Photo By Katryn McCalment | Sgt. Mike Raichel, the mission squad leader, explains his planned avenue of approach...... read more read more
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. – It’s 4:30 a.m. when Staff Sgt. Jim McKinzie’s alarm goes off.
He quickly shuts off the noise and rolls out of bed, turning off his backup alarm as well. As he rubs his eyes, he thinks about the day in front of him.
Today is “Black Monday” – a day that takes place in every cycle of Warrior Leader Course; it’s the second Monday of the course when the first assignments are due and the first big evaluations take place. Though it may not be the longest day of the cycle, it is one of the most demanding on the Small Group Leaders, McKinzie’s duty position for the last year.
Trying to not wake up his wife, he leaves the lights off as he makes his way to the kitchen for his first cup of coffee. Once there he uses the light from the refrigerator to add cream and sugar and takes a sip, hoping that he will be able to make it through the day with just one cup. But, he knows that it is unlikely.
At 40 years old, he remains in good shape, but grey has started to creep into his dark hair, which can only be seen on top as the sides are shaved too close to determine a color.
As his wife, daughter and dog continue to sleep, McKinzie quickly showers before putting on his Army physical training shorts and his black SGL t-shirt. His name and rank are stitched across the chest above the crest of the Non-commissioned Officer Academy.
He finishes the coffee and heads for his truck. Living on post, the drive to the academy is short. Fort Bragg is still dark and quiet as he pulls into the parking lot and the only other cars moving are his fellow SGLs. He makes it to his office door within an hour of his alarm.
As a SGL, McKinzie gets eight soldiers each 18-day-long cycle – current and future NCOs to train, lead and mold into the “backbone of the Army.”
Outside, the students fall out of their barracks into formation with sleep still in their eyes, ready to perform the Army’s physical readiness training for their evaluation grade – McKinzie’s first task of the day.
“A lot of these NCOs have seen PRT before, but it’s our job to teach them the standard. Whether they know it or not, everyone learns what right looks like,” McKinzie says.
The formation is marched to the PRT field where McKinzie meets up with them, having grabbed his notebook and a pen out of the office. The eight soldiers in his squad fall in around him to get their initial instruction.
“Okay, 209 and 210, you’re up,” he says, referring to the first two soldiers’ roster numbers.
Sgt. Andrew Fadley, number 209, jogs away from the group, turns to face them in the position of attention and yells “FALL IN!”
For the next 50 minutes McKinzie evaluates his squad members, focusing on the individual’s positioning, execution and attention to detail. The soldiers lose points for calling a command incorrectly and not moving through the exercises with precision. It is a task that can be difficult to master for some soldiers.
“My unit just came home from deployment, so this is the first time I’ve ever seen PRT,” said Sgt. Mike Raichel, number 213, a medic with 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.
Seeing the benefit in the training, Raichel does better than most on the evaluation.
“All the exercises contain dynamic stretching, which is really good for you and prevents injuries,” Raichel says.
After speaking with each graded soldier, McKinzie releases the soldiers to the platoon formation and walks back to the office. He immediately sits down at his computer, grading sheets next to him, and begins to enter the individual grades onto the electronic forms.
“I’m weak at admin stuff, so I hit my addendums as quickly as I can,” says McKinzie, transferring his notes from the PT field into electronic form.
He types quickly and heads downstairs to shower again before changing into his Army Combat Uniform. As he leaves the building, he can see the platoon marching toward the chow hall and follows them, taking a shorter path to close the gap.
Inside he gets his usual – scrambled eggs with everything (“I’m not sure what everything is, but I always just say ‘everything’”), tator tots and bacon. After pausing to contemplate the action, he makes himself a second cup of coffee. In between cycles McKinzie has caught a cold and the caffeine helps to balance out the drowsiness from the cold medicine, he explains.
He sits down at a long, rectangular table full of SGLs and makes small talk until the soldiers from his platoon are all getting up to leave. He cleans his tray and again follows the platoon. It isn’t his turn to march the platoon until dinner, so the walk back is quiet, though you can hear the soldiers calling cadence in the distance.
It is now 9 a.m. and the students have their first written assignments due. The communication in writing task includes writing an award, an oral statement and a memorandum and McKinzie collects eight of each, which he returns to the office to grade.
For the next three hours, McKinzie focuses on grading the pile of homework in front of him, entering grades and soldier information.
“It’s daunting sometimes,” he admits. “Sometimes you have to go back over each to make sure you don’t miss anything, because they all start to look the same.”
He is interrupted once by his “senior,” Staff Sgt. Travis Deutscher, platoon sergeant for McKinzie and the other 2nd Platoon SGLs, but is able to focus and finish the assignments.
