Leader's Training Course

The official news site for Operation Bold Leader

Officers highly sought in private sector

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Editor

The Army exhausts vast resources to recruit and train individuals to serve as officers.

It takes a special person to join the ranks, requiring that they exhibit the qualities of a scholar, athlete and leader. That combination of traits proves pivotal to the Army’s overall success.

So it’s no wonder that the Army, and its officer ranks in particular, have become a magnet for corporate recruiters.

Just as the Army sees the potential of select individuals to lead the force, companies worldwide also see those same men and women eventually using the skills and discipline learned in the military to lead their businesses.

Fueling much of the demand for transitioning troops, Soldiers often require little on-the-job training. Besides their discipline, they provide relevant skills and a work ethic most corporations covet.

“They are goal- and task-oriented, and many speak more than one language,” David Sierra, manager of military relations for BellSouth Corp., told Internet site GI Jobs. “They tend to be more mature and responsible. They’re quick learners, remain flexible with location and work hours, handle stress with ease and make an immediate impact on the work environment.

“They are confident, self-reliant, resourceful and accustomed to working in environments that depend on high levels of teamwork to succeed. Overall, they are a great asset to the company.”

Businesses view transitioning officers as assets to their companies. That’s why a growing number of corporations are attending job fairs on Army posts and raising their visibility in military communities.

A representative for Georgia-Pacific Corp., a leading manufacturer and distributor of paper products, calls the competition for officers a “war for talent.”

Buzz Buse, director of Officer Placement Services with the Retired Officers Association in Alexandria, Va., said a former officer’s employment options are as varied as the officers themselves.

“These people have solid technical skills and an immensely strong ability to lead people,” Buse told the Tampa Bay Business Journal. “That’s what they do.”

Most in demand these days are junior military officers. Typically in their 20s with four to six years of service, they may have already managed multimillion-dollar budgets and dozens of people.

Greg Eisenbarth is executive director of Military MBA, which helps match its 25 affiliated business schools with prospective military students. Unlike the command-and-control style of elder military officers, Eisenbarth said, the younger generation expects to work collaboratively — a plus in today’s workplace.

With 1.3 million Americans on active duty, another 1.3 million in the Reserves and 25 million military veterans, Tom Daly, president of Tampa-based placement firm Celtic Group, said finding qualified candidates is easy.

“Plenty of military people are looking for quality positions,” he said. “We find it more difficult to find quality companies willing to take these guys on.”

The transitioning of Soldiers has helped fuel the success of recruitment firms such as Soar Consulting Inc. of California. While company officials said veterans possess unequalled skills, they also provide employers with a talent pool that is demographically diverse than the population at large.

“Our tremendous growth is testament to the fact that companies recognize the core values that transitioning military members offer,” said Brian Davis, principal and co-founder of Soar Consulting. “Transitioning military members have integrity, leadership skills, a strong work ethic, discipline and a drive for mission accomplishment, which are all very desirable characteristics in an employee, and obviously, many top companies are recognizing that.”

ROTC serves integral role in U.S. Army

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Editor

ROTC Cadets salute the colors at a U.S. Army Cadet Command function. Photo by Forrest Berkshire

Every Army unit or organization can trace its roots back to a specific date and place and, in some instances, a single person. The Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, ROTC, is no different.

While military historians generally use 1916 as the date when the Army officially established the concept of the Citizen’s Army, Army ROTC actually got its start as early as 1819 when Alden Partridge, often referred to as the father of ROTC, founded the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy in Vermont, later to become Norwich University.

As one of the first superintendents of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Partridge considered military subjects to be a necessary part of the college curriculum; regardless of the vocation students would choose as future careers. Military instruction was a profound concept for the hall of academia in 1819, but his idea met with success and flourished, rapidly spreading to other schools: Virginia Military Institute, the University of Tennessee and the Citadel.

Partridge was a visionary and right on target in his thinking. He believed that combining a college curriculum with Army training was cohesive; it prepared the student by developing human relationships, a sense of responsibility and, above all, leadership.

Many cadets today would undoubtedly cringe at the curriculum that was offered at early Norwich University. Demanding would be too tame a word to describe what the life of an ROTC cadet was like.

They were required to study five different languages, five types of law and 10 types of math. All that was in addition to studying every type of military theory beginning with Biblical times.

Cadets marched endlessly and conducted drill and ceremony that was so impressive local villagers would gather to watch.

By the start of the 20th century, Partridge’s experiment caught on. One-hundred and five colleges and universities offered some military instruction as part of their academic programs.

By 1917, a year after the formal establishment of ROTC, and with the entry of the United States in World War I, some 90,000 officers who had received their commissions through ROTC were available in the reserve pool.

More than 100,000 officers commissioned through ROTC served during World War II, and since then more than 328,000 officers have prepared for their commissions through Army ROTC.

Like our country, the Army and Army ROTC have undergone significant changes since its humble beginnings. One-hundred and eighty six years since the establishment of the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy, Army ROTC has grown into a vital program that produces college-trained officers for the active Army, Army National Guard and the Army Reserves.

Army ROTC has become an integral part of the education for thousands of young men and women who choose to become Army officers in 270 colleges and universities throughout the nation. It’s a unique program that has provided many with the opportunity to work toward a college education and a commission as an Army officer.

Through Army ROTC, the Army gains officers with diverse educational backgrounds and contemporary ideas. ROTC graduates walk away from their campuses academically enriched. They walk away leaders.

