Sill recognizes Instructors of Year

By Ms. Marie Berberea (TRADOC)December 12, 2013

Instructors of the Year
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Excellent trainers
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FORT SILL, Okla. -- At any given time more than 5,000 Soldiers are learning their profession at the Fires Center of Excellence.

Whether it's at the beginning of that Soldier's career or further down the road, instructors shape them into the force that defends the nation. That is why the FCoE took a moment to honor its Instructors of the Year Dec. 10 in Snow Hall.

"It's not an easy thing to do. To be a good instructor, be a good facilitator when you go home in the evening you're really tired, but you go home knowing that got through to that student," said Dr. Casey Blaine FCoE director of professional development. "We're really proud of them and what they can do in the classroom to train the world's best Soldiers."

The 10 instructors were chosen in five categories: commissioned officers, warrant officers, noncommissioned officers and Department of the Army civilians. The winners are:

Capt. Michael McCauley, 1st Battalion, 30th Field Artillery

Capt John Peterson, 1st Battalion, 56th Air Defense Artillery

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Rico Bussey, 1st Battalion, 30th Field Artillery

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Phillip Puckett, 1st Battalion, 56th Air Defense Artillery

Staff Sgt. James Hobbs, Service Battery, 434th Field Artillery Detachment

Staff Sgt. Larry Goodman, 2nd Battalion, 6th Air Defense Artillery

Patricia Nuehring, Fires Center of Excellence

Christopher Haag, 3rd Battalion, 6th Air Defense Artillery

They will move on to the Training and Doctrine Command Instructor of the Year competition at Fort Eustis, Va. in January.

"The greatest reward is seeing that growth and development within the individuals that I teach and seeing the successes they pass on to their students to ensure that we are providing excellent training and education to our Soldiers," said Nuehring, Army Basic Instructors Course instructor. "It's truly an honor and a pleasure. This is just a snapshot of all the great instructors we have within our organization."

Additionally this year, the Fort Sill Marine Artillery Detachment instructor and curriculum developer were honored for their skills in training Marines in field artillery.

Those MARDET instructors are Gunnery Sgt. Troy Warszawski and Staff Sgt. Elliott Weidel.

"Over the past eight and a half years passing that knowledge down is just wonderful. It's almost like a kid getting that mentorship from his grandpa. Learning how to tie fly or how to shoot a gun anything you learn from your parents from your grandparents it's just like that. Just passing that knowledge down from the older generations to the younger generations," said Weidel, Marine Artillery Detachment enlisted gunnery school instructor.

The instructors submitted a video, two written letters and a letter from their commander in order to compete, and then either the field or air defense artillery board chose the winners.

"To celebrate the ones who do it better than anybody else is a rare opportunity. Benjamin Franklin said, 'An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.' We have the best armed forces in the world because y'all do the best job in preparing them and setting them up for success whether it's for a Soldier, a noncommissioned officer, or an officer," said Maj. Gen. Mark McDonald, Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill commanding general. "Thank you for your commitment to your students, to our Army and to our nation."

For more photos from the ceremony, visit www.flickr.com/photos/fortsillcannoneer/sets/72157638558749904/