FORT BLISS, Texas-- The NCO Leadership Center of Excellence held a two day Quality Assurance Representative workshop, Dec. 10-11.The QAR workshop provided situational awareness for 33 QA designated personnel throughout all three components of Army learning institutions.Quentin Brown, the director of the Quality Assurance Office for the NCOLCoE welcomed the representatives."Your active participation and honest feedback are critical for a productive and successful event," he said. "There is a wealth of knowledge in this room, take this time to learn from each other as we continue to develop, integrate and deliver education and training readiness."The QAO is responsible for conducting internal and external evaluations of all of the 33 NCOAs in accordance with the Army Enterprise Accreditation standards and augmenting the Training and Doctrine Command QAO accreditation teams.During the workshop the mission and values of the QA program were discussed and considered a vital way for QA personnel to conduct themselves."Continuity is important," Brown said. "Our values help ensure we are focusing on the institutional Army's ability to meet the needs of the operational Army and meeting the intended outcome. I can say this, together we get it done and through our mission and values we get it done right."The QA representatives received a brief history lesson on the QA program, to reinforce the AEAS."The QA program has evolved over the last decade," Brown said. "We now have seven primary standards which make up the foundation of the U.S. Army Quality Assurance Program and perform accreditations of the learning institutions every three years to ensure the learning enterprise meets the Army's education and training standards."Representatives also received guidance on the latest noncommissioned officer courses and changes in the curriculum for the Battle Staff NCO Course and the Master Leader Course."We wanted to ensure there is a common understanding across all components, that is why we provided an exceptional line-up of guest speakers," Brown said. "The workshop gives us the opportunity we need to convey the current, relevant, efficient, and effective training and education on NCO Professional Military Education to the QA representatives."Master Sgt. Paul Caswell, the Intermediate team manager for the Battle Staff NCO Course informed the group, Command Sgt. Maj. Jimmy Sellers, the commandant of the NCOLCoE, approved the redesign for the BSNCOC during the Curriculum Design Review in April 2019."The approved design more accurately captures the duties and responsibilities of the staff NCO either on the battlefield or in garrison," Caswell said. "The result is a course curriculum focused on holistic operations across all Army activities."The Master Leader Course manager, Dennis Earle II, explained the new approach to the MLC during his brief."MLC is now using a blended approach where the learner interfaces with the courseware and fellow learners in a setting that is external to the classroom," Earle said. "The course has overcome a gradual change, utilizing the virtual classroom for decentralized learning to take place."After the guest speakers finished for the day, the representatives conducted an after action review to ensure the outcome of each QAR session is met.Larry Smith, from Fort Sill, Oklahoma, a 15 year veteran of the QA program came to the workshop to place faces with names."This is a great networking opportunity," Smith said. "All the key players and subject matter experts are in the room, to include representation of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. "We received information and knowledge that will allow us to continue to move forward as ready and prepared QA professionals."Staff Sgt. Torri Ghaner from the Camp Blanding, Florida NCO Academy is a newly appointed QA representative for the Florida Army National Guard."I was excited to come here and review the Army Enterprise Accreditation standards, to better prepare my academy for accreditation" she said. "This workshop is beneficial in many ways because education can be both ambiguous and subjective depending on how the standards are interpreted."Ghaner also appreciated the connections she made while attending the workshop."Knowing we have people we can reach out to, who are readily available to us, is really beneficial to me and other QA personnel who are new in the program," she said.The Quality Assurance Office functions an integral part of the Army Team by providing decision makers and stakeholders' feedback and guidance to ensure Army learning institution's doctrine, organization, training, material, leadership and education, personnel, facilities, and policy areas meet the required standards to ensure Army readiness.As the event came to a close, Quentin Brown let the Quality Assurance Representatives know the NCOLCoE is working on conducting more workshops in the future."This is the first of many to come, and through our professionalism and evaluation of the program we will get it done, thank you for your support and taking the time to be here," Brown said.The NCO Leadership Center of Excellence is the premier institution driving innovative development for enlisted leaders; constantly focused on readiness.