Fort Knox a small, bustling city

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Editor

The Lt. Gen. Timothy J. Maude Complex is the home of U.S. Army Accessions Command and Human Resources Command. Construction was completed on the $199.4 million structure June 3, 2010. Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Accessions Command Public Affairs

ROTC Cadets attending the Leader’s Training Course see only a small part of the day-to-day life at Fort Knox, an Army post in the midst of transformation.

For the better part of seven decades, the post served as the home of armor and cavalry for the U.S. Army.

That era comes to an end officially in September, when the Armor School completes its move to Fort Benning, Ga. Taking its place, and leadership of the post, is the U.S. Army Accessions Command, which oversees the recruiting of Soldiers for the Army. Accessions oversees U.S. Army Recruiting Command and U.S. Army Cadet Command. Recruiting Command is in charge of bringing in enlisted Soldiers, Cadet Command administers the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Accessions and Cadet Command took up residence on the post this year.

But the thundering sound of main guns on tanks firing can still be heard on distant ranges as a frequent reminder of the post’s lontime mission.

The post is much more than barracks, training areas and tank ranges.

Fort Knox is a community designed to meet the unique needs of its residents, including single and married Soldiers.

It is the sixth-largest urban area in Kentucky.

Fort Knox is a working city comprising more than 2,370 buildings totaling 12.8 million square feet. Of those, 1,277 buildings are family housing. Many of those family housing buildings are multi-unit. There are 2,711 family housing units on the post. Quarters for married Soldiers range from the spacious residence of the post’s commanding general to townhouses and duplexes.

A married second lieutenant is eligible for housing on post. They would be assigned a two- or three-bedroom unit, depending on the size of his or her family. A single lieutenant is eligible for efficiency-style apartments. When quarters on post are unavailable, Soldiers eligible for housing are given quarters allowance to help offset the cost of housing in surrounding civilian communities.

There are 250 miles of roadways, 46 bridges and eight dams on the post, which has a total surface area of 170 square miles.

Fort Knox also has its own school system for approximately 4,000 children from kindergarten through high school. The post’s eight schools, including elementary, middle and high schools, are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and offer a variety of programs, including special education for disabled and talented and gifted students.

Health care is essential to any community, and Fort Knox is no exception. The post is a leader in the community in providing care for both active and retirees.

Recreational activities are also available for Soldiers and their families. Swimming pools, bowling centers, golf courses, gymnasiums and fitness centers are just a few ways to pass the time.

Although the tank once served as a powerful symbol of Fort Knox, many people associate the post with gold. The U.S. Bullion Depository, or gold vault, is here and is operated by the U.S. Treasury Department. Clearly visible from U.S. 31W, the white building is strictly off-limits.

Three phases to graduation

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Editor

Cadets wait for instructions during a physical training test

Earning a gold bar and becoming an Army leader is a process, of which the

Leader’s Training Course is only the first step. But even that first step involves a series of growth.

The course is broken down into three distinct phases.

Phase One: Soldier First

Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth McKinney, a drill sergeant, checks Cadets from Alpha Co. into their barracks at the beginning of LTC 2009. Photos by Mackenzie Reiss -Leader

This is a basic introduction to the Army aimed at teaching Cadets skills and knowledge necessary to successfully participate in the next three phases.

Cadets have described this phase, which covers the first few days of the course, as “teaching them what right looks like.”

Specifically, Cadets learn military customs and courtesies, such as saluting, how to wear the Army uniform, how to march and organize their living area. Cadets will get to know their peers during this initial phase.

They also will be introduced to the physical training program and take a diagnostic PT test, as well as go through various stages of in-processing.

There is no formal evaluation on leadership in this period. Training is conducted by drill sergeants.

Phase Two: Warrior Leader

To expose the least amount of her body to the enemy as possible, Cadet Catherine Hicks, from the University of South Carolina, kneels into a firing position to check for enemy forces. Photo by Mackenzie Reiss/Leader

This part of the Leader’s Training Course covers adventure training, which builds both Cadet self-confidence and unit esprit-de-corps. The focus in the beginning of these three weeks is on individual skills. As this phase progresses, Cadets learn more about working in the group and squad dynamic.

Cadets continue to hone their basic military skills in order to function as a small-group member.

In this phase, Cadets will take part in a variety of individual and squad-level exercises. Leadership roles will change every 24 hours, with new assessments given at the end of each day.

Cadets will be asked to assess themselves and their peers.

This phase’s capstone exercise is the field training exercise, covering 3½ days. The FTX is considered one of the most enjoyable segments of LTC.

Cadets are exposed to squad-level operations where cadre assess the Cadet’s leadership ability in a field environment. They will spend all of their time in the field, moving tactically along squad tactics lanes, engaging opposition forces made up of seasoned cadre as they assault bunkers and react, as well as carry out, ambush scenarios.

The main focus of the FTX is small-unit tactics and combat training, in which Cadets will use paintball guns.

The field training exercise is intentionally tough and introduces the element of stress. Throughout the exercise, Cadets encounter physical and mental obstacles that challenge them as a person, a Cadet and a leader. Cadets also will be introduced to the Warrior Ethos, the code by which Soldiers live.

Phase 3: Future Leader

This portion of training, the final few days of the course, introduces Cadets to the social aspect of the Army. Final briefings are conducted, as well as a family day in conjunction with a Cadet-run graduation ceremony where all are welcome to attend.

Cadets will clean and turn in equipment. Perhaps most importantly, they will receive final feedback and assessments, including a personal development plan for future use.