Brigade focuses on unified leader development

By Aniesa HolmesOctober 9, 2013

FORT BENNING, Ga., (Oct. 9, 2013) -- As the 199th Infantry Brigade enters a critical month of reorganization within the Maneuver Center of Excellence, Col. David Beachman, commander of the 199th, said the finished product would create a unified structure and confident future leaders of the Army.

Consisting of three battalions and 13 companies, the 199th Brigade is currently in transition to become the Leader Development Brigade.

The brigade will be responsible for the Henry Caro NCO Academy, all courses within the Officer and Noncommissioned Officers Education System, Infantry and Armor Basic Officer Leadership Courses, the Infantry and Armor Advance Leader Courses, the Maneuver Captains Career Course, the Maneuver Senior Leader Course, the Pre-Command Course and Warrior Leader Course, he said.

"The Infantry and Armor commandants who have proponency over those Infantry and Armor (programs of instruction) still can maintain the separation of critical skills that need to be training and retain that cultural awareness within the branches," Beachman said.

Lieutenant, captain, and NCO professional military education will be combined under one brigade with exercises involving students from all three courses.

These changes will create "a more collaborative, interactive program with increased skill sets to make them better leaders when they go back out in front of their formation," he said.

Additionally, a Provost Battalion will be included as the single point of entry, acting as a registrar for processing all students under MCoE professional military education courses.

Beachman said the Leader Development Brigade will offer a collaborative, interactive program with increased skill sets and leadership strategies.

"There's rigor in these courses now and they are being tested and will value it along the way," Beachman said. "They will get positive feedback on their approaches and positive feedback on decisions and sometimes negative feedback on those decisions so they can grow and become better professionals.

"You're not going to see the impact in a month, you're going to see it in generations of officers in future battles and wars where they have the fundamentals and foundations to deal with uncertainty. That's the biggest lesson learned in the last 12 years of fighting."