Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Klutts | U.S. Army Sgt. Laramie Struble, a squad leader with 547th Area Support Medical...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - Networking can serve a variety of functions in any profession. Maybe staying in touch with colleagues will lead to a mentorship opportunity or even a new job.
For two sergeants major, networking led to a unique training opportunity for more than 200 Soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., in June.
Soldiers with 62nd Medical Brigade, 593rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) hosted a qualification event for the German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency where U.S. Soldiers took on a foreign challenge.
To earn the badge, candidates must pass the German Basic Fitness Test, a 100-meter swim, a pistol qualification, a first-aid test, a foot march, and show they can protect themselves during a chemical attack.
German Army Sgt. Maj. Mike Kitzler and U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Arnold Hill met as students at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy in Fort Bliss, Texas. The two senior noncommissioned officers stayed in touch after graduating in 2013.
“After that, we built up a good network to implement some competitions, to share experience and leadership development,” Kitzler said.
Hill earned his German military proficiency badge after 10 years in the Army. He told Kitzler he wanted to bring the challenge to junior Soldiers, and the two started coordinating the event.
“When you get the opportunity to set it up for your young Soldiers, you get flashbacks about how good it felt to pin that badge on and how nice it looks on your uniform,” said Hill, chief clinical noncommissioned officer at 62nd Medical Brigade.
Kitzler, assigned to the German military liaison staff at the Combined Arms Center in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., said qualifying for the badge fosters strong character traits, no matter the participant’s nationality.
“At first, you build confidence in yourself. Then you have trust in your leaders when they lead by example and participate in this competition,” Kitzler said.
Though U.S. and German training events may yield similar results like esprit de corps and unit cohesion, the qualification presented U.S. candidates with new challenges like the 100-meter swim test.
“Most of the Soldiers that have been in the last ten years or so haven’t had the opportunity to swim,” said Hill.
While Kitzler was the only foreign military service member present, 1st Sgt. Sandro Vazquez, a badge candidate with the Warrior Transition Battalion, Madigan Army Medical Center, said the qualification allowed U.S. Soldiers to experience how other forces test their troops.
“They gain a little more respect for other cultures and the way they perform,” said Vazquez.
The challenge also allows leaders – from senior noncommissioned officers like Vazquez to physicians at Madigan – the opportunity to show their Soldiers they have what it takes to win.
“Soldiers want to be you when they grow up. And the only way they will want to be you is if you demonstrate, as you mature, that you’ve still got it,” Hill added.
Kitzler hopes Hill will soon be able to see firsthand how the German military trains its junior and senior enlisted leaders. The qualification in June was Kitzler’s second at JBLM and will not likely be the last.
| Date Taken: | 06.11.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.11.2014 17:05 |
| Story ID: | 132829 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 220 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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