TIKRIT, Iraq – Ten Soldiers deployed to northern Iraq with the 701st Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, out of Fort Riley, Kan., graduated from the Diligent Leader's Academy, June 24.
The Diligent Leader’s Academy is a 10-day course designed by Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff D. Moser to prepare future and junior leaders for the additional responsibilities that will be expected of them as they get promoted and progress through their military careers.
Moser created the course because he saw a need for Soldiers, who are focused on combat in a deployed environment, to also focus on their basic Soldier skills. He also saw it as an opportunity to further prepare for professional training such as the Army's Warrior Leader Course and Basic Non-commissioned Officer Course.
“Our leaders need to learn and know how to use Army agencies, programs and how to counsel and evaluate their Soldiers. My philosophy for this is getting back to the basics,” said the Dearborn, Mich., native.
According to 1st Sgt. Doreen Rose the course served as a building block for becoming a noncommissioned officer.
“It gives Soldiers a foundation they can build on and [makes them] stronger to successfully lead and train Soldiers,” said the Devils Lake, N.D., native.
For ‘Diligent’ Soldiers, the course was about coming together to build a team, learn from one another and gain confidence.
The course “gave me a pretty good idea of everything that I'm going to have to do as an NCO, and what I'm going to be facing in the future,” said Spc. Kerissa Moore of Spokane, Wash.
“That's what the Army is based on,” said Cpl. Correy Johnson of Milwaukee, Wis., “Get to know the person you're working with. You can't accomplish every mission by yourself.”
“Like our motto says, we're the backbone of the Army,” said Sgt. Michael Szoyka of Redlands, Calif.
“We get the plans and we execute them. We have to be the standard bearers because we're the ones looked up to by the Soldiers. Stronger NCOs means greater success,” he said.
Moser added that they will continue the course and strive to further improve it when they redeploy to the United States.