International officers step into U.S. Soldiers shoes at Fort Riley, Kansas

By Season Osterfeld, Fort Riley Public AffairsSeptember 16, 2016

International officers of the International Military Student Division at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, investigate a M1A2 Abrams battle tank at Fort Riley, Kansas Sept. 7
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – International officers a part of the Command and General Staff Officer Course, International Military Student Division at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, investigate a M1A2 Abrams Sept. 7 at Range 18 on Fort Riley, Kansas. The Abrams was part of four stati... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
International officers of the International Military Student Division at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, receive briefing at Fort Riley, Kansas Sept. 7
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Maj. Michael Wellock, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, speaks to 109 foreign officers from 86 different countries about his experience in the Command and General Staff Officer Course Sept.... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

More than 100 officers from 86 different countries visited Fort Riley Sept. 7 to experience a day in a U.S. Army Soldier's life and interact with facilities, Soldiers and equipment of the 1st Infantry Division.

The foreign officers are attending the Command and General Staff Officer Course, International Military Student Division, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Through this course, the international officers are mixed into smaller classes with U.S. military personnel from different branches.

The course is designed to train officers for taking greater roles in their militaries and prepare them to move from focusing on strategy alone and into looking at and understanding how the military works on an operational level. Brandi Satre, project assistant with the International Military Student Division, said the course also serves to connect U.S. and international officers together so they may develop relationships and diplomatic ties. It also allows the officers to develop a greater understanding on other cultures and U.S. military operations.

"They're learning all of the things that they need to know in order to run their own commands at home and at the same time, they're making friends with (people from) countries (when) they probably would have never met anyone from that country … and they're learning different cultures and they're learning that we're all people," Satre said.

Prior to their visit to Fort Riley, the officers spent a day in classes at Kansas State University studying different types of bacteria that have the potential to be weaponized, Satre said. Their trip to K-State and Fort Riley are part of a field study requirement for their course to see practical application of the lessons they are being taught.

"Every class that comes through CGSC is part of the field studies program as well," Satre said. "Every class will end up doing a tour of K-State, where they go through all the different food bacteria and all the things that could potentially be used in war plague wise and then they do a tour here … They're just learning all about the U.S. military and how we do things and hopefully they can take this back to their country and hopefully implement it someday, be able to train their Soldiers."

During their day at Fort Riley, the officers heard a speech by Maj. Gen. Wayne W. Grigsby Jr., 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley commanding general, interacted with U.S. Army officers and noncommissioned officers, dined at the Devil Dining Facility and observed static displays of artillery equipment and training by the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div., with Bradley Fighting Vehicles at Range 18.

Soldiers of the 1st Bn., 16th Inf. Regt, 1st ABC, 1st Inf. Div., were present to discuss and answer the officers' questions about the equipment at the static displays.

"Because I am an armor officer, this is my favorite thing to observe directly (the static displays and training) and learn about the Abrams tanks," said Maj. Ferdinasyah from Indonesia. "It's a great experience for me to know the 1st Division, they call it the 'Big Red One,' so I just observe how they maintain, they train the Soldiers for the next deployment and we just observed their simulations training rooms, their Humvees and then they just brought us here (Range 18)." "

Lt. Col. Sebastian Bley from Germany said the visit to Fort Riley helped make sense of the operational information they were learning in their courses. It showed him the process, from planning to implementation, of how the U.S. Army operates. He added this course can teach him to develop diplomatic relations with members of other nations' militaries.

"My major thing to learn is about how the American Army actually, and the other Army services, think, how they operate, how they plan and how they appreciate and understand our challenges that we might face in the future and to have a better understanding for the future cooperation with them," Bley said.

For others, seeing and speaking with Soldiers on an installation with actively training and deploying units provided better insight to how the U.S. Army operates than just observing the static displays and training.

"It's good to see active Army components here and we've noted everyone is very professional with their jobs, very confident and they have lots of supplies, which helps to maintain those activities on a daily basis," said Maj. Arsen Mangasarian from Armenia.

Mangasarian also said he was impressed by the noncommissioned officers of Fort Riley and the speech from Grigsby. He hopes to take their leadership style home with him to share with the Armenian Army.

Like Mangasarian, Ferdinasyah said he was also influenced by what Grigsby had to say. He added the CGSOC IMSD program and the field study component were important for understanding the strengths and weaknesses of his own nation's military and how he, the U.S. Soldiers and other international officers can connect with one another.

"Since we are international students here, also kind of a partner for the United States, we have learned what are the capabilities and the limitations, so we can understand," said Ferdinasyah. "Just like the general (Grigsby) told us, it's about our weaknesses and strengths and how we can support each other for future missions."