Three new instructors are supporting the 13th Battalion, 100th (13th, 100th) Regiment at Fort McCoy in the 89B10 Ammunition Supply Course (ASC), 89B Senior Leader Course (SLC), and the 89B Advanced Leader Course (ALC) during the fiscal year 2018 training year. Each said he is glad to be a part of the team.
The 13th, 100th is an ordnance battalion that provides training and training support to Soldiers in the ordnance maintenance military occupational specialty (MOS) series. The unit, aligned under the 3rd Brigade, 94th Division of the 80th Training Command, has been at Fort McCoy since about 1995.
"I am excited to be working with this particular team of instructors," said new ASC instructor Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy VanStreain. "They all have an overwhelming wealth of knowledge of the ammunition field and are extremely dedicated to helping Soldiers succeed."
In the ASC, VanStreain is teaching in a four-week course that provides training for Soldiers who are reclassifying to the 89B MOS. Soldiers who are 89B-qualified are tasked with receiving, storing, and issuing conventional ammunition, guided missiles, large rockets, explosives, and other ammunition and explosive-related items. During the two phases of the course, the students learn all of the entry-level basics about the course.
"I like being able to pass down my knowledge and experience as an ammunition specialist to Soldiers interested in this field," VanStreain said. "I've had great instructors in the past, and I would like to be able to make a positive impact with these students' careers just as my past instructors have made a positive impact on my career."
Master Sgt. Stanley Qahhaar leads training in the 89B SLC. He taught the same course at Fort Lee, Va., and Redstone Arsenal, Ala. Since the SLC was brought to Fort McCoy in fiscal year 2017, he relocated to Wisconsin to teach it here.
"It was an adjustment coming here, but the (Fort McCoy) team here really made it a pretty good transition for myself and my Family," Qahhaar said. "We were able to get moved into a home here on post, and at the unit, everyone has been really helpful in allowing me the time I need to settle in and teach this course."
The SLC also is taught in two phases over the course of four weeks. Qahhaar said that even though his students have been ammunition specialists for quite a while, the training they receive builds their leadership skills and helps the students get back to the basics of the career field.
"We get out to the field, and we also do some training with students in the ASC," Qahhaar said.
Qahhaar said he also really appreciates how his entire instructor team works together when anyone needs some support.
"It's just been awesome with everyone," Qahhaar said. "This is a great instructor Family."
In the 89B ALC, Sgt. 1st Class Lester Hinton teaches seasoned 89B Soldiers some advanced skills in ammunition supply oversight and leadership. Though he's new to teaching this ALC on post, he's not new to Fort McCoy.
"This is my third time coming to Fort McCoy," Hinton said. "I first came here when the (ASC) started here in 2009, and now I'm here on orders to teach the ALC for a year. What the students learn in (ALC) is important to not only them, but also the Soldiers they lead so we go into detail on a variety of subjects."
Hinton said he is like all the other instructors on the team in that he really enjoys what he does.
"I have fun," Hinton said. "It doesn't usually matter who I'm with really, but in working here with this great staff of men and women we really do have fun and enjoy our work. It's a great (team) to be a part of."
The 13th, 100th started all new sessions of the ASC, SLC, and ALC in January, so the "schoolhouse has been hoppin'," said course manager Sgt. 1st Class Douglas Dobitz. And since it's been busy, he said he's happy to have such a great team.
"We went through this training expansion more than a year ago and it's been a big deal for us and for Fort McCoy," Dobitz said. "And since it started here, we've had great people leading the effort in all of our training. This year is no different."
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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