FORT BENNING, Ga., (Jan. 20 2016) -- For students to become comfortable with thinking critically on the battlefield and to help them grow professionally, Noncommissioned Officer Academy cadre rode along with Armor Basic Officer Leader Course second lieutenants Jan. 13 at Good Hope Maneuver Training Area.
Staff Sgt. Deshaun Smith, NCOA cadre, rode in the Blue Platoon's Humvee to help the students adapt to their situation and use doctrine accordingly, rather than step-by-step as they are taught in the classrooms he said.
"What they've been learning is doctrine - straight out of the book," Smith said. "When they get that information from the schoolhouse and they go back to their regular units, that doctrine is not fixed, it is rigid."
The training the lieutenants experienced, Smith said, is the same that the NCOA cadre conduct for sergeants in the advanced leader course.
The students were split up into four platoons - two Scout platoons and two armor platoons - based on what unit they would be going to after their graduation. During the squad tactical exercise, ABOLC students played the roles of Scouts and maneuvered force-on-force to conduct zone reconnaissance and confirm or deny enemy presence on the battlefield, said Staff Sgt. Matthew Collier, senior platoon trainer for ABOLC. From there, the platoons engaged the enemy with either indirect or direct fire, and reported the information to the commander.
The exercise trains the students on communication and cross talk between the platoons, coordinating their movement and their fires and facilitating the cover of the dismounts as they move north, Collier said.
"It helps them to understand what benefits them and what they need to improve on to overall make themselves more successful and more lethal when they leave (ABOLC)," Collier said.
Smith said it is beneficial for the student to learn both sides of their job now - Armor and Scout - rather than learning on the job at their new units.
"It's totally different for them to act as Scouts - you're not going out and destroying an enemy, you're doing reconnaissance," Smith said. "That is something they have to get used rather than being on a tank."
As Scouts, the Armor lieutenants must be proficient on the radio, calling for fire, in land navigation, at firing weapons.
"All the tasks that a private through lieutenant would do," Smith said.
Smith was along for the ride to advise the students on their mission.
"I have 11, 12 years of experience and I've dealt with these types of missions a thousand times," Smith said. "(They can get) my input - what I would do, what I wouldn't do."
Smith told the lieutenants "an easy way to call for fire is a t-intersection," and "your platoon leader can't do everything himself."
2nd Lt. David Kotz, ABOLC student, said White brought experience and divergence to the table, which benefited the platoon more than their structured plan of attack.
"When he comes into the picture, it gives us that look from the actual force, the actual units out there, and all that experience comes into our planning and our execution of the mission," Kotz said. "We need to get the all-around picture of our branch so that we can perform in any situation."
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