Fort Bliss Monitor

Taking NCOES to next level, officials hold strategy conference

David Crozier
USASMA Public Affairs

Combined Arms Center’s Command Sgt. Maj. John Sparks asks a question about the many topics of discussion that came as a result of the two-day NCOES Strategy Conference held at the Centennial Club on Fort Bliss last week. Sparks was joined by several senior NCOs representing all facets of the Army as it pertains to NCOES.

“Transformation” is the Army’s new buzzword and while it is mostly tied to how the Army will look in the future, it also has a lot to do with the way the Army will train and educate Soldiers in the future.

Transformation has also become the impetus behind many new ideas and concepts concerning the Noncommissioned Officer Education System (NCOES). These concepts and ideas were the main topic of discussion at the Centennial Club on Fort Bliss last Thursday and Friday as several senior NCOs from around the Army came together for an NCOES strategy conference.

The conference was headed up by Command Sgt. Maj. Anthony J. Williams, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Fort Monroe, Va., and was hosted by the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy (USASMA). Also on hand to lead the discussion about NCOES transformation was Command Sgt. Maj. John D. Sparks, Combined Arms Center (CAC), Fort Leavenworth, Kans.

Other members of the conference included Army G1, Army G3, TRADOC Quality Assurance Office, TRADOC Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Training (DCSOPS&T), several members of USASMA’s staff and faculty, and seniors NCOs representing the Army Guard and Reserve.

Williams opened the conference telling everyone that he hoped they did not come to the event with “thin skin” and encouraged everyone to be open minded about discussions concerning transforming NCOES.

U.S. Army Sergeants Major Director of Doctrine and Training Division, Dr. Mack Vereen, discusses the changes being accomplished in BNCOC, ANCOC and PLDC. Vereen joined several other senior Army NCOs and leaders at a two-day NCOES Strategy Conference.

“We are probably going to say some things that you probably don’t really sign up for or you probably don’t like,” Williams said. “And you may not agree with something said in this room, but let’s talk about it.”
Williams said it was the job of the conferees to get to know who has responsibility for what “lane” and the responsibility that entailed.

“When I need to know something about NCOES I have to go to CAC. I have to go to [USASMA] because these are the folks who have to be the principles on NCOES and leader development,” Williams said. “And that’s the way [Gen. Kevin P.] Byrnes sees it. So what I am here for today is to learn, to let you know the vision of the commander that I work for and that all of us draw support from.”

Williams said the reason everyone else was invited to the conference was to ensure that the policies the Army has in place match what the Army wants to do with the respects to transforming NCOES. Therefore it was important to have representatives from all facets of the active Army, Guard and Reserve and that “if you want to get some work done, this is the right place to be.”

Sparks echoed much of Williams’ remarks and added that while he is new to CAC, he has a wealth of information from the field that he has garnered from the troops in the War on Terrorism.

USASMA Command Sgt. Maj. James E. Dale (center) asks a question during one of many presentations given during the two-day NCOES Strategy Conference held at the Centennial Club. Pictured with Dale are (left to right) Sgt. Maj. John Cross of the Center for Army leadership, Command Sgt. Maj. John Sparks from the Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, Kans., and Sgt. Maj. Michael Lamb of TRADOC’s DCSOPS&T.

“So you will see throughout these discussion points that I will bring issues that I have heard as I went around the AOR (Area of Responsibility) and where [the Soldiers believe] we need to go,” Sparks said. “I have some concerns about [NCOES], but I believe you have to put everything on the table.”

Sparks continued saying that many times the Army system is very slow to change and it takes a long time to get things done.

Sometimes it takes longer to change a course then it does to modify how a division is built and redeploys to a theater of war. Think about that,” he said. “In the time it takes to change something, we will bring a division back from deployment, modularize it, add two brigades, stick in 7,000 people and redeploy it before we can even make the changes we start here today.”

Sparks concluded that the conferees should be willing to become a part of the team that will holistically change the way Soldiers are trained in the future.

“That’s really what we have got to do and I support the fact that we came here to get things done,” Sparks said.

Conferees received briefings on the duties and responsibilities of USASMA, CAC, the Center for Leadership, DCSOPS&T, Army G3 (NCOES funding), and included the topics of training load management (specifically the backlog of ANCOC and BNCOC), training requirements analysis, standards of training, experiential learning model in small group instruction, common core training and growing the future NCO Corps.

