Photo By 1st Lt. Jolene Hinojosa | Texas guardsman and class 08-16 Sapper Leader Course honor graduate 2nd Lt. Ethan...... read more read more
AUSTIN, Texas – “Class, attention! The Sapper Creed!,” said Texas Guardsmen and class 08-16 Sapper Leader Course honor graduate 2nd Lt. Ethan McIntosh. The room thundered as 23 course graduates joined the Austin native in reciting, “I am a Sapper! I am the cutting edge of my country's sword!”
McIntosh graduated June 10, 2016, from the Sapper Leader Course (SLC) earning the honor graduate distinction along with the Sapper Spirit Award.
“This is a great course that gives you more training in a month than most people do in years. I believe that this course has something to teach everyone and hope that more National Guard soldiers get the opportunity to attend this school,” said McIntosh.
McIntosh commissioned a second lieutenant at the University of Hawaii at Manoa ROTC Program. The ROTC Program afforded him the opportunity to attend several other specialty schools to include Air Assault, Airborne and Special Forces Dive School.
“Sapper school is a different type of school compared to the other courses I have attended, but the other courses still helped give me a better knowledge base and made Sapper a little easier on me,” said McIntosh.
His wife, Roxy, has been continually there to support him throughout all of his endeavors.
“Roxy was more excited for me than I was about graduating as honor grad. She always supports me in everything I do and expects no less than my best,” said McIntosh.
Obtaining the honor grad title was no easy feat even for this marathon enthusiast, but it is one that he is proud to have earned.
“I enjoy going to schools and telling people that I am in the National Guard. The active duty counterparts are always taken aback because they expect us to be ‘ate up’ and out of shape,” said McIntosh.
Fellow Sapper and 111th Engineer Battalion Command Sergeant Major, Command Sergeant Major Jimmy Leonard, also received the distinguished honor graduate title and Sapper Spirit Award when he attended the course in 1996.
“It brings out a sense of pride knowing that we have been able to secure training seats and send our best officers and NCOs to this school,” said Leonard. “This is some of the toughest training in the Army and knowing that we now have two new lieutenants in the unit who will utilize their learned knowledge to train and educate our Soldiers is one of the greatest feelings a leader can have.”
The course culminates with an intense field training exercise that reinforces the use of the battle drills and specialized engineer techniques learned throughout the course.
“SLC is a 28-day course designed to challenge you mentally and physically to see how leaders perform under pressure. The second half of the school is focused on patrolling and leadership in a field environment. It teaches you a lot about yourself as you push though patrolling on little food or sleep,” said McIntosh.
Historically, SLC graduates an average of 52 percent of its class. In McIntosh’s class only 24 of the 41 students that started the course received the coveted Sapper tab.
“I believe Sapper Leader Course has been the most demanding course I attended in my 22+ years as a combat engineer. Not only are you physically challenged, but you are mentally challenged, Leonard said. “You have to learn much of the same things as in Ranger School such as Principles of Patrolling, Operations Orders, and Mountaineering. However, in Sapper Leader Course, you are tested on several other areas such as Demolitions, Advanced Medical Techniques, Aerial Operations, Waterborne Operations, and Foreign Threat Weapons and Mines.”
| Date Taken: | 07.25.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.26.2016 12:22 |
| Story ID: | 205092 |
| Location: | TX, US |
| Web Views: | 1,134 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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