GRAFENWOEHR, GERMANY--"Move out!"
A sergeant yells to his troops waiting to move tactically down an isolated gravel road in the middle of a densely wooded forest. The squad-sized element uses caution and manuevers quietly to avoid giving away their location to enemy forces.
One Soldier notices a dead animal lying on the side of the road. As he rushes to investigate, a loud bang resounds through the woods. An improvised explosive device (IED) , tucked underneath the animal, has taken one casualty.
The rest of the squad rushes to cover and provide security immediately, but it's too late. The squad is caught in an ambush, with small arms fire erupting all around them. The squad returns fire, while the sergeant shouts commands.
"Fall back!", he yells, as the Soldiers scurry out of the kill zone.
The patrol, though realistic and intense, was not actually on the streets of Afghanistan, but rather part of a training exercise conducted by the 7th Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy (NCOA) at the Grafenwoehr Training Area.
The simulated patrol was an evaluated exercise for Soldiers attending the three-week Warrior Leader Course (WLC) that trains prospective and newly promoted sergeants in leadership skills.
"The Warrior Leader Course is about preparing Soldiers to be leaders in the future," said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Anderson, Small Group Leader at the NCOA. "Some are already in leadership positions at their unit and now we're putting the concepts behind their responsibilities as leaders. "
"The Soldiers have already learned about the warrior tasks and drills at their units and also in our classroom setting, but with these evaluated exercises, the academy allows those Soldiers to take what they have learned and put it to use, " he said.
Anderson said the training Soldiers receive from WLC helps the young NCOs develop self discipline and professional ethics, while also demonstrating the skills and knowledge for leading, disciplining, and developing Soldiers. The NCO Academy incorporates lessons learned on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan into their training plan and ensures that instructors are training Soldiers on the most recent tactics, techniques, and procedures.
"The instructors here are hand chosen and bring all their experience through three different ways: life experience, military experience and combat experience," he said.
The 7th Army NCOA operates under the Joint Multinational Training Command (JMTC), which provides Soldiers with operational experience and instruction focused on leader development.
"It's a very rewarding experience to see young Soldiers develop new skills. If the Soldiers can take back one thing with them, then that leader will be able to train their entire platoon in the same standards and beliefs of the academy."
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