Much of the discussion focused around funding initiatives, the deletion of common core for ANCOC and the concept of the three-tier NCOES education system.

Some of these ideas will come to fruition Oct. 1 when the common core portion of the Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course will be eliminated and lessons learned from Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom are folded in instead. The course length will go from its current six weeks to four weeks. The Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course will also undergo change as it folds in the common core tasks deleted from ANCOC into its curriculum.

Other ideas and concepts discussed at the conference have no specific timelines for completion but included the much talked about three-tier NCOES system.

Both Sparks and Williams suggested the three-tier system will come to be, but in what form is yet to be determined.

“We were approved to look at it, to develop ideas, and we can now take these ideas back. We are in the concept of how fast can we move it along and doing it in a way that benefits the entire force,” Sparks said. “So my prediction on the three-tier system … we will go ahead and move forward and get the right ideas to put the three courses into where they ought to be in a Soldier’s life cycle. But I would say that we are probably a year or so out [from getting final approval to pilot it].”

“The three-tier system will go through. I feel that way because all the initial impressions were positive and if it was going to be killed, it would have been by now, but it hasn’t been,” Williams said. “So I think it will move forward, but it is only a concept at this point. It’s like drawing a new car on a piece of paper. Those fenders may not look like that or the tires may not be as big. Until you put in all the parts, the engine, the seats, the steering wheel, it’s still just a concept and that’s where we are at today. We don’t know how it is going to turn out.”

Williams concluded that because of the discussions at the conference, he believes that NCOES transformation is now moving into its second phase where “Tiger Teams” will be constituted in the near future to discuss the inner workings of the three-tier NCOES concept.

Dale said he took a lot from the conference also saying the discussion aspect of the event was the most important.

“I think we accomplished a lot through the discussion piece and getting ready for the implementation of our three-tier system if it is approved,” said Dale. “Even if it is not approved, we have accomplished enough to provide updated training support packages if we have to stay in the four-tier system.”

Dale also believes the concept of the three-tier system will come to be, but said focus must remain on providing the field with updated training materials regardless of the future NCOES tier system.



www.bliss.army.mil	Published for the Fort Bliss/El Paso, Texas Community	August 19, 2004

