Nearly a dozen Army senior ammunition specialist noncommissioned officers (NCOs) built up their leadership and career field skills during participation in the four-week 89B Senior Leader Course (SLC) at Fort McCoy from January to February.
The 89B SLC is taught by the 13th Battalion, 100th Regiment (13th, 100th). The 13th, 100th is an ordnance battalion that provides training and training support to Soldiers in the ordnance maintenance 89B military occupational specialty series. The unit, aligned under the 3rd Brigade, 94th Division of the 80th Training Command, has been at Fort McCoy since about 1995.
Master Sgt. Stanley Qahhaar leads training in the 89B SLC. He said the course is taught in two two-week phases.
"In this course, we cover a lot of logistics and support operations," Qahhaar said. "We also cover leadership skills, and we get back to the basics of the career field. Our students also work with students in the (89B) Ammunition Supply Course, and they get plenty of work done in the field."
Soldiers attending the SLC are "seasoned" NCOs, meaning they've been in the career field quite a while and now get the opportunity to improve even more at their assigned skill sets.
According to the Army job description for a senior ammunition supply specialist, these NCOs supervise the receipt, storage, issue, and preparation of ammunition, ammunition components and explosives for transportation and storage. They also supervise ammunition stock control and accounting procedures for surveillance inputs, conduct ammunition inspections and tests, and perform inspections of containers and vehicles transporting ammunition.
89B NCOs also inspect storage locations, ensuring compliance with storage compatibility, quantity distance, and explosive safety limits. And, they ensure compliance with all ammunition safety requirements as prescribed in applicable Army regulations.
"There's a lot of information to understand and process," Qahhaar said.
Staff Sgt. Amanda Kingsley, an ammunition inspector with the 1034th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion at Camp Dodge, Iowa, said she appreciates the opportunity to learn more while training at Fort McCoy.
"The classroom environment is outstanding and there are excellent facilities here," Kingsley said. "We also were able to manage an ammunition demolition training event, which had us working with the (ASC) students."
Sgt. 1st Class Bronson Sargent, an instructor and facilitator with the 13th Battalion, 108th Regiment at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., said the SLC gives a greater understanding of all the tasks assigned to an 89B NCO.
"I've been an ammunition supply specialist at the company and battalion level," Sargent said. "This training helps give me a better idea of how it works at a brigade level. ... What I'm seeing is this training is about supervising and doing the right thing at all levels."
Qahhaar, who's taught the same course at Fort Lee, Va., and Redstone Arsenal, said SLC students should leave the course with a firm understanding of what their roles and responsibilities are as well as how they can train others.
"We want them to be leaders and continue to grow as leaders," Qahhaar said.
Fort McCoy has supported America's armed forces since 1909. The installation's motto is to be the "Total Force Training Center." The post's varied terrain, state-of-the-art ranges, new as well as renovated facilities, and extensive support infrastructure combine to provide military personnel with an environment in which to develop and sustain the skills necessary for mission success.
Today, Fort McCoy has become the Army's premier Total Force Training Center for Army Early Response Force early deployers to meet the Army's operational demand requirements. Learn more about Fort McCoy online at www.mccoy.army.mil, on Facebook by searching "ftmccoy," and on Twitter by searching "usagmccoy."
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