Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Jason Hudson | The OC/T instructer Sgt. 1st Class Damion Tassler observes students prepareing to...... read more read more
Subscribe
FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, CALIF. – A new, streamlined, Observer Controller Trainer course is underway in the Army Reserve.
The course was developed through the collaboration of several military organizations with the intent of lessening the impact this type of course can have on time and resources, and to standardize the instruction given to OC/T students.
“What we’re trying to do is create a standardized, basic level OC/T course that anybody in any one of the services can come to and get the grass roots training that they need,” said Sgt. 1st Class Damion Tassler, an OC/T instructor assigned to the Fort McCoy, Wis.,-based 86th Training Division.
Some OC/T courses are more than two weeks in length, while they do provide good training, many soldiers are not able to attend due to other mission requirements and the cost involved. At only five days in length this course provides more soldiers the opportunity to attend while also lessening the impact on other missions and unit training funds.
Many of the subjects taught in the longer courses are included in this five day course, but in order to streamline the course, some of the subjects that aren’t OC/T specific were removed.
“We took out a lot of the basic soldier tasks that we don’t feel need to be taught in an OC/T class and we are trying to focus on the After Action Review process. For instance, they had two or three days of First Aid, that’s a basic soldier task that can go to Combat Lifesaver if the unit determines that that OC/T needs to be Combat Lifesaver qualified,” said Tassler.
“The AAR will be the same if you’re observing a training event from a division level staff or if you’re observing three guys running down a dirt lane. The process is what we’re trying to get through, the ability for those OC/Ts to intelligently speak in front of a group and facilitate the unit’s feedback so they can take ownership in their training,” he added.
There are still several OC/T courses of various lengths provided by units and Academies throughout the country. Currently, the proponent for this course is the 84th Training Command, whose subordinate training divisions have joined forces to assist with development of this course and provide the instructors to teach it.
“Right now it’s the 78th, 91st, and 86th [Training Divisions] all working under the umbrella of the 84th Training Command standardizing ours, and then hopefully what will happen is that this will be a convenient plug-n-play that other units can utilize and then they could all teach a standardized course,” said Tassler.
“I think it has, so far, been a great example for units to follow, the development of it has been a good melding of many divisions all together at one time in one place. It’s been a very good collaboration and I think that as we move forward the OC/T academy is going to snowball,” he said.
The course is taught by a Mobile Training Team of nine instructors from the aforementioned training divisions and one Master Instructor. They can travel to different sites throughout the year and teach units in five days on location, so the units they train don’t have to worry about the large expense of the travel and taking as much as two weeks of their Soldiers’ Annual Training for the year.
“We’ve brought all of these instructors together to form a solid team to conduct all the OC/T training for fiscal year 2011,” said Sgt. Maj. James A. Vogel, OC/T course manager, 84th Training Command.
“The instructors on the ground are doing a fantastic job, and I can say that with confidence based on the AAR comments from the students, the students are receiving the training exceptionally well,” he said.
The first two days of the course are mostly conducted in a classroom where students are taught some basic observer and controller skills including troop leading procedures, composite risk management, and AAR. The remaining days are spent in the field conducting lanes training. During the lanes training students learn to set up a lane, a.k.a. an event, and after each event they conduct an AAR which not only gives them the practice they need but also allows them to receive feedback from their peers as to how well they did the AAR.
“I think it’s a very good course,” said Capt. Delandy McConnell an OC/T student at one of the recent courses given at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif. “We’ve received training in communications and troop leading procedures, the basic things you need as a leader. They also explain what the role of an OC/T is, which is a very good class that we received.”
Another student, Sgt. Michael Cly, said, “The training is outstanding and up to date and it’s good knowledge overall that will help me perform my duties in the future.”
The mission of an OC/T is to observe units during training exercises, control the training unit’s environment and to provide feedback during the After Action Review. Many of the newly qualified OC/Ts from these courses will be participating in this year’s summer exercises, WAREX and CSTX, conducted at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., and Fort McCoy, Wis.
“Prior to a WAREX or CSTX we’ll have these observer controllers come back [to the exercise site] and we’ll again do a light refresher with them, give them an opportunity to set-up their lane, rehearse that lane, and also accredit that lane. The subject matter experts, which we now call OC/T Embeds, will have an opportunity to recon all the roads and lanes [at the exercise site] so that when they link up with that unit commander, they know that commander’s training objectives, they know the lanes or the locations of those lanes that that unit will go through so that they can be prepared to provide them with a good After Action Review. Ultimately all of the units leaving the exercise will get a take home package that will tell them where their gaps are, training that they need to sustain, and some opportunities for improvement,” Vogel said.
| Date Taken: | 01.18.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 01.19.2011 16:04 |
| Story ID: | 63812 |
| Location: | FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 512 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Army Reserve Units Consolidate Efforts to Improve Training Capabilities, by SFC Jason Hudson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT