First iteration of Army’s premier Protection Integration Course underway

By Melissa Buckley, Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs OfficeOctober 25, 2024

Barrett Parker, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Proponent Office for Protection deputy director, welcomes Soldiers to the inaugural Protection Integration Course Oct. 21 at Fort Leonard Wood’s Digital Training Facility. The 25 students...
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Barrett Parker, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Proponent Office for Protection deputy director, welcomes Soldiers to the inaugural Protection Integration Course Oct. 21 at Fort Leonard Wood’s Digital Training Facility. The 25 students will graduate the two-week course with an additional skill identifier, certifying them as a Protection Operations Planner. (Photo Credit: Melissa Buckley, Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office VISION ID FH875) VIEW ORIGINAL
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FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Twenty-five Soldiers, from various units across the Army, are meeting on Fort Leonard Wood in the Digital Training Facility to take the inaugural Protection Integration Course, taught by officials from the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Proponent Office for Protection, commonly called TPO-Protection.

“Thanks for taking this course. Protection is a mindset. Protection is everybody’s business,” said Maj. Gen. Christopher Beck, Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood commanding general, as he addressed PIC students Oct. 21, their first official day of class. “The team you will be learning from for the next couple of weeks has truly evolved and driven the dialogue of protection over the last year — changing the Army’s view of it.”

According to TPO-Protection officials, the two-week course is the Army’s only course designed to enhance the skills and attributes of what’s called an echelon-above-brigade staff officer, warrant officer or NCO, particularly serving within a protection cell, where they advise division- or corps-level commanders on protection-related matters.

“While the Army has a variety of staff centric training and education opportunities available, currently there are no other courses in the Army’s inventory that is solely focused on training the Protection Warfighting Function within the protection cells in echelons above brigade headquarters,” said Dr. Michael Koren, chief of the TPO-Protection’s Training Development and Integration Division.

Hosting the course in Fort Leonard Wood’s Digital Training Facility is “a critical component of the course’s training effect,” Koren said. “In that facility, we can replicate the division tactical operations center while generating the necessary artificial stressors required to maximize the students’ staff member experiences.”

Soldiers attending must either be serving in a protection cell or be on orders to an EAB staff — graduates of the course are awarded an additional skill identifier, certifying them as a Protection Operations Planner.

“We know our student population is seasoned,” Koren said. “By this time (in their careers), most will have served in a staff position in some capacity, be it at the EAB or below levels.”

Koren said the goal is to have students leave with a better understanding of protection and the Protection Warfighting Function; how it is managed, integrated and synchronized.

“As protection, and Protection Warfighting Function, equities become more prominent across the Army’s doctrine and subsequently Army operations, having Protection Operations Planner qualified staff members will provide commanders an additional layer of functional competence to draw upon,” Koren said. “We hope that translates into speed, options and opportunities within the commander’s decision space.”

Military Police Senior Leader Course Chief 1st Sgt. Matthew Poole, said he is taking the course because he wanted to expand his protection knowledge and be able to share that knowledge with his battle buddies.

“With this additional skill identifier, I want to be able to go into any staff section and have a good understanding of what protection does and be able to enable mission commanders on the battlefield to protect their force,” Poole said. “Being in courses like this allows the knowledge learned here to flow down through our Soldiers.”

Sgt. Maj. Benjamin Coughlin, 14th Military Police Brigade operations sergeant major, agreed, as he plans to integrate what he learns into the foundation of MP knowledge.

“This course will give our commanders and our drill sergeants a better understanding of how to incorporate protection elements during basic combat training and advanced individual training,” Coughlin said. “How we have fought for the last 20 years has changed — what we did yesterday is not going to be good enough for tomorrow. In this course we are talking about threats at the division level, but there are individual tasks that Soldiers at all levels need to understand. PIC will shape what we teach our Soldiers in training.”

To be eligible for this course Soldiers must be active duty, National Guard or Reserve Army NCOs (E-7 through E-9), warrant officers (2 through 4) and officers (O-4 through O-6), within the following military occupational specialties or areas of concentration: 12, 12A, 13, 13A, 14, 14A, 17, 17A, 17B, 25, 25A, 26, 26A, 26B, 26Z, 30, 30A, 31, 31A, 52, 52B, 60A, 60B, 60C, 60D, 61J, 62A, 63A, 64A, 64B, 64C, 64D, 64E, 64F, 64Z, 65D, 66B, 66C, 66E, 66F, 66G, 66H, 66N, 66P, 66R, 66S, 66T, 66W, 67C, 68, 74, 74A, 89D, 89D4, 89D5, 89D6, 89E, 120A, 125D, 131A, 140A, 140K, 140L, 150A, 150U, 152C, 152E, 152H, 153D, 153E, 154E, 154F, 155E, 155F, 155G, 170A, 170B, 170D, 255A, 255N, 255S, 311A, 640A, 670A, and 740A.

“Also, anyone in the medical community can attend,” Koren added. “That is one revision that is due to come out next year.”

Soldiers with questions about applying for the next PIC, scheduled to begin May 5, 2025 — can email Mitch Darknell at mitchell.w.darknell.civ@army.mil, or Glen Wright at glen.a.wright.civ@army.mil.

“Those interested in attending should contact us now,” Koren said. “We anticipate this course to be in high demand for the foreseeable future.”