WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army Center of Military History recently launched a distance learning course for Unit Historical Officers.
The Unit Historical Officer Fundamentals distance learning course is designed to train Soldiers who are appointed to the additional duty of unit historian at brigade and battalion levels.
The course teaches the fundamentals necessary to effectively perform their duties. It serves as a baseline for Soldiers appointed to the duty, regardless of the amount of experience the UHO brings to the role.
Dr. Peter Knight, Chief of Field and Military Programs division for the U.S. Army Center of Military History, said that “prior to the launch of the course, there was no process for the certification of Unit Historical Officers.”
Commanders at brigade and battalion levels appoint a UHO because they are required to submit an annual command history report according to Army Regulation 870-5. The duties of a UHO require a dedicated person to capture what a unit has done within a fiscal year.
“This [course] was a mechanism by which we can train those unit historical officers and give them the fundamental skills they need to compile and submit the annual history report,” said Knight.
Units will benefit from this online course because the UHO will be grounded in the skills of the unit historian and will assist with providing continuity to the unit.
Knight said, Soldiers will be able to “research, collect information, and write a cogent report that helps the unit learn from its past, and to gain useful insights that can be applied as the unit moves forward with the conduct of their mission from one year to the next,”
The 40-hour course is divided into six lessons that include unit organizational history, how to write the annual command history report, maintaining lineage and honors, how to process potential historical artifacts, how to conduct oral history interviews, and how to plan and execute staff rides.
"This course will be a game-changer for the Army in reinvigorating unit historical programs across the entire operational force structure,” said Knight.
The Unit Historical Officer Fundamentals course is open to Soldiers in the grade of E5 and above appointed to the additional duty and is designed to be completed within 60 days of enrollment in the course.
To Register for the UHO Fundamentals Distance Learning Course students must register for an account in Blackboard at https://learn.llc.army.mil/.
Once the student’s account is established in Blackboard ELLC, they must select the following Course ID or Course Name from the Blackboard ELLC course catalog:
Course ID: 912_CMHUHOFDLC_2023_001_00_N
Course Name: Unit Historical Officer Fundamentals Distance Learning.
Once selected, the student follows the information prompts and requests enrollment.
For more information about the U.S. Army Center of Military History or for media queries please contact the CMH Public Affairs Officer, Mr. F. Lee Reynolds, at francis.l.reynolds.civ@army.mil.
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