Photo By Master Sgt. Matthew Keeler | Soldiers from the Basic Leader Course, 166th Regiment Regional Training Site, perform...... read more read more
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FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. - Full classes of the Basic Leader Course recently started again at the 166th Regiment Regional Training Site at Fort Indiantown Gap about a year and a half after stopping due to travel restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In May 2020, BLC began operating under limited resident BLC instruction of no more than 108 students per resident cycle due to Covid mitigation efforts,” said Master Sgt. Charles Stover, BLC branch chief for the 166th RTI. “During the March to May hiatus, BLC cadre put in hundreds, if not thousands, of man-hours to create and develop a 100% virtual BLC platform and began delivering BLC instruction virtually.”
The virtual BLC instruction began in July 2020, when the 166th RTI had its first testing period to gauge the program's effectiveness, said Stover. From August 2020 through January 2021, the battalion was directed to continue to develop the instruction and be prepared to continue their virtual instruction. And then from February to September of 2021, the cadre continued to instruct 144 students in every cycle with the virtual BLC.
To Stover, having full in-person classes is the best form of educating and mentoring the Soldiers.
“The strongest asset that BLC students have is each other,” he said. "Our cadre are not ‘preach from the podium’ Army instructors, instead they are Army facilitators. We embrace the experiential learning model and achieve learning objectives for students by facilitating instruction and creating a collaborative environment."
Typically, the battalion receives 205 to 215 students every month for the 22-day BLC curriculum, said Stover. With 13 learning centers at the battalion, the cadre are prepared to instruct more than 220 students.
Not only are the cadre and Stover working to educate and mentor each new class, they are also continuing to develop their classes to better prepare the future U.S. Army leaders.
“The BLC course management plan, lessons, and program of instruction is consistently changing,” Stover said. “As the needs of the Army and our operational environments change, so do the focal points and direction in developing future Army leaders.”
From COVID-19 protective methods to the development of the Army Combat Fitness Test, Stover and the cadre continue to work to prepare students with the tools they will need for the future.
“Our curriculum constantly changes to meet these needs, and our cadre are extremely flexible and dedicated to their duties of developing these future leaders,” he said.
BLC is a noncommissioned officer course designed to build basic leader and trainer skills needed to lead a team-size element. It focuses on six Leader Core Competencies (LCC): readiness, leadership, training management, communications, operations and program management.
The 166th RTI provides training for active-duty, National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers in numerous fields, including infantry, artillery and medical as well as officer candidate school, warrant officer candidate school and noncommissioned officer education. It is the third-largest RTI for overall student throughput and has one of the largest BLC throughputs.
| Date Taken: | 11.04.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 11.05.2021 08:22 |
| Story ID: | 408701 |
| Location: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 408 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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