FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- One group of students tested out conveyor belt sensors, powering the system on and off first thing Monday morning at Fort Campbell's Staff Sgt. Glenn H. English Jr. Army Education Center.
Across the room, another huddle of Soldiers worked on a drivetrain simulator as the whir of spinning chains hummed underneath the sound of their determined voices.
The hands-on activities are a portion of the Mechatronics Level I course offered for Fort Campbell Soldiers at the Education Center on post. The Level I course provided by Nashville State Community College allows Soldiers to use their GI Bill to receive technical training in the mechatronics field. The 16-week course culminates with a chance for students to test for a Siemens certification, which is awarded after students pass a skills test that qualifies them to work as mechanics system assistants worldwide.
The Level I course is organized into several sections to accommodate the expansive mechatronics field, which combines electronics, mechanics and other computerized technologies.
"They're going through electronics, then mechanics," said Chris Cosby, Level I instructor. "Then they go through fluid power, pneumatics/hydraulics, and then they take a controller class -- PLC -- programmable logic controller."
PLCs are industrial computer control systems used to automate many types of machines in various settings, including factories and amusement parks.
Plans are in the works to offer Mechatronics Level II in the fall, as well as a two-year degree program through Nashville State Community College. Transitioning Soldiers -- those set to retire or separate from Army service within 180 days -- are the first to be placed in this program. Some 30 Soldiers are enrolled in the Level I classes offered at Fort Campbell this semester.
Specialist Byron Simmons first heard about the Mechatronics program late last year during a Soldier for Life -- Transition Assistance Program briefing. While the 541st Transportation Company, 129th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 101st Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade, Soldier is set to graduate in December with an associate's degree in computer science, he was eager to enroll in the first mechatronics program at Fort Campbell. The 26-year-old will separate from the Army in April 2016.
"I like how hands-on it is and how Nashville State and the Army are coming together, letting us take this time to get a different type of skill before we get out," he said.
Level I mechatronics, filled with simple machines and everyday problems faced in the industrial world, focuses primarily on troubleshooting. Projects and their associated challenges come into "plain view" Simmons said, as students determine the cause of issues found within automated machines, whether it is wiring, a loose screw or a myriad of other problems.
Simmons is an 88M -- truck driver -- who recently hit three years in the Army. The mechatronics program is another way for him to diversify his resume before seeking a job in the civilian sector.
"I just want to be able to market myself in the best way possible," he said.
Staff Sgt. Ben Wilson thinks the program is an excellent skill builder as well -- one that will help the infantryman when he leaves the Army in the spring for a career in the civilian sector. He enjoys the intentional small class size that provides plenty of one-on-one training opportunities.
"A lot of these guys in here are aviation mechanics, so I started behind the curve, but … the teacher and the class work is very helpful," said Wilson, with C Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
Since the class began more than a month ago, Wilson and his fellow Soldiers have studied electricity, including Ohm's Law and circuitry, among other concepts.
"How to make a circuit and how to troubleshoot it and figure out what's wrong with it, what the volts, the Ohms and the current should be," Wilson said, of some of the topics covered so far in the course.
Wilson hopes to combine this experience with the college degree he already has in order to go into project management. This knowledge could prove valuable to his future career aspirations.
"I do have electrical experience," Wilson said. "I do have mechanical experience. I do have computer experience. I do have [information technology] experience. All through this class."
Reginald Gardner, Nashville State Community College Computer and Engineering Technologies dean, was on-site Monday to talk about the program's success thus far. The college's mechatronics certification program is the first of its kind offered at an Army installation.
"We're extremely honored to have the privilege to teach military personnel as they transition back into civilian life," he said. "Military personnel do so much for the country. It's an honor to help and provide education for them."
This partnership with Fort Campbell is supported by Tennessee's Labor Education Alignment Program. The program recently provided grant funding for mechatronics programs throughout the region. While enrolling in the program does not guarantee a job after Soldiers separate or retire from the Army, the field is in high demand right now. Cosby said students can go to work in factories in the automobile industry or even apply these skills in the renewable energy field. With new factories opening in the Middle Tennessee area, including Beretta and Hankook Tire, the possibilities are endless.
"I had one of my students … go to work in a casino, working on slot machines," Cosby said. "It can be working on ATM machines. It can be small systems or it could be huge systems, like in a factory. We're becoming more automated day-by-day. Not just in factories, but everywhere we go."
A briefing for those interested in enrolling in the spring 2016 mechatronics program will be at 1 p.m. Oct. 8 in the Education Center's auditorium. For more information, call 270-412-0736. Phil Moore, a maintenance manager from Bel Brands in Leitchfield, Ky., will talk to Soldiers about the industrial maintenance career field.
"When I met Phil at a job fair recently, he was very impressed to hear about our program and he was delighted to hear that the Soldiers will receive Siemens certification, which is what his facility requires," said Teresa K. English, a career skills program coordinator at the Education Center that helped organize the program. "Most of the schools in that area do not offer the Siemens certification, so that is why we are proud of this very unique opportunity."
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