now feel we’re useful – even though we’re not permanent party. There has been a morale change.”
That’s the kind of positivity Sgt. Maj. Kenneth McCarn likes to hear. The acting 244th QM Bn. CSM said he is all for the program, especially in light of keeping Soldiers focused and motivated.
“We don’t want to waste Soldiers’ time,” he said. “That’s the first thing. We don’t want them doing detail-type of work. We want them educated as much as possible on their specialty.”
Pfc. Jate-Paola Chery, like Kim, is assigned to Alpha Company, 244th QM Bn. She spoke enthusiastically about the program, saying it gives her and the others something to look forward to as well as providing a window to how things might work in the real world. Chery, however, said she would like to see more done.
“More days of training, yes, and actually giving us duties,” she said. “If we had our own tasks to do on a daily basis, that would be better and we would feel even more useful.”
The current work schedule has students participating two or three days a week, said Rozo.
No matter the measure of participation, personnel like retired Sgt. 1st Class William “Will” Joyner are eager to help, and the program rests on their generosity and willingness to make things happen. Joyner, not too far removed from his days as a Soldier, said he is familiar with the holdover issue and has plenty on his plate without supporting the program, but said he and his manager knew it was worth supporting.
“In my opinion, these Soldiers carry the weight of the country on their shoulders,” he said. “What’s more important than that?
“Whenever I see young Soldiers who are hungry for knowledge, it’s my job to give it to them. Just because I’m retired, it doesn’t mean the Soldier is retired out of my body or my soul. I’m a Soldier at heart.”
A number of his co-workers also are supportive of the program, said Joyner.
Rozo, an automated logistical specialist for the past 12 years, said she is passionate about her job and wants trainees to feel the same about theirs.
“I’ve been blessed in the Army, and I want these Soldiers to see why I love what I do,” she said. “We as NCOs are here to train them, here to support them and show them what the Army is really about.”
The holdover program is being considered for expansion, said Rozo. It will take more collaborators like Joyner to to further it along. Success also may be dependent on organizational changes such as the addition of a holdover company that can better address the needs of graduates, she added.
| Date Taken: | 07.27.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 07.27.2017 08:36 |
| Story ID: | 242743 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 381 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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