FORT CAVAZOS, Texas — Dried spaghetti, tape and marshmallows are assembled by steady hands with near surgical precision, despite the occasional giggle and groan, as supervisors in the Army civilian workforce attend the Intermediate Course for the Civilian Education System, or CES, July 17 at the Soldier Development Center.
Building the structure is but one of the many student-led exercises in the CES Intermediate Course. CES is a comprehensive training program that supports every Army civilian in their career path, following them with each position change and instilling Army values every step of the way.
The primary courses they take are designated according to their General Schedule grade, falling under the categories of Foundation, Basic, Intermediate and Advanced.
CES also includes additional development courses for more specified roles in the civilian workforce and professional seminars for inspiration and insight, all with the goal of making better leaders out of Army civilian employees.
“I think (CES) is paramount,” said John Kloeker, facilitator for the Army Management Staff College. “For the Army profession, even on a uniform side, Army values are absolutely that foundation for everything we do.
“From there, we start to build on what everybody does day to day in their duties,” he continued. “For civilian leadership … there’s a foundation that you start out with — that common, shared understanding. From there we want to start to build teams … the same doctrine that we use for leadership for the uniformed side is what we use for the Army civilian professional development.”
Kloeker explained the training doctrine used to teach Army leaders remains consistent across its entire workforce, whether in uniformed or civilian service.
“It’s absolutely imperative to have those values as leaders go up and develop and lead and manage organizations and get the mission done — whatever that mission may be, wherever the tasks are in the garrison or within the organizations and what they do,” Kloeker explained.
Anna-Kay Edgar, a human resources specialist attending the course, agreed with the importance of CES to professionally develop Army civilians like herself.
“I’m taking this CES Intermediate course, and through my job, I’m learning so much value,” she said. “I learned (things) about my personality that I wasn’t fully aware of, and I’m going to use this not only in my career, but also my personal life.”
The course involves traditional lectures on leadership and organizational structure while challenging students to lead activities of their own among their peers. The spaghetti-building exercise was one of those activities, where students were challenged by their peers to create the tallest dry spaghetti structure that could support a marshmallow to measure their abilities to organize and implement a building operation with limited resources.
“I love the projects we do,” Edgar said. “I love the group that we’re in — I was talking to my team members today, and when we first started out, we went through that form and that sustainment portion, and I felt like we were in an enrichment stage, but now we’re sustained. We trust each other.
“We were all committed,” she continued. “We take accountability for everything that we’re doing as a group and then when we have to work with the other team members as well. We’re all professionals within our classroom, so it’s a lot of added value that I’m getting from this course.”
Greta M. Buccellato, deputy to the U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Cavazos commander and the highest-ranking civilian employee at the garrison, emphasized the significance of CES and civilian service in the U.S. Army.
“Serving the Army as a civilian is an honor and a privilege,” she said. “It’s about passion for the mission, a sense of purpose in contributing to our nation’s strength and readiness and a commitment to the people we serve alongside.”
Buccellato emphasized the importance of building strong relationships between military and civilian leaders.
“It fosters mutual respect, understanding and collaboration,” she said. “To work effectively with new military leaders, it’s important to be open, communicative and adaptable. We stand always ready to support and guide them as they navigate their roles. Together, we achieve great things for our Army and our country.”
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