At noon, he stands up to stretch and looks at the clock while locking his computer.
Instead of going to the chow hall again, for lunch McKinzie walks across the busy street that borders the NCO Academy to the convenience store that accompanies one of post’s gas stations. It is a luxury the students don’t have. While in WLC, all students are restricted to the Academy grounds, no matter their rank.
Inside he removes his maroon beret, the signature of a paratrooper, and moves through the busy shop. He makes himself his third, and final, cup of coffee for the day and grabs two tornadoes – eggs and sausage fried in a thin tortilla – and a Philly cheese steak breadstick. He usually tries to eat healthier, but for the sake of time, the greasy lunch will tide him over.
He returns to the office to eat and prepare for the next graded assignment of the day – oral presentations. Each student is given a predetermined Army related topic to give a 5-to-7 minute brief on, so McKinzie prepares by bringing his computer downstairs into the classroom to get a head start.
The students return from lunch and again Fadley, number 209, an infantryman in 1st Btn., 505 PIR, is first in the squad to be evaluated. His topic is Francis Marion, one of the fathers of guerilla warfare and the Army Rangers. Obviously very comfortable with the room and his subject, Fadley earns a perfect score.
“He really knew how to engage the audience,” said McKinzie later. “He stood out as someone who wasn’t nervous to get up and speak in front of people; one of the best I’ve had in a while.”
After McKinzie’s squad finishes, another squad begins and he takes the opportunity to call each of his students to the back of the class to electronically sign their score sheets.
When the last of the class finishes their presentations, the students get a 10 minute break and at 3 p.m. they go straight back into the classroom for instruction. It is McKinzie’s turn on “the platform,” the SGLs term for teaching, and the class is one of his favorites.
“Training management – that’s a good class. It’s our foundation and mission, knowing how to train people,” he says speaking of both SGLs specifically and the Army in general. “It’s what we do.”
For nearly two hours, McKinzie makes circles around the room, engaging the students on how to plan, execute and assess training for their future soldiers. He covers types of evaluations, and how to look up standards for individual training. As students comment and contribute feedback and questions into the discussion, McKinzie often replies with “gotcha covered,” confirming they understood the information. It’s deep into the discussion when his accent becomes more pronounced, giving away his Texas roots.
Just after five, McKinzie pauses the class and closes the slideshow. The students are given another break before forming up to go to dinner. This time it is McKinzie’s turn to march the platoon, so he joins the student platoon sergeant in front of the soldiers.
The sun is setting as the students begin marching, and you can see them squinting against the light. McKinzie follows a couple paces behind the platoon sergeant as the soldier calls cadence.
“I’M SITTING IN MY FOXHOLE….”
Tonight, there are an unusually high number of non-military personnel in line, causing the group to fall behind schedule. McKinzie gets iced tea and an orange while encouraging the students to eat faster than usual to make up the time.
The soldiers are marched straight back into the building without a break, still a couple minutes behind.
McKinzie uses the remaining two hours of classroom time to finish the training management class and teaching the difference between formal and informal evaluations before releasing the students at 8 p.m. sharp.
McKinzie heads upstairs to the office to finish some last paperwork before checking on the students assigned to clean the classroom and building bathroom.
“Everything looks good,” he says as he makes one last walk around the room, checking under the desks and in the trash.
“Thanks, sergeant. Have a good night,” says a soldier from another squad.
McKinzie grabs his PT clothes from the morning and heads home.
It’s 8:37 and dark again when he pulls his truck into the spot next to his wife’s gold van.
Angela has left a plate in the microwave for him of chicken legs, au gratin potatoes and green beans. He calls hello to his wife as he passes her to change, the food still reheating in the microwave. It is the first time he has spoken to his family all day.
He sits down on the sofa with his food and tells Angela about his day.
“Good, but long. How was yours?” he asks, taking another bite.
They talk until he finishes eating, but as soon as he leans back into the sofa, his eyes are closed and he starts to snore softly.
“Jim, go to bed,” Angela tells him. “I’ll get the plate.”
He smiles at his wife of 19 years and obeys, using the arm of the sofa to help him up. Once in bed, he tries to read a chapter in his Bible, something he does each night before bed. He’s on Proverbs and can only manage half a chapter before turning off the lights and falling asleep. It’s 9:17, and his alarm is already set to go off at 4:30 again.
“I still enjoy what I do,” McKinzie confesses later that week. “It’s tiring because of the long hours, but I like the challenge it presents and I really enjoy seeing the light bulb go on when they ‘get it.’” He pauses to think for a second. “Yeah, it’s a hard job, but I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 06.15.2012 13:14 |
| Story ID: | 90066 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 732 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Day in the life: A NCO Academy small group leader, by Katryn McCalment, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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