FORT POLK, La. -- To advance their careers and become good leaders, Soldiers prepare for the future by attending the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk Noncommissioned Officer Academy.
The Fort Polk NCO Academy is one of the best at what it does, according to 1st Sgt. Sheri Moss, Fort Polk NCO Academy deputy commandant. "Last year we received the highest award of excellence the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy and the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command gives. They only present the award every three years. It's an accreditation process that validates and certifies what we do. They go through all our records and paperwork, interview the instructors, sit in on classes. They do this to NCOAs Army wide," said Moss.
Fort Polk's NCO Academy provides Soldiers with the first-hand knowledge necessary to become successful noncommissioned officers, she said. "It's important that these Soldiers learn the basic skills of how to be NCOs because they will take what they learn back to their units," said Moss. "That's why we try to teach them to execute their roles by the book."
As a young Soldier, Moss said she looked up to her instructors when she went through the academy and wanted her Soldiers to look up to her in the same way. It's a sentiment she passes along to the young Soldiers going through the NCO Academy today. "We walk the walk, we don't just talk the talk," said Moss.
Once Soldiers accept the challenge of becoming an NCO Academy graduate, they take the first step on a journey filled with tasks and tests meant to make them learn and grow. The person that makes sure those examinations and evaluations are done correctly is Sgt. 1st Class Efrain Flores, NCO Academy test control officer. The breakdown of the course modules Soldiers test in include leadership, training and warfighter skills.
"I think the leadership module is the most important skill learned at the NCO Academy," said Flores. "Without leadership, you aren't going to be able to train other Soldiers or take them out on the battlefield and lead them."
NCOs are called the backbone of the Army for a reason, said Flores. "When they go through the Academy, we are giving them a way to make a foundation for themselves to go back to their units and become that backbone. It's all about setting up the next generation of noncommissioned officer and this is where they get those skills," he said.
Sgt. 1st Class Adam P. Mulvey is the NCO Academy chief of training responsible for taking the training materials from the Sergeants Major Academy and ensuring the NCO Academy information is correct, meets intent and synchronizes scheduling. "We have three platoons of instructors. Each platoon has a sergeant first class who is the senior instructor. Each platoon has between three and five small group instructors that work under senior instructors.
"All of our instructors go through certification to make sure that we are teaching by the book. Every month we recertify to make sure we are doing things the way they should be done," said Mulvey.
Right now, the NCO Academy is taking a class load of up to 64 Soldiers -- that's eight squads of up to eight Soldiers each. "It's usually a pretty full class. We are hovering around a 91 percent graduation rate," said Mulvey.
Achieving those commencement numbers is a testament to the trainee's diligence and ability to take advantage of the knowledge available to them. Soldiers taking the NCOA's Warrior Leader Course have complete access to the resources, requirements and the course timeline and are expected to use them. "The course is completely open. There are no surprises. But, whether Soldiers use that information to their advantage is completely up to them," said Mulvey.
Students can also retrieve the information during tests. "The course isn't about learning rote memory, it's more about testing their ability to use Army resources to find a correct answer," said Mulvey. "They also have to learn to write an award, legal sworn statement and memorandum in correct Army format."
For many Soldiers, completing WLC is a confidence builder, said Mulvey. "It's the first time they've ever had to stand up in front of people they don't know and interact and lead," he said.
Soldiers have already experienced and learned many of the skills taught at the academy while completing basic training or from their units. What WLC teaches is how to instruct others in those skills. "We are taking it to the next level to show them how to pass on these skills to the Soldiers that are in their charge already or soon will be," said Mulvey.
As an example of how the Academy teaches Soldiers to become leaders, students are asked to do an individual training block. They are assigned a basic Soldier skill such as first aid, how to search a vehicle or detain someone. They then have to teach that to a group, evaluate how the group does and show the shortcomings of the group and retrain them. "Whereas in basic training they are learning to do the skills themselves, now we are testing them on how well they know those skills and whether they can teach them to other Soldiers," said Mulvey.
Soldiers are also asked to show a mastery of and gain confidence in essential Soldier skills such as land navigation. "The more they do it, the better they will be. They have to learn the fundamentals so that they can, in turn, teach other Soldiers," said Sgt. 1st Class Charles Robinson, senior small group leader.
To Robinson, NCO training is where the rubber meets the road. "When they begin this course, Soldiers have a concept of what an NCO is, but the academy is where they actually learn the profession of being an NCO. It's our job to show them what right is and empower them with knowledge by personifying and enforcing the standards we are teaching," he said.
As a current NCO trainee, Spc. Steven Edwards said his main purpose in enrolling at the NCO Academy was to further his career. "It's been a good experience and is setting me up for what's to come," he said.
The most important skills Edwards said he has acquired have been about Army leadership in general. "I've learned so much about taking care of my Soldiers and how not to be a toxic leader," said Edwards.
Career prerequisites were also a large part of Spc. Claudio Pacchiega's reasons for participating in the NCO Academy. "I'm trying to go to Criminal Investigation Command's special agent school and this is a requirement," said Pacchiega. The thing that impresses Pacchiega the most about the academy is how the NCOs handle themselves -- not just the way they teach but the way they behave. "They make you want to emulate them," said Pacchiega. "I like seeing NCOs doing their jobs correctly and showing me the right way to become an NCO. I think this course has equipped me to handle anything that comes my way and become a good NCO leader," he said.
Upholding the proud traditions of the NCO Corps is why Spc. Elizabeth Adan began her journey at the NCO Academy. Adan said her military occupational specialty doesn't include things like land navigation, but the academy has definitely helped to enhance her warrior and leadership skills. "I struggled with it (land navigation) at first, but the small group leaders broke it down and explained it to me. Because of their great leadership, I got a 100 percent on my test," she said.
From the female perspective, Adan said being in a platoon full of males can be tough, but she doesn't expect any special treatment. "I always want to accomplish the same tasks as my peers to prove to myself that I can. Accomplishing tasks like this boosts my confidence and proves, without a doubt, that I can do this and teach it to others," said Adan.
Having worked with NATO forces, Mulvey said he's seen first hand that they don't have a strong, responsible corps of noncommissioned officers and most of what they do is officer driven. "That's no comparison to an experienced staff sergeant that can run the whole show. We have officer leadership to provide and guide that stability. Our noncommissioned officers are empowered to make a lot of decisions and choices that other forces don't have," said Mulvey.
As forces downsize and the Army gets smaller, Soldiers have to be capable in multiple jobs, said Mulvey. "We have to have Soldiers that can adapt and handle many different things from paperwork and filling out forms to leading Soldiers in the woods. You really have to be a Jack-of-all-trades and I think our NCO Corps does a very good job of that," he said.
Command Sgt. Maj. Walton Jones, Fort Polk's Noncommissioned Officer Academy commandant, said the NCO Academy is the place Soldiers learn to lead. "We teach these young men and women leadership skills, but also the nuances of how to mentor and instruct those under their command with the tools they will need to succeed in the Army. That continuous line of accountability to quality, conduct and care from Soldiers at every level of command gives the Army the flexibility and strength to weather any storm."
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