US Army soldiers exchange best practices with Tanzanian military

Courtesy Photo | U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Louis Morton, Task Force Raptor, 3rd Squadron, 124th Cavalry Regiment, Texas Army National Guard, shares his experience and best practices as a non-commissioned officer with a fellow Tanzanian People's Defense Forces NCO. Task Force Raptor soldiers participate in a variety of engagements with African nation militaries in support of Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa. (U.S. Army Courtesy photo).  

DAR EL SALAAM, TANZANIA

03.09.2012

Story by Staff Sgt. Malcolm McClendon 

Task Force Raptor (3-124 CAV)

DAR EL SALAAM, Tanzania – As soon as the snow-covered peak of Mount Kilimanjaro came into view through their plane window, the three U.S. Army soldiers knew they were in Tanzania. Sgt. Maj. Charles Roach, 1st Sgt. Louis Morton and Staff Sgt. Loren Ledlow participated in a non-commissioned officer development and counseling seminar hosted by the Tanzanian People’s Defense Force here, March 4-9.

The soldiers from Task Force Raptor, 3rd Squadron, 124th Cavalry Regiment, Texas National Guard, Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa, discussed topics such as NCO structure, policies, counseling, and responsibilities with the Tanzanian service members.

Staff Sgt. Ledlow an operations sergeant with A Troop discovered the NCO corps within the two militaries share similarities.

"As soon as we got there I realized that NCOs are all the same, no matter what country we’re from,” Ledlow said. “We all want to be good leaders, we want to better mentor our soldiers, and be professionals at what we do.”

Ledlow, a veteran of several military-to-military best practice exchanges, appreciated the Tanzanian soldiers’ level of involvement and discussion.

“I have traveled all over the world participating in assignments with foreign militaries, and this is by far the most fulfilling and most gratifying one I’ve been on,” Ledlow added. “The Tanzanian NCOs were very grateful – not only to learn from us, but impart their knowledge and experiences as well.”

The Tanzanian NCOs shared and discussed specific themes, Ledlow noted.

“I recall one of the NCOs asking me specifically to share how we conduct individual soldier counseling,” Ledlow said. “First he shared a personal experience when counseling a soldier and then asked how we would approach that same situation. As discussions like these went on, it was interesting to compare practices between the two countries.”

The professionalism of the Tanzanian NCOs at the seminar humbled 1st Sgt. Louis Morton, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop 1st sergeant.

“Their NCOs are very in tune with what their duties are,” Morton said. “They were very eager for us to share how we did things. They brought up questions about tasks and responsibilities that sometimes we take for granted. It was refreshing to revisit these with them.”

At the end of the week-long seminar, the TPDF and U.S. Army NCOs left with a better understanding of and eagerness to apply each other’s practices.

“As we were saying our good-byes, the Tanzanians told me, ‘Now that we’ve done this part, we want you to come back and see us in action. You’ve given us an insight on how you do things; now let’s see how it works with our way,’” Ledlow said. “That one comment made me look forward to coming home and doing the same with what I’ve learned. It was a very educational trip.”

• Date Taken: 03.09.2012
• Date Posted: 03.20.2012 13:30
• Story ID: 85498
• Location: DAR EL SALAAM, TZ