FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Subject matter experts from the Army’s Center for Initial Military Training, headquartered at Fort Eustis, Virginia, visited Fort Leonard Wood from Dec. 5 to 9 to review the installation’s execution of its training mission.
This type of inspection is conducted at each of the Army’s IMT units once every 18 to 24 months, said Michael Menapace, one of 21 inspectors who spent the week here interviewing cadre and trainees, conducting focus groups and performing walk throughs of training areas at each of Fort Leonard Wood’s three training brigades — the 1st Engineer Brigade, 3rd Chemical Brigade and 14th Military Police Brigade — and the 58th Transportation Battalion, which is separately organized under U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command, or CASCOM.
“The Information gathered, or trends (and) key points identified, provide the (U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command) leadership a snapshot in time of what is happening across the training enterprise, both positive and negative,” Menapace said. “If a unit has a best practice, that information is provided across the enterprise for all units to benefit from.”
In addition to reviewing the ability to perform the mission to standard, the visit gave commanders here the chance to engage with SMEs from an “outside” perspective — a valuable resource for any organization seeking to always improve, said Lt. Col. Brett Medsker, who oversees current operations for the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, the organization responsible for training nearly 80,000 service members and civilians here annually.
“Having an outside eye review our training mission enables us to see ourselves from a different perspective and address any concerns, so that we can improve and better ourselves in execution,” Medsker said. “Additionally, it allows our higher headquarters to develop a better understanding of how we operate and see our concerns firsthand. This often leads to open dialogue and discussion, so they are better postured to support us and be our advocate when needed.”
As TRADOC’s core function lead for all Army IMT — including basic combat training, one station unit training, advanced individual training, the basic officer leader course and interservice training — USACIMT “leads the synchronization and management of IMT and education to transform civilian volunteers into Soldiers, who are disciplined, fit, combat ready and who increase Army readiness at the first units of assignment,” according to the USACIMT website.
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