Photo By Master Sgt. Ryan Matson | U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. James Holmes III, the 35th commandant of the 7th Army...... read more read more
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GRAFENWOEHR, Germany - On a quiet afternoon in Camp Normandy, Grafenwoehr, Feb. 10, 2021, Command Sgt. Maj. James Holmes III, the 35th commandant of the 7th Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy, sat behind the desk that both Gen. George S. Patton, and his adversary, German Field Marshall Gen. Erwin Rommel, sat behind more than 75 years ago.
For Holmes, who assumed responsibility of the 7th Army NCOA Jan. 14, the academy is all about building on a storied history in leading the development of Army leaders.
“I am definitely honored and humbled to be this NCOA’s commandant,” Holmes said. “I just want to promise all the leaders out here that when your Soldiers come here, they will return to your formation a better Soldier, and a better leader.”
Holmes said the 7th Army NCOA has a special place in his thoughts, not only because he is the commandant, but also because it is where he attended his own sergeant’s training. He graduated from the then Primary Leadership Development Course (now the Basic Leader Course) back in 1998. He said back then he would have never envisioned being in Germany again, let alone serving as the school’s commandant.
“I remember my Small Group Leader, Staff Sgt. Durrow, a very hard-nosed Infantryman, but a guy who made sure we got it right,” Holmes said. “You did something until you got it right, and understanding that the standard starts with you, that was his motto.’”
The academy is the first and oldest leadership academy for NCOs in the U.S. Army. The Army was facing a shortage of noncommissioned officers following World War II and Maj. Gen. I.D. White, the Commanding General of the U.S. Constabulary, directed Brig. Gen. Bruce C. Clark with developing a school solely devoted to training and developing NCOs.
Clark served as the school’s first commandant when it officially opened its doors and welcomed the inaugural class of prospective sergeants on Oct. 17, 1949. Officers ran the school until 1972, when Command Sgt. Maj. Lawrence T. Hickey became the first enlisted commandant. The focus of the school, however, has remained unchanged, Holmes said – to develop NCO leaders.
“I think the main lesson is how to take care of Soldiers,” Holmes said. “Not just ‘you get a day off here or get to go back to sleep’, no. When somebody comes at you with a problem, do you understand the systems and processes that the Army has, the agencies, those tangible resources that the Soldier is going to need to take care of that situation or concern?”
Recently, the school, and Holmes, have had to adapt to the challenges of teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Holmes said that Soldiers from the local Grafenwoehr and Vilseck area still come to the academy to attend class, although they do not live at the academy and strict mitigation measures are enforced.
“We have the necessary measures in place,” Holmes said. “The students are socially-distanced in the classroom and the instructors are in another class, everybody’s wearing masks, we put them in formation at double-arm intervals, we march them to chow, we keep the companies separated, we staggered the chow hours so one company can go at a time and there’s not a crowd. So, if anyone is worried about that, we’ve got it covered.”
He said the main goal now is to safely bring back the in-person (full resident) instruction. Another goal Holmes has set for the NCOA is to continue to recruit and retain high-quality SGLs.
“In any work force, you’re looking for that selfless leader, that servant leader, somebody who’s going to give you a hundred percent day in and day out,” Holmes said. “I really want noncommissioned officers who set the example and who care, and they want to give back, and to be part of a team that’s giving back on a daily basis. We’re building the bench of tomorrow – that’s the mindset I want to come here.”
Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Hand is that type of leader. He has the rare perspective of having been selected by the Army for recruiting duty, then having been selected to serve as a drill sergeant, before volunteering to be a SGL at the NCOA.
“I got to complete the trifecta,” Hand said. “The Army told me to be a recruiter way back in the day. So I got to mentor civilians as to why they should join the Army and what it could do for them. Later on in my career, the Army told me I was going to be a drill sergeant. So I got to mentor civilians into how to become Soldiers. When they offered me this, I was like, absolutely, because now I get to take those same Soldiers that I mentored in basic and mentor them into how to become junior NCOs, and how they need to teach coach and mentor to take care of their Soldiers, and the aspects of being a good NCO.”
Hand said two of the things he enjoys most about being a SGL at the 7th Army NCOA is the scaled-down ratio of students to cadre, and the method by which SGLs instruct their classes. He said that as opposed to when he was a drill sergeant training hundreds of basic training Soldiers at a time, in the SGL setting he has a handful of students, meaning they are able to come to him with particular questions on topics covered in the curriculum individually or in a small-group setting. He said SGLs teach by facilitating instructions where students share experiences, rather than lecturing.
“They’re not the only ones learning from us – we learn from them every single day too,” Hand said.
Ironically, Holmes’ “right hand man” at the academy, 1st Sgt. William Richardson, the school’s deputy, shares the distinction of having also attended his first noncommissioned officer training at the 7th Army NCOA.
“Command Sgt. Maj. Holmes attended the 7th Army NCOA back when it was on main post Grafenwoehr,” Richardson said. “I have the nostalgia of being the deputy at the same place I attended BLC, which was actually here at Camp Normandy in 2005, and it had just moved over from Grafenwoehr at the time. I actually was in these classrooms and lived in these barracks.”
Years later, Richardson, an Infantryman, said he and Holmes, an artillery Soldier and then a logistician, utilize the tools from their diverse past leadership experiences in guiding the school forward.
Though less than 60 days into his tenure as commandant, Richardson said he has already seen Holmes’ skills start to pay dividends.
“The experiences that he came here with as a brigade sergeant major dealing with the budget and his experiences working with civilians and contractors has really helped us here at the academy to modernize our facilities and infrastructure,” Richardson said.
One thing is for sure, when Holmes finishes his tenure, like his predecessors before him, regardless of the changes to curriculum or training procedures, one thing will remain unchanged.
The 7th Army NCOA will still be training Soldiers, and Patton’s desk will still be standing tall.
| Date Taken: | 03.10.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.10.2021 06:03 |
| Story ID: | 390984 |
| Location: | GRAFENWOEHR, DE |
| Hometown: | AUGUSTA, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 335 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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