The Soldier Support Institute at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, provides focused initial-entry, leadership, and technical training for the Army's human resources (HR) and financial management (FM) Soldiers. The courses offered at the Noncommissioned Officer Academy, the Adjutant General School, and the Financial Management School prepare adjutant general (AG) and FM leaders to take on positions of greater responsibility. These courses do not benefit only U.S. Soldiers; through the International Military Student Office (IMSO), officers and soldiers from militaries around the world come to learn about U.S. HR and AG operations.
IMSO MISSION
The IMSO is an integral part of AG and FM training. The mission of the IMSO is to foster the conditions and climate conducive to sustained professional growth and achievement and to provide and coordinate support for international officer students.
The IMSO simultaneously works to develop favorable impressions of the American way of life and support the Security Assistance Training Program (SATP).
Over the past decade, the IMSO has assisted in the training of over 625 international officers and Soldiers from more than 72 countries. Although every international officer arrives with varying cultural beliefs, customs, levels of experience in their field, and country capabilities, they all leave the IMSO with a broader understanding of the way their American counterparts accomplish many of the same tasks. They then use that understanding to generate ideas on how to increase the efficiency in their home countries. The IMSO serves as the catalyst for those improvements.
A PARTNERSHIP WITH SOUTH SUDAN
One country the IMSO has received students from is South Sudan. Sudan has had a tumultuous history since gaining its independence in 1956. The country endured two lengthy periods of civil war, the most recent of which lasted 22 years and ended when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in 2005.
As a provision of the CPA, in January 2011, the people of South Sudan were allowed to vote on a referendum for independence. The people overwhelmingly voted in favor of independence, and on July 9, 2011, South Sudan was declared a sovereign state.
Since gaining its independence from Sudan, South Sudan has been building its national security strategy. A key component of that strategy is the continued transformation of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) into a professional, nonpartisan, and modern Army that is operationally effective and affordable.
South Sudan's Ministry of Defense (MoD) is tasked with managing the transformation and building the foundation for long-term development of the SPLA by providing professional development opportunities for its leaders, both in South Sudan and abroad. One training program for the South Sudanese Armed Forces is through the U.S. Department of Defense Security Cooperation, Education, and Training Program (SCETP). Under the auspices of SCETP , the Soldier Support Institute will have trained five officers from South Sudan, four FM and one HR, by the end of fiscal year 2014.
THE EXPERIENCE OF ONE INTERNATIONAL OFFICER
Lt. Col. Santo P. Wusong, a senior FM officer from South Sudan, attended the FM Basic Officer Leader Course (FMBOLC) at the Soldier Support Institute. Wusong has a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Juba and has worked in accounting and finance in the SPLA since South Sudan was granted autonomy in 2005. He served as an accountant and comptroller of accounts, and is currently working as the budget officer for the Directorate of Finance at the MoD.
During FMBOLC, Wusong studied the Financial Management System (FMS) and had a first-hand opportunity to experience how the U.S. Army develops its junior FM officers. He hopes to apply the knowledge he gained to help develop the SPLA's Finance Corps and improve its FMS.
Wusong previously received training in planning, programming, budgeting, and systems from U.S. military personnel in South Sudan. While attending FMBOLC, he looked forward to learning about the Army's FMS. Although South Sudan's FMS relies more manual processes, automated systems are beginning to come on line.
When asked what he hoped to gain from his training, Wusong said, "It will be good to be able to compare and contrast our systems. There might be some procedures that I can implement when I get home."
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Capt. Kyle D. Fails Sr. is S-3 officer-in-charge for the 369th Adjutant General Battalion, at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He previously served as the commander of A Company, Training Support Battalion, at the Soldier Support Institute. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Troy University. He is a graduate of the Field Artillery Basic Course and the Adjutant General Captains Career Course.
Kathleen D. Richards is the assistant director of the International Military Student Office. She has a bachelor's degree in accounting from Bryant University. She is a graduate of the Security Assistance Management Training Officer's Course, the Cross Cultural Communications Course, and the Security Assistance Management CONUS [Continental United States] Course.
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