Basic Leader Course: Foundation For Leadership
JUANA DÍAZ, Puerto Rico — Seventy-three Soldiers graduated the Basic Leader Course at the 201st Multi-Functional Training Regiment, Aug. 27, 2026, closing out the course's curriculum before a redesign takes effect with the new fiscal year.
Class 005-26 started with 75 students. According to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jorge Lozada, course manager, the two who didn't finish left for reasons unrelated to academics.
"All very good students," Lozada said, speaking in Spanish. "We fortunately started with 75, graduated 73, and the two losses we had had absolutely nothing to do with academics. Academically, we had no issues at all. The students were very dedicated, and we fulfilled our mission of providing line units with leaders trained to excellence, ready to arrive and assume their positions."
The class is the last to complete BLC under Curriculum 3.0. Starting with the new fiscal year, the course shifts to Curriculum 4.0, which Lozada said returns emphasis to the tactical responsibilities of squad leaders and team leaders in the field. The course is also growing from 22 academic days to 29.
"We're returning to what we once emphasized: the tactical role of a squad leader and team leader out in the field," Lozada said.
Whatever the curriculum, Lozada said the course's purpose remains the same: giving noncommissioned officers the foundation they need to lead.
"Without BLC, an NCO might know their MOS perfectly, or their day-to-day job, but it's extremely difficult to direct and lead Soldiers without the foundation taught in this course: communications, human relations, conflict management, verbal and written communication," Lozada said. "When an NCO moves on from BLC, they're building on that base, and if the base isn't solid, the building will come down."
U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Roberto Guzman, the G-3 for the 1st Mission Support Command, U.S. Army Reserve, served as the ceremony's guest speaker. For Guzman, the visit closed a loop that began decades ago, when he attended the same course as a specialist.
"It's funny, when they asked me to come here, I thought about it, and I was like, sure, this is a complete circle in my career," Guzman said. "As an E-4, I attended this course many, many moons ago. It was at different location, but the same product. I'm an alumni of this organization, and I feel very proud to come back, because a piece of me, the foundation, was built here."
Guzman said addressing junior NCOs at this stage of their careers is a responsibility he doesn't take lightly.
"They're our future. As a sergeant major, I have my expiration date. They'll be the ones fighting the wars of our nation," he said. "It's good to give back. As a leader, you have to show presence and motivate these Soldiers, tell them your story so they can get motivated and see they can make it to this level. Leadership is hands-on, you have to mentor them, coach them, be there for them."
Among the graduates was U.S. Army Sgt. Hassani Ribera Soto, assigned to the 113th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, who said the course balanced classroom instruction with practical exercises that put students in a team leader's shoes.
"It dove into the aspects of how to lead troops, what information you need to provide your team in order for them to be successful in the mission," Ribera Soto said. "It was a lot of classroom environment, but also a lot of practical exercises, they'd give us a task and we'd have to execute it the way an NCO, a team leader, should execute that task."
Ribera Soto said he'd recommend future students lean on their team leaders and senior leaders before arriving at the course.
"Speak with your team leaders, since they should have already passed the school and have the knowledge you need," he said. "Speak with your senior leaders too, because you’re the ones who will replace them in a way in the future, so you must know what their jobs are and what they do."
Lozada said the schoolhouse remains open to any unit that needs its support.
"We want all the units out there, Puerto Rico National Guard and Reserve, to know our doors are open," Lozada said. "Here you have an academy with, I'm proud to say, the best team of instructors the U.S. Army could put together. We're happy to train your Soldiers and proud to assist any leader out there who needs our support."