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WHINSEC graduates 32 students from the Small Unit Leadership Course.

By Milton Mariani RodriguezOctober 7, 2022

WHINSEC Small Unit Leadership Course Graduates
On Tuesday, 32 Dragoneers (DG) from the Colombian Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Escuela Militar de Suboficiales Sargento Inocencio Chinca" (EMSUB) walked across the stage as they completed the Small Unit Leadership Course (SULC) here at WHINSEC. US Army photo by SPC Jayden Witt (Photo Credit: Courtesy) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT BENNING, GA – On Tuesday, 32 Dragoneers (DG) from the Colombian Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Escuela Militar de Suboficiales Sargento Inocencio Chinca" (EMSUB) walked across the stage as they completed the Small Unit Leadership Course (SULC) here at WHINSEC.

The graduates are on their last year at the EMSUB and the course, SULC, has been incorporated as part of their professional development. This initiative is part of the Colombian Military NCO Corps professional development vision started in 2015 by then Colombian Army Senior Enlisted Advisor, CSM(RET) Argemiro Posso Rivera.

Posso noted, “For the Colombian Army, it is extremely important to have our best strategic ally in the region, the US Southern Command and Army South, to contribute to the professional development of the NCO corps, focused on International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.”
WHINSEC Conducts Human Rights Training for Small Unit Leadership Course students
Staff Sgt. Christopher D. Robey facilitates for students from the Colombian Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Escuela Militar de Suboficiales Sargento Inocencio Chinca" (EMSUB) attending the Small Unit Leadership Course (SULC) here at WHINSEC. (Photo Credit: Milton Mariani Rodriguez) VIEW ORIGINAL
Current Colombian Army Senior Enlisted Advisor, CSM Mauricio Páez Acosta commented on the successful completion of the DGs via his official Facebook page, “This training will be essential for their professional development as non-commissioned officers of the Colombian National Army, where leadership, teamwork and the analysis of strategies in leading small units will allow them to contribute to the development and consolidation of different regions of the country.”

The Course provides a joint, multinational, and multiservice professional forum for students to acquire the leadership skills, knowledge, and experience needed to be first-line supervisors of small groups.

SULC graduate DG Luis S. Arias Nava was very pleased with the course. He commented, “ It was a great experience in which great knowledge was acquired both in the tactical part and in the field of leadership, this course helps us to strengthen and develop our capacities as leaders of small units. Additionally, learning about a new culture, its customs and how the United States Army carries out their activities on a day-to-day basis.”
Arias added, “ The knowledge acquired will help on how to execute command and leadership in a precise and exact manner. I will be able to apply what I learned by correctly instructing my subordinates, transmitting the knowledge acquired, and sharing the importance of the work of non-commissioned officers in all armies, and the responsibility we have to do an excellent job to fulfill the mission in the best way.”
Colombian Dragoneers work through course requirements
Students from the Colombian Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Escuela Militar de Suboficiales Sargento Inocencio Chinca" (EMSUB) work in teams during the Small Unit Leadership Course (SULC) here at WHINSEC. (Photo Credit: Milton Mariani Rodriguez) VIEW ORIGINAL
Fellow graduate, DG Deisy L Gachogoque Pulido also commented, “This course was very interesting since it emphasizes the importance and responsibility that non-commissioned officers have, since we are in charge of leading our soldiers, who are the base of an army. The learning dynamic was also very interesting, which was very important, when learning and acquiring new knowledge, facilitating learning.”
She added, “Coming to WHINSEC was a very good experience since one acquires new knowledge based on leadership and the correct way in which we must exercise it throughout our military life to positively influence people.

The five-week course consists of classroom instruction, which culminates with an intense field training that involves hands-on, performance-oriented activities. The course graduates leave equipped with standards-based, performance-oriented training that supports squad level operations. It provides security forces with junior leaders who can visualize, describe, and execute squad level operations in varied operational environments. The instructional design and methods of delivery consists of face-to-face instruction, learner-centered outcomes, based on the contemporary operational environment (COE), and used to reinforce all small unit tactics, techniques, and procedures. The course incorporates recent lessons learned, drills, individual critical tasks with the inclusion of weapons immersion, and a Situational Training Exercise (STX). The STX centers on competency, realistic scenarios, and troop-leading procedures.

Additional instructions integrate training on human rights; the rule of law; rules of engagement; due process; civilian control of the military, and the role of the military in a democratic society.