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FORT KNOX, Ky. - A mutually beneficial partnership between the military and civilian worlds is always desirable, and such an arrangement is now a reality for more than 50 Fort Knox soldiers. The better news, however, is that the positive ramifications will spread far beyond those 50 soldiers, and will likely change lives for the better halfway around the world.
The Fort Knox-based 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division is preparing for deployment to the battlefields in Afghanistan early next year, and select members have been designated for a unique and specialized training program at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College.
Participants will learn and develop new skills in basic construction techniques during an intense five-week program, which began on Nov. 1, enhancing their ability to complete their upcoming mission.
“Our goal is to have two soldiers per company in the brigade trained to the ECTC standards in electricity, plumbing and carpentry,” said Lt. Col. Dave Brown, commander of the 201st Brigade Support Battalion. “Those skills will enable soldiers to more effectively and more safely build whatever structures are necessary to improve their living conditions.”
Additionally, Brown noted that soldiers will be able to provide coaching and teaching in these trade skill areas to their Afghan partners committed to rebuilding the war-torn country. The electrical, plumbing and carpentry skills learned will also enable soldiers to competently inspect any Commander’s Emergency Response Program projects to ensure they are safe. CERP provides U.S. governmental appropriations directly to operational and tactical forces, enabling them to meet the emergency needs of civilians.
While soldiers will be able to use their new knowledge for the benefit of others, it also represents a wonderful opportunity for individual development. Participants completing the program will receive an Electrical Trainee Level I certificate for the 165 contact hours of instruction, which will be transferable into nine hours of college credit.
Spc. James Sowell, a truck driver with the headquarters and headquarters company, 201st BSB, was quick to take advantage of the opportunity.
“My civilian degree will be in information systems, and the electrical part of the training ties into that,” he said, adding that the combined training will be extremely beneficial in getting a good foundation in the construction trades.
Planning for the $60,000 program began in early October, when the Army sought assistance from ECTC to develop and deliver a training curriculum providing the specific construction skill-set needed by combat team members.
“We had never done anything as comprehensive or extensive as this, and it’s the first time we’ve ever provided training to Army personnel,” said Alfreda Weedman, workforce development liaison for ECTC.
The opposite held true for some of the soldiers involved, many of whom had practical knowledge of the subject matter, but who had acquired it largely from first-hand experience outside of a classroom setting.
Pfc. Kyle Hyman, an infantryman with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, and native of Sparta, Ga., had spent three years as an electrician’s apprentice before joining the Army. Even with that background, however, the ECTC training has exposed him to more advanced techniques and knowledge than he was accustomed to previously.
“I hadn’t done a lot of this stuff before, so this is a new opportunity,” said Hyman, adding that he had no experience whatsoever with plumbing or carpentry before the ECTC program began.
Members of ECTC’s technical programs faculty designed the program, and they’re providing the instruction, which includes classroom lecture and hands-on training in a laboratory specially designed for the program.
Students in the college’s Culinary Arts Program are supporting the initiative by preparing meals for participants.
“The construction skills these Soldiers obtain through the training program will serve them well during their Army service and beyond,” said ECTC President and CEO Dr. Thelma J. White.
“We are honored and excited to have this special opportunity to support the U.S. Army, Fort Knox and these men and women who soon may be in harm’s way,” she added.
Kind words, certainly, from a willing Duke Brigade partner, but the greatest testament to the training is the real world applications that will follow. For one grateful soldier, the new knowledge will definitely have its place in distant Afghanistan.
“You never know what we’re going to run into,” said Hyman, and “we should be able to set up whatever we need to.”
| Date Taken: | 11.09.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 11.09.2010 16:56 |
| Story ID: | 59772 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 62 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Duke Soldiers learn valuable skills at ECTC, by SFC John Zumer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