<map name="boxmap-b4"> <area shape="rect" coords="0, 589, 120, 600" href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" > <area coords="0,0,10000,10000" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=&creative=92501&camp=8117&link_code=dl1&path=subst/misc/amazon-cobrand-cc/v3/marketing-from-associates-step1.html/ref%3Db1_assoc_29" > </map>	Taking NCOES to next level, officials hold strategy conference David Crozier USASMA Public Affairs Combined Arms Center’s Command Sgt. Maj. John Sparks asks a question about the many topics of discussion that came as a result of the two-day NCOES Strategy Conference held at the Centennial Club on Fort Bliss last week. Sparks was joined by several senior NCOs representing all facets of the Army as it pertains to NCOES. “Transformation” is the Army’s new buzzword and while it is mostly tied to how the Army will look in the future, it also has a lot to do with the way the Army will train and educate Soldiers in the future. Transformation has also become the impetus behind many new ideas and concepts concerning the Noncommissioned Officer Education System (NCOES). These concepts and ideas were the main topic of discussion at the Centennial Club on Fort Bliss last Thursday and Friday as several senior NCOs from around the Army came together for an NCOES strategy conference. The conference was headed up by Command Sgt. Maj. Anthony J. Williams, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Fort Monroe, Va., and was hosted by the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy (USASMA). Also on hand to lead the discussion about NCOES transformation was Command Sgt. Maj. John D. Sparks, Combined Arms Center (CAC), Fort Leavenworth, Kans. Other members of the conference included Army G1, Army G3, TRADOC Quality Assurance Office, TRADOC Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Training (DCSOPS&T), several members of USASMA’s staff and faculty, and seniors NCOs representing the Army Guard and Reserve. Williams opened the conference telling everyone that he hoped they did not come to the event with “thin skin” and encouraged everyone to be open minded about discussions concerning transforming NCOES. U.S. Army Sergeants Major Director of Doctrine and Training Division, Dr. Mack Vereen, discusses the changes being accomplished in BNCOC, ANCOC and PLDC. Vereen joined several other senior Army NCOs and leaders at a two-day NCOES Strategy Conference. “We are probably going to say some things that you probably don’t really sign up for or you probably don’t like,” Williams said. “And you may not agree with something said in this room, but let’s talk about it.” Williams said it was the job of the conferees to get to know who has responsibility for what “lane” and the responsibility that entailed. “When I need to know something about NCOES I have to go to CAC. I have to go to [USASMA] because these are the folks who have to be the principles on NCOES and leader development,” Williams said. “And that’s the way [Gen. Kevin P.] Byrnes sees it. So what I am here for today is to learn, to let you know the vision of the commander that I work for and that all of us draw support from.” Williams said the reason everyone else was invited to the conference was to ensure that the policies the Army has in place match what the Army wants to do with the respects to transforming NCOES. Therefore it was important to have representatives from all facets of the active Army, Guard and Reserve and that “if you want to get some work done, this is the right place to be.” Sparks echoed much of Williams’ remarks and added that while he is new to CAC, he has a wealth of information from the field that he has garnered from the troops in the War on Terrorism. USASMA Command Sgt. Maj. James E. Dale (center) asks a question during one of many presentations given during the two-day NCOES Strategy Conference held at the Centennial Club. Pictured with Dale are (left to right) Sgt. Maj. John Cross of the Center for Army leadership, Command Sgt. Maj. John Sparks from the Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, Kans., and Sgt. Maj. Michael Lamb of TRADOC’s DCSOPS&T. “So you will see throughout these discussion points that I will bring issues that I have heard as I went around the AOR (Area of Responsibility) and where [the Soldiers believe] we need to go,” Sparks said. “I have some concerns about [NCOES], but I believe you have to put everything on the table.” Sparks continued saying that many times the Army system is very slow to change and it takes a long time to get things done. Sometimes it takes longer to change a course then it does to modify how a division is built and redeploys to a theater of war. Think about that,” he said. “In the time it takes to change something, we will bring a division back from deployment, modularize it, add two brigades, stick in 7,000 people and redeploy it before we can even make the changes we start here today.” Sparks concluded that the conferees should be willing to become a part of the team that will holistically change the way Soldiers are trained in the future. “That’s really what we have got to do and I support the fact that we came here to get things done,” Sparks said. Conferees received briefings on the duties and responsibilities of USASMA, CAC, the Center for Leadership, DCSOPS&T, Army G3 (NCOES funding), and included the topics of training load management (specifically the backlog of ANCOC and BNCOC), training requirements analysis, standards of training, experiential learning model in small group instruction, common core training and growing the future NCO Corps. Much of the discussion focused around funding initiatives, the deletion of common core for ANCOC and the concept of the three-tier NCOES education system. Some of these ideas will come to fruition Oct. 1 when the common core portion of the Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course will be eliminated and lessons learned from Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom are folded in instead. The course length will go from its current six weeks to four weeks. The Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course will also undergo change as it folds in the common core tasks deleted from ANCOC into its curriculum. Other ideas and concepts discussed at the conference have no specific timelines for completion but included the much talked about three-tier NCOES system. Both Sparks and Williams suggested the three-tier system will come to be, but in what form is yet to be determined. “We were approved to look at it, to develop ideas, and we can now take these ideas back. We are in the concept of how fast can we move it along and doing it in a way that benefits the entire force,” Sparks said. “So my prediction on the three-tier system … we will go ahead and move forward and get the right ideas to put the three courses into where they ought to be in a Soldier’s life cycle. But I would say that we are probably a year or so out [from getting final approval to pilot it].” “The three-tier system will go through. I feel that way because all the initial impressions were positive and if it was going to be killed, it would have been by now, but it hasn’t been,” Williams said. “So I think it will move forward, but it is only a concept at this point. It’s like drawing a new car on a piece of paper. Those fenders may not look like that or the tires may not be as big. Until you put in all the parts, the engine, the seats, the steering wheel, it’s still just a concept and that’s where we are at today. We don’t know how it is going to turn out.” Williams concluded that because of the discussions at the conference, he believes that NCOES transformation is now moving into its second phase where “Tiger Teams” will be constituted in the near future to discuss the inner workings of the three-tier NCOES concept. Dale said he took a lot from the conference also saying the discussion aspect of the event was the most important. “I think we accomplished a lot through the discussion piece and getting ready for the implementation of our three-tier system if it is approved,” said Dale. “Even if it is not approved, we have accomplished enough to provide updated training support packages if we have to stay in the four-tier system.” Dale also believes the concept of the three-tier system will come to be, but said focus must remain on providing the field with updated training materials regardless of the future NCOES tier system.