USD – C Holds Leadership Course for Junior Enlisted, NCOs

Photo By Staff Sgt. Isolda McClelland | Students from the Lightning Academy pull security while other team members load the simulated patients into a combat ambulance during the final field training exercise, at Camp Liberty, Iraq, March 24. The Lightning Academy is a weeklong leadership course for junior enlisted soldiers and focuses on troop leading procedures, developmental counseling, risk management and a variety of tactical operations.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

03.24.2011

Story by Staff Sgt. Isolda McClelland 

29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BAGHDAD –The leadership of United States Division – Center recently ran another iteration of the Lightning Academy, a week-long course that focuses on troop leading procedures, developmental counseling, risk management and a variety of tactical operations.

Held at Camp Liberty, Iraq, the Lightning Academy is designed to help junior enlisted soldiers and noncommissioned officers become better leaders by building on, and reinforcing, many of the skills they already have.

“This course gives soldiers from various MOSs [military occupational specialties] a chance to go outside of the box on those skills they learned in basic training, but may not do in their everyday job,” said Master Sgt. Douglas Rendles, the battlefield spectrum manger with USD – C.

Many in the class said the skills reviewed were indeed helpful.

“The Lightning Academy has been like a refresher in that it reminded me of those things I have learned before, but don’t always use in my job,” said Sgt. Martin Otano, with the 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, USD – C, who added that one of those basic skills stressed during the course was map reading and how to use terrain features to help you find your location, rather than relying heavily on GPS.

While learning to become less dependent on electronics, the soldiers also learned how to depend on and listen to each other.

They fostered this cooperation by focusing on team building exercises and delegation of authority as they worked through various modules and scenarios throughout the course.

Students had to work together to solve various problems during the different training scenarios, said Sfc. Olene Togiailua, the observer-controller trainer at the academy. When finished, students performed after-action reviews where they discussed the challenges faced during the scenario and different ways to solve it.

All of the skills learned and discussed during the week were then put to the test at the end of the training.

“The final day of the class includes testing those leadership skills learned throughout the course,” said Togiailua, adding that this was accomplished by performing simulated convoy operations to evaluate how the students maintained basic command and control of their teams as platoon and squad leaders during movement through the training lanes, he said.

The platoon leader position was one of the many examples the academy instructors used to show students how take charge and care of their subordinate soldiers, which many in the course saw as a benefit.

“The Lightning Academy is training me to be a better leader in today’s Army,” said Spc. Jordan Biggs, of Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 5th Squadron 4th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, USD – C.

Participants of this course displayed their newly learned leadership by offering advice to prepare other soldiers who will be attending the academy.

“For a soldier coming to the Lightning Academy I would say be flexible, be interested, keep an open mind and be prepared to deal with a lot of people from different backgrounds,” said Sgt. Christa Duker, a combat medic with the 4th AAB, 3rd Inf. Div., USD – C.

• Date Taken: 03.24.2011
• Date Posted: 04.06.2011 07:03
• Story ID: 68338
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