CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo — Multi-National Task Force - East Soldiers stationed in Kosovo at Film City in Pristina and at Camp Bondsteel, had a chance to make 2009 Year of the NCO count by completing either their Warrior Leader Course requirement or improving on their leadership skills at the Basic Non-Commissioned Officer Course. Both were held at the camp named after the Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient, Staff Sgt. James L. Bondsteel.
For some seasoned non-commissioned officers it meant the world to have the chance to test their mettle while deployed and to learn from their peers.
"I'm blessed because I am doing the job I wanted to do and getting a chance to complete BNCOC," said Staff Sgt. Leonard Cantave, a 31Bravo, Military Policeman with the 724th MP Battalion out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "I can't wait to jump right back into [my job]. The things I learn here I can put into play right away," said Cantave, who is a USAR Soldier working with the NATO training team in Film City to teach the Kosovo Security Force military police tactics.
"BNCOC Phase One brings different [military occupational specialties] together, which provides us different angles of approach but we all end up on the same page," said Sgt. Gene Cannon, who deployed to Afghanistan with Cantave.
Cannon, also an MP but with the 7222nd Medical Support Unit from Tampa, says that BNCOC provides a clearer picture of why higher up does what they do. "The course answers a lot of questions. We look into the preparatory command and the execution of how things are done."
The first class contained 30 sergeants, taught by instructors who were trained from within the task force, and was conducted mainly in front of a computer using online instruction manuals and distance learning material.
"We do a lot of checks and balances and lessons learned. There is a lot of updating battle and leader books. In WLC you learn a lot about leadership in the field. BNCOC you become book smart, mechanical smart and you prepare yourself for the next phase," said Cannon.
For National Guard and Reserve Soldiers to be able to attend these NCO education schools here and not in between drills it is an amazing opportunity because it provides them the immediate gratification of practicing what they learned in a real-world mission. It is a great benefit for their own leadership development and gives the Soldiers in the task force that they will be in charge of someone to look up to.
| Date Taken: | 07.16.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 07.16.2009 10:00 |
| Story ID: | 36441 |
| Location: | CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ |
| Web Views: | 533 |
| Downloads: | 306 |
This work, Seasoned Sergeants. What does it mean to be an NCO?, by MSG Paul Wade, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
