Minnesota Soldier 1st female to complete Bradley Commanders Certification Course: Named distinguished honor graduate

NASHVILLE, TN, UNITED STATES

01.09.2015

Story by Chief Warrant Officer Nicholas Atwood 

Tennessee National Guard Public Affairs Office

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Capt. Tara Robertson may be accustomed to the idea of being a pioneer, but it is not how she chooses to describe her service in the Army National Guard. When asked, she is obviously uncomfortable with the idea and stated, “I’m a Soldier just like everyone else.” That may be a true statement, but it’s more than noteworthy that she earned an “A+” recently by becoming the distinguished honor graduate of the Bradley Commanders Certification Course (BC3), a combat arms centric course historically attended only by men.

Taught by the instructors of the 117th Regional Training Institute (RTI), Tennessee Army National Guard, BC3 is a two-week resident course that is technically intensive and designed to reinforce Bradley Gunnery Training. The course provides our fighting force with confident Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) crew members who display developed and sustained tactical skills which allow them increased survivability, efficient and effective maneuver and engagement of threats on the battlefield.

U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) administers The Army School System (TASS) and recently honored the 117th RTI, through their accreditation process, as an “Institution of Excellence,” the highest possible rating attainable by Army schools. TRADOC describes TASS as a composite system made up of Army National Guard (ARNG), U.S. Army Reserve (USAR), and active Army (AA) schools. TASS conducts initial military training (IMT), reclassification training, officer, warrant officer (WO), noncommissioned officer (NCO) and Department of the Army civilian professional development training. Training and education are accomplished through standard resident, active duty for training (ADT), inactive duty training (IDT), and distributed/distance learning (DL) courses.

Soldiers who attend BC3 can be a member of any of the Army’s three components (i.e. AA, ARNG, or USAR). Members must be assigned to positions of BFV gunner or BFV commander as a matter of priority. That is the specific focus of the training. A second priority, as in Robertson’s case, is afforded to commanders with BFVs as part of their unit’s equipment inventory. She commands a combat engineer company with newly assigned BFVs. The course awards an additional skill identifier (ASI) of 3X for officers and B9 for all enlisted Soldiers.

“There’s a lot of heavy lifting involved in this course and you have to be really physically fit in order to complete a lot of the tasks that are associated with operating this vehicle,” said Robertson.

One of the tasks she is referring to is operating the 25 mm gun, or 25 “Mike-Mike” as it is affectionately known by all the students.

While BC3 is a short course, a great amount of tasks and lessons are jammed into the two-week duration. Week one is marked by classroom instruction on topics such as range operations, fratricide avoidance, ammo ID, send/receive a digital SPOTREP, bore sight weapons on the BFV, and training on the 25 mm gun. By week’s end, all students have had an opportunity to practice the tasks taught to this point which will prepare them for the Gunnery Skills Test Live Fire, the culminating event of week two.

Staff Sgt. Truett Tolbert, an active duty Soldier assigned to the Rakkasans at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, said, “The training here is really structured - they’ve done a great job presenting this class for individuals who have no experience at all on Bradleys.”

Tolbert should know, a veteran cavalry scout on the BFV, he needs this course as a refresher before attending the Bradley Master Gunner course where he will receive the qualifications necessary to assist his unit in the conduct of Table VI Gunnery.

No course in today’s Army would be complete without the use of virtual simulation. Week two begins with time in the Close Combat Tactical Trainer (CCTT). A system of computer-driven combat vehicle multi-scale simulators, CCTT provides the students with training from the viewpoint of one mounted crew on the BFV. With nearly endless scenarios and mission sets in the virtual realm, the students begin to get a feel for the capability of the machine and how it is employed on the battlefield, all the while under careful observation of certified master gunner instructors.

Wrapping up week two, everyone heads to Range 28 at Fort Campbell to conduct BFV Live Fire, and that is what everyone has looked forward to since the beginning.

“This is very much a hands-on course much like what I would expect to receive during annual training vice being in a purely schoolhouse environment, and it’s great!” stated Staff Sgt. Shawn Myrick.

Myrick is assigned to the 278th Armored Brigade Combat Team, Tennessee Army National Guard and believes this course is exactly what he needs as part of his professional development.

“I told the students from day one that our instructors were here to make sure they receive the best training possible and I think they have proven that throughout the course,” stated Master Sgt. Andrew Caravello, chief instructor for the 2nd Battalion, 117th RTI.

Many Americans are familiar with the challenges young women face in the Army as more opportunities become available for them to serve in warfighting positions historically occupied by men. It is a multifaceted challenge where doors must first be opened and then one must walk through them. The dictionary defines a pioneer as “one who ventures into unknown or unclaimed territory to settle.”

Most will consider themselves familiar with that definition, but according to Robertson, “that’s an interesting word.”

She goes on to say, “I think it’s an incredible opportunity to be the first to do something ... I know that there are many females that, had they been given an opportunity to do the same things that I’ve been able to do, they would’ve done it.”

For those who aspire to follow in her footsteps, Robertson has a few words of advice.

“If you know you can do the job ... then you have to be willing to put in the extra effort to prove that you can. Absolutely go for it!”

One final word of encouragement from Robertson speaks to the essence of leadership, “I’ve had a lot of great mentors throughout my career and, I’m looking forward to being able to provide that now and in return for my subordinates in the future in young female officers and female Soldiers that are just now entering into positions that they were never afforded entry in the past.”

A fitting culmination for an officer, a Soldier, and a leader who has demonstrated, most convincingly, that actions speak louder than words.

• Date Taken: 01.09.2015
• Date Posted: 01.09.2015 15:43
• Story ID: 151623
• Location: NASHVILLE, TN, US