Military Review English Edition November-December 2014 | Page 41

THE PEN AND THE SWORD

provide the theoretical guidance that will drive when,
where, and how the Army develops leaders in the
twenty-first century. They provide the basis to determine the way ahead for the development of Army
NCOs.
A review of Army concepts, which outline the
projected OE and a vision for the future force, showed
analysts what to prepare our NCOs for in the year
2020 and beyond. The next challenge was determining
how to prepare them. The Center for Army Leadership
and the Army Innovations and Initiatives Division
were instrumental in collecting data and providing trend analysis to identify the gaps in the current
development of NCOs. The 2012 Center for Army
Leadership Annual Survey of Army Leadership: Main
Finding Technical Report 2013-1 supplied empirical
data to the Institute for Noncommissioned Officer
Professional Development, identifying problems in

NCO professional certifications and gaps in current
NCO professional development strategies.14 The Army
Innovations and Initiatives Division’s NCOES needs
analysis examined ways to improve the NCOES and
provided recommendations to United States Army
Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and the
Institute for Noncommissioned Officer Professional
Development.
According to analysis, many aspects of the Army’s
training system will remain task-based. The competencies identified in the study represent broader sets
of skills necessary to enable task performance within