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CAMP ZAMA, Japan (Oct. 22, 2021) – “Your service in the Army, it has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with the people you serve.”
That was 35th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Denson’s opening message to fellow noncommissioned officers in his unit who were at Camp Zama’s Community Recreation Center Oct. 22 for a day of discussion and learning.
The specific topic for the day’s NCO professional development class, or NCOPD, was “Compliance Versus Commitment,” and it was the first of four different sessions the 35th CSSB hosts quarterly for its NCOs.
Learning the difference between being a committed Soldier or leader versus merely being a compliant one is critical to any unit’s success, Denson said.
“The nature of our mission is that we are the only logistical unit on mainland Japan,” Denson said. “If I don’t have committed Soldiers to be able to get all classes of supplies out to different [logistics task forces] and different sites, that mission will fail quickly.”
Denson said his aim is to make the NCOPDs truly beneficial learning experiences rather than mandatory “check the box” Army classroom training that can sometimes be repetitive and non-engaging. Rather than a one-way lecture where the professor speaks and the students silently take notes, Denson’s style more closely resembles that of a roundtable discussion. During the class, he regularly asked his NCOs for their interpretation of the material, never shy about handing them the microphone and asking for their insight.
This method of leading from the front helps to better connect the NCOs in the 35th CSSB to their senior enlisted leader, Staff Sgt. Preea Johnson, a transportation management coordinator, said.
“I feel it’s important that this class is coming from the command sergeant major—that he’s teaching all the NCOs, from the rank of corporal up to himself,” Johnson said. “He’s telling us what’s on his mind and how he leads his life as an NCO, as a leader, and as a person day-to-day. He actually cares about his Soldiers, and it shows.”
Spc. Claudel Saint Clair, an HVAC utility equipment repairman, agreed, saying the setting and format of the NCOPD were far more beneficial than if he and the other NCOs had to learn the material by reading a book or manual.
“It’s great, because instead of having someone who always delegates tasks and who doesn’t really connect with their workforce, here you’re learning from your command sergeant major directly because he’s right there with you,” Saint Clair said.
Johnson said she hopes to come away from this and future NCOPD sessions having learned how to better herself and her Soldiers.
“This is not only about learning the content, but also learning how to apply those lessons to my everyday life and making others around me better, both inside of my unit and out,” Johnson said.
Another unique aspect of the class was that, instead of the Soldiers being dressed in their usual operational camouflage pattern uniform, or OCPs, almost everyone in attendance—Denson included—wore business casual attire. This was done to create a comfortable setting where the focus could remain on the discussion rather than on each other’s rank, Denson said.
“Yes, these Soldiers know I’m their command sergeant major, but when I’m in this,” Denson said, referring to his suit and tie, “they’re looking at the man, Paul J. Denson, instead of ‘Command Sergeant Major Denson.’ Hopefully, that will encourage more communication from my NCOs here, so I can get them to start thinking creatively and critically.
“The end state, for me, is very simple,” Denson concluded. “With every NCOPD ... I’m prayerful and hopeful that the NCOs of the Samurai Battalion will leave each session more lethal, agile and adaptive.”
| Date Taken: | 10.22.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.27.2021 02:35 |
| Story ID: | 411913 |
| Location: | SAGAMIHARA, KANAGAWA, JP |
| Hometown: | CAMP ZAMA, JP |
| Web Views: | 58 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 35th CSSB NCOs gain professional development in relaxed, engaging setting, by Dustin Perry, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
