FORT BENNING, Ga., (March 23 2016) -- Department of Defense Executive Leadership Development Program students participated in a water obstacle course March 17 on Fort Benning. The purpose of the course was for students to work together and develop problem-solving skills.
Vanessa Glascoe, ELDP program manager, said ELDP is an experiential program, and it helps students see and do what the military does on the front lines, and what it takes to get there.
"We exist because of our warfighters," she said.
During the water obstacle exercise, ELDP students and their teams were put in situations where they had to figure out how to accomplish an obstacle under a time constraint and pressure. Clint Govar of the Marine Corps Systems Command, one of the ELDP students, said communication is important when determining a solution as a team.
"It was good for our team, I thought because we really learned how to work together. We learned how to listen to each other's opinions," Govar said. "It also helps with problem solving ... because you show up and you have an unknown situation, unknown equipment and materials, and you have to work together to form a solution relatively quickly."
Michael Kaiser, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, agreed that communication is important, and determining a leader is tough.
"I think trying to direct your peers is the biggest challenge," Kaiser said.
Christy Bixler, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, and Judi Tepperman, Air Force Civil Engineering Center, said it was difficult to work under pressure and having the time constraint. As civilians, they have normal deadlines, but this physical exercise and pressure is not the norm.
Tepperman said it is also hard because they operate as a team, but don't work with each other every day.
"We just know each other for the duration of the course," she said.
Students in this program work at the GS12-GS14 levels, and some are active-duty Soldiers or have military experience, but not all.
Each student is evaluated and put into teams of six to eight people, Glascoe said. Students took the Myers-Briggs test and the results were used to create teams.
Social Sharing