Photo By Alexandra Shea | Foreign military attachés from across the globe toured Fort Jackson’s 120th...... read more read more
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Military attachés from countries around the globe currently assigned to a tour of duty within the United States visited Fort Jackson April 8 to discuss and compare Initial Entry Training procedures.
The attaches first visited Fort Benning, Georgia, to get an inside glimpse of One Station Unit Training for infantrymen before visiting the largest Basic Combat Training post.
“It’s pretty impressive,” said Lt. Col. Martin Arcand, Canadian assistance attaché assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Washington, D.C. “There is a solid process in place for Soldiers, like how drill sergeants are formed and how they train trainees.”
As the group traveled the installation, they asked many questions about why the Army implements certain processes during basic training. Some questions included how drill sergeants are selected; how drill sergeants are trained; are trainees allowed to travel to their homes on weekends and holidays; and what happens to trainees if they find the Army is not a good fit for them.
While each country’s basic training process differs from one another, each question asked by their representative were answered in great detail. The purpose, to create an opportunity for the attaches to recommend the process to their home countries military leadership to see if that process may be implemented into their training to create a stronger force.
“It’s the purpose of the Department of the Army Headquarters to bring the attachés on military posts and see how the U.S. Army is working,” Arcand said. “It helps us better understand how the U.S. Army does things. And if there are things that we can apply or modify (we do), it’s all about cooperation and interoperability.”
Along the tour, the group walked through the 120th Adjutant General Battalion (Reception) where trainees get their initial set of uniforms and gear they will use throughout their training. They were then transported to Range 18 where they witnesses trainees becoming familiar and comfortable firing their M4 rifles. Like many of the attachés, the range is the first encounter trainees have with the rifle.
The attachés also witnessed Expert Field Medical Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge and Expert Soldier Badge train-up testing set to officially start next week. The tour group was able to get closer to the badge competitors to understand the Soldier skills being tested. Many of those skills being tested are taught during basic training.
For some of the group, the testing felt familiar.
“The contours of basic training in the Australian army system follow in a number of respects during my tour of Fort Jackson. The fundamental combat soldier skills are just as important in the Australian army training continuum,” said Lt. Col. Adam McGuinness, of the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C. “(Like the U.S.) our members get upfront training in these important skills before they move onto specialist schools at other training facilities.”
At the conclusion of the tour, the attachés were able to ask any final questions they may have had before returning to Washington and sharing the information they gathered from the tours within their respective embassies. There, they may be able to use some of the information they gathered to modify or improve their home countries initial entry training programs.
The foreign military attaché program allows many NATO and allied partners to send military representatives to serve within the United States on short tours to increase interoperability, cooperation and foreign relations. Representatives of the U.S. Army fulfill the same roles in these countries as well.
“It’s a privilege to represent my military and government of Australia by serving bilateral and multilateral military interests with the United States and the many military partners represented in Washington, D.C.,” McGuinness said.
| Date Taken: | 04.08.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 04.14.2022 08:05 |
| Story ID: | 418478 |
| Location: | FORT JACKSON, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 114 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Multinational military attachés talk initial entry training, by Alexandra Shea, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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