Quartermaster Soldier Earns Top Honors at Petroleum and Water Specialist Senior Leaders Course

Photo By Maj. Ebony Gay | Staff Sgt. Brent Jarvis (Front), a Troop Program Units fueler instructor at 9/95th Battalion, 1st Brigade (Quartermaster), 94th Training Division-Force Sustainment, excelled over 23 of his peers during the two-week 92F/L/W Petroleum and Water Specialist Senior Leaders Course which consisted of 120 hours of instruction at the Master Sgt. Nicholas Oresko Total Army School System Training Center where he claimed top honors as the course distinguished graduate. The graduation ceremony was held at Fort Lee's Maj. Gen. Robert Guest Auditorium at the Petroleum and Water Department on 6 April 2019. (Photo by Maj. Ebony Gay, 94th TD-FS Public Affairs Office)  

FORT LEE, VA, UNITED STATES

08.22.2019

Story by Maj. Ebony Gay 

94th Training Division-Force Sustainment

FORT LEE, Va. - Soldiers, friends, and loved ones gathered at Fort Lee's Maj. Gen. Robert Guest Auditorium at the Petroleum and Water Department for class 002-19 92F/L/W Petroleum and Water Specialist Senior Leaders Course (SLC) graduation on 6 April 2019.

Staff Sgt. Brent Jarvis, a Troop Program Units fueler instructor at 9/95th Battalion, 1st Brigade (Quartermaster), 94th Training Division-Force Sustainment, excelled over 23 of his peers during the two-week course which consisted of 120 hours of instruction at the Master Sgt. Nicholas Oresko Total Army School System (TASS) Training Center where he claimed top honors as the course distinguished graduate.

The course consisted of high paced training to include early morning physical training evaluations followed by petroleum operations, laboratory operations, and water purification operations module training along with an operational environment brief.

For Jarvis, his key for preparing for the course was studying material and references obtained that he believed would be used during the class. Although Jarvis attempted to anticipate what content would be covered in the course, he still felt a bit nervous attending the course.

"I was anxious because I did not know what to expect...what the course was going to be all about," said Jarvis.

Jarvis went on, sharing what part of the course he found most difficult. "For me, the water purification and the petroleum laboratory portion of the course were challenging because I'm a fueler," said Jarvis. "The fuel section of the course was easier for me, whereas I did not have any prior experience with water purification or laboratory training."

Overcoming the knowledge gap during the course came down to a few critical aspects for Jarvis. "I concurred my lack of training in some regions of the course by taking the time to study and working with my peers who had experience in the areas I was deficient," said Jarvis.

Although the course posed some challenges for Jarvis, he found the instructors to be the most enjoyable aspect of the two-week block of instruction. "They (94th TD-FS instructors) were very proficient; they provided a lot of pertinent information, and I've gained a lot of knowledge from them that I can use in the future when I teach this course,'' said Jarvis.

For Jarvis, it was a surprise and honor once he learned he'd achieved distinguished graduate for his class since the course was intensely competitive. "This course was extremely challenging and filled with intelligent Soldiers, but I'm glad that it was a challenge because it made me even prouder of my accomplishment which is rewarding," Jarvis added.

Sgt. 1st. Class Martin Rhoades, 94th TD-FS petroleum supply/ petroleum laboratory, senior leaders course and common core instructor, shared insight on the instructor's mission to teach and process for the course lesson plan.

With the instructors making the training scenarios more complicated than what's in the lesson plan, their objective is to better prepare Soldiers for real-world missions. "We are here to teach Soldiers how to be ready," said Rhoades. "Our job is teaching Soldier readiness so they can do their job once they return to their home duty station."

"It's our differences that make us strong," said Rhoades. "Having a large group of 24 Soldiers from different parts of the country, and different walks of life with various experiences is why we teach the Army concept training environment."

Rhoades went on to share his thoughts about having worked with Jarvis as an instructor in previous years and his student performance during the 92F/L/W SLC.

"There's only a handful of instructors that I've worked with that has forced me to rise to the occasion to become a better instructor, and he is one of them," said Rhoades. "Whenever I work with Staff Sgt. Jarvis, it's iron sharpens iron in a competitive "we better bring our A-game" sense."

"With Jarvis attending the course, it was neat to see him be able to take his training experience and apply that to the other students," said Rhoades. "On many occasions, once a block of instruction was complete, Staff Sgt. Jarvis would ask the instructor if he could use the board to share his techniques and information for what made him successful."

"At every step of the way, Staff Sgt. Jarvis was competitive; he shared what made him competitive with the other Soldiers," Rhoades added. "We inform the students early on that we'll evaluate everything that they do and that it's essential to be an interdependent Soldier which Staff Sgt. Jarvis expressed throughout the entire course. The Army does not need dependent and independent Soldiers because if that independent Soldier goes down, who's going to know how to do the job?"

Command Sgt. Maj. Anthony Simpson, 94th TD-FS command sergeant major, was the guest speaker at the graduation ceremony. For Simpson, it is an honor to speak to Soldiers during momentous occasions and usually emphasis a few critical things while addressing Soldiers.

"I emphasize how important they are because they have a lot to offer," said Simpson. "I always inform Soldiers that I need them because I am not all-knowing. Finally, I encourage them to push for more and strive for higher goals."

Simpson also shared how proud he is that the only 94th Soldier in the course achieved distinguished graduate. "It was a very proud moment for me," said Simpson. "To have a class that's multi-compo and have the honor grad be a 94th Division TPU Soldier is a great feeling."

• Date Taken: 08.22.2019
• Date Posted: 09.27.2019 05:53
• Story ID: 344058
• Location: FORT LEE, VA, US
• Hometown: DES MOINES, IA, US
• Hometown: FORT GREGG-ADAMS, VA, US
• Hometown: SIOUX CITY, IA, US