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SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C.-- Sixteen noncommissioned officers graduated from the Battle Staff Course hosted by U.S. Army Central at Patton Hall on August 16, 2023.
The Battle Staff course trains NCOs for missions and responsibilities they may encounter working in battalion and higher positions. The students joined other NCOs from across the Army for virtual instruction while completing hands-on instruction locally with an assistant instructor.
Master Sgt. Gaela Blake, an exercise NCOIC assigned to USARCENT, served as a Battle Staff assistant instructor during the course.
“Seeing them graduate was the best moment’, said Blake. “To know that they have a concept of what it is to be a Battle Staff NCO and have that drive to go back to their units and implement what they learned made it even more rewarding”.
The course is highly desirable amongst NCOs, but operational requirements typically make it difficult for many to attend.
Sgt. Major Brian M. Disque, U.S. Army Central G-3 Senior Enlisted Advisor, was an integral part of bringing the course to USARCENT. Disque shed light on why it was important to bring the course to ARCENT.
“When we rely on sending NCOS to the resident course, we only get 3-4 NCOs trained per year and spend thousands of dollars. By leveraging VTT capabilities, we get 32 NCOs trained a year at little to no cost. We save time and money”, said Disque. If you must be assigned to this unit, at least you can get the training and a qualification that can be important to you career and help another unit down the road”.
Staff Sgt. Adams Alexander, a current operations NCO with USARCENT, served as the executive officer during the course. He expressed interest in attending the course because he recognized how sharpening his skillset would improve the quality of his contributions to his team.
“Being a 19D, I can only bring so much expertise from my background”, said Alexander. “Going through the course gives me a much broader horizon. It gives me a keyhole into the planning considerations and other things I can bring to the table to ensure that not only am I going in the right direction, but so are the people around me”.
Sgt. 1st Class Lloyd R. Williams, a G-6 operations NCO with USARCENT, served as the G-3 NCO during the course.
“A senior NCO may end up in a staff position and this course prepares you for that”, said Williams. “Even if you don’t end up in a staff position you may have to fill in as a 1st Sgt. and you can use the knowledge that you gained during the course to assist the commander during the Military Decision Making Process, which is the bread and butter of this course”.
Master Sgt. Blake reflects on why it was important for her to be a part of not just the coordination of the course but also the training.
“I got involved with the Battle Staff course because as a senior NCO it is important that we mentor and produce other senior NCOs that can work at a staff level and talk strategically”, said Blake. “When we do exercises here, we work with multiple countries, about 44 countries at a time, you’ve got to be able to talk at that level and see the big picture”.
Bringing the Battle Staff Course to USARCENT made it possible for 16 NCOs to return to their unit confident and ready.
“We are invested in this in more way than one”, said Disque. “The idea is that these staff NCOs take this training back to their staff sections and make the unit better”.
United States Army Central is the U.S. Army Service Component Command for United States Central Command and is responsible to the Secretary of the Army for the support and administration of more than 12,000 Soldiers, including those assigned to joint task forces and embassies, across the 21 countries in the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility.
| Date Taken: | 08.18.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 08.22.2023 16:02 |
| Story ID: | 451815 |
| Location: | SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 177 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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