Soldiers share best practices, improve teaching capabilities

By Sgt. Adam ParentDecember 27, 2018

Shared experience leads to a common understanding
1 / 12 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Francisco Vega, the materiel readiness noncommissioned officer for the 300th Sustainment Brigade, speaks to soldiers from the Jordan Armed Forces about the U.S. Army's method of instruction taught in the Foundation Instructor Fac... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shared experience leads to a common understanding
2 / 12 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Staff Sergeants Joseph Wong, center, and Christopher Reitz, right, both with the 157th Military Engagement Team, Wisconsin Army National Guard, speak with Warrant Officer 1 Khaled Hassan Salah, an instructor with the Jordan Armed Forces, ab... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shared experience leads to a common understanding
3 / 12 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Mauricio Vasquez, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the intelligence section of the 300th Sustainment Brigade, demonstrates U.S. Army standards on Physical Readiness Training to Jordan Armed Forces soldiers using skill... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shared experience leads to a common understanding
4 / 12 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Mauricio Vasquez, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the intelligence section of the 300th Sustainment Brigade, speaks with soldiers from the Jordan Armed Forces about the U.S. Army's method of instruction taught in the... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shared experience leads to a common understanding
5 / 12 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Francisco Vega, the materiel readiness noncommissioned officer for the 300th Sustainment Brigade, and Jordan Armed Forces Warrant Officer 1 Khaled Hassan Salah, an instructor, consult a Jordanian training manual during a joint co... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shared experience leads to a common understanding
6 / 12 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Master Sgt. Michael Komorowski, the senior operations sergeant of the 157th Military Engagement Team, Wisconsin Army National Guard, consults an example instructor evaluation rubric with Jordan Armed Forces soldiers, Dec. 16, 2018, at the J... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shared experience leads to a common understanding
7 / 12 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Master Sgt. Michael Komorowski, the senior operations sergeant of the 157th Military Engagement Team, Wisconsin Army National Guard, shares a laugh with soldiers of the Jordan Armed Forces, Dec. 17, 2018, at the Jordanian noncommissioned of... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shared experience leads to a common understanding
8 / 12 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Master Sgt. Michael Komorowski, the senior operations sergeant of the 157th Military Engagement Team, Wisconsin Army National Guard, listens as a soldier of the Jordan Armed Forces speaks at a joint course on methods of instruction, Dec. 17... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shared experience leads to a common understanding
9 / 12 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army and Jordan Armed Forces soldiers participate in a joint course on methods of instruction, Dec. 18, 2018, at the Jordanian noncommissioned officer academy near the Joint Training Center, Jordan. Sharing knowledge through collaborative meetin... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shared experience leads to a common understanding
10 / 12 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A soldier with the Jordan Armed Forces demonstrates a class on basic map skills to Soldiers with the 157th Military Engagement Team, Wisconsin Army National Guard, as part of a joint course on methods of instruction, Dec. 18, 2018, at the Jordanian n... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shared experience leads to a common understanding
11 / 12 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Warrant Officer 1 Khaled Hassan Salah, an instructor with the Jordan Armed Forces, speaks on how to teach a class during a joint course on methods of instruction, Dec. 18, 2018, at the Jordanian noncommissioned officer academy near the Joint Training... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Shared experience leads to a common understanding
12 / 12 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Christopher Reitz, with the 157th Military Engagement Team, Wisconsin Army National Guard, shakes hands with Warrant Officer 1 Khaled Hassan Salah, an instructor with the Jordan Armed Forces, at a ceremony to celebrate the co... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

JOINT TRAINING CENTER, Jordan -- Soldiers from the 157th Military Engagement Team, Wisconsin Army National Guard, and the 300th Sustainment Brigade, spent a few days sharing their experiences with soldiers assigned as instructors in the Jordan Armed Forces.

In the mornings, Soldiers from both the U.S. Army and JAF assembled in a classroom at the Jordanian noncommissioned officer academy to discuss the best practices they have learned from their years of experience as instructors. They spent their workdays comparing the concepts which guide the teaching methods employed by both forces and discussing what they liked about each teaching method.

"The importance of our Soldiers and theirs working together on this course is to establish a common ground and shared understanding," said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Francisco Vega, the materiel readiness noncommissioned officer for the 300th Sustainment Brigade. "With that we'll be able to execute larger exercises or larger operations."

The main ideas shared by the U.S. Soldiers were derived from the Foundation Instructor Facilitator Course, a class designed to improve the teaching capabilities of noncommissioned officers. A rubric used in the FIFC was translated to Arabic to show the JAF soldiers the U.S. Army method of evaluating instructors.

"So with this course we're trying to stress to the Jordan Armed Forces instructors the importance of taking old concepts in the instructor method and showing them the facilitator method of instruction that we now use in the United States Army," said Vega.

After a couple days of classroom discussion, the instructors from the JAF taught condensed versions of the classes they specialize in to demonstrate the principles which guide their teaching methods. They showcased these principles with classes on marching, rifle drills, physical training, map reading, and leadership.

"I really enjoyed their engagement with the training," said Sgt. 1st Class Mauricio Vasquez, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the intelligence section of the 300th Sustainment Brigade. "They really tried to see it from our point of view, and in the same token they showed us their training and got us to see it from their point of view as well."

One of the most important things learned by the Soldiers in addition to the new ideas presented by their partner nation counterparts was how much they have in common.

"Although we're different, we still have a lot of similarities. We're all interested in training the Soldiers to be better, and we're always seeking improvement," said Vasquez.

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