Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course changes to provide better training
New program of instruction cuts length of senior NCO training

By Spc. Eliamar Castanon/The Bayonet

FORT BENNING, Ga. (TRADOC News Service, Oct. 8, 2004) – The Advanced Noncommissioned Officers Course kicked off a new program of instruction Sept. 13 with Class 01-04. The new POI cut the first phase of training and reduced the length of the course to a six-week, one-phase course, said 1st Sgt. Michael Hibbs, ANCOC branch chief.

“We have taken out the common-core portions of the course Soldiers have already covered in (Primary Leadership Development Course) and (Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course) – reducing the duration of the course,” Hibbs said.

Hibbs said the NCOs who attend ANCOC always have different levels of experience, and hopefully the new POI will benefit most Soldiers.

“It’s time management. This way we can focus on subjects they need to be exposed to instead of outdated material,” Hibbs said.

The shorter course means more classes each year, too – instead of four classes, there will be six. During the break between cycles, instructors will be able to obtain necessary certifications and training to ensure they stay current with mandated requirements.

The shorter course, however, doesn’t mean the Soldiers spend fewer hours in the field.

“It’s going to be a very intense and robust course, especially if there are holidays in the middle of cycles,” Hibbs said. “The Soldiers will have to train six days a week to make up for training holidays. Instead of 72 hours of field training, they are now going to be out there for 96.”

“Constant attention to one’s surroundings is going to be a major point of instruction,” said Sgt. Maj. Tony Winterfeld, Noncommissioned Officer Academy assistant commandant.

Reacting to the unknown will become second nature to these NCOs, he said.

“(Improvised explosive devices) will be implemented into every portion of the training. We’re going to get the students to think outside of the box for them to see that everything and anything can be harmful,” Winterfeld said. He added that all NCOA courses will receive instruction on IEDs, but only ANCOC will receive advanced training.

Hibbs said posters showing different types of IEDs will be placed in all the classrooms this week, and the students will have kits to show how easily IEDs are made in the near future. Once they become familiar with IEDs, the students will be put in situations where they have to respond to the IEDs accordingly.

Another subject included in the new POI is 16 hours of futures training.

“Futures will cover anything that’s up and coming in the Army from doctrine changes to stability, lessons-learned, modularity to information on the new Stryker,” Hibbs said. “It’ll be a continuing and revolving subject, which will benefit these senior NCOs.”

Lt. Col. Roy Krueger, Combined Arms and Tactics Directorate chief, and Lt. Col. Jeffrey Sanderson, Stryker Transition Team chief, started off with the first futures classes, which were well received by the ANCOC students, Hibbs said.

Another change is the concurrent training in ANCOC and the Infantry Officers Basic Course.

“It’s the first time ANCOC students conduct training with IOBC,” Hibbs said. “The students will develop situational-training exercise packets, and the 10 best NCOs will be chosen for the weeklong exchange training.”

The ANCOC and IOBC training begins Oct. 12 at the McKenna military operations in urban terrain training site.

“The new POI ensures current and future NCOs receive the training and information they need instead of just meeting the time requirement,” Hibbs said. “It’s a good, but challenging, change that will continue to receive updates when needed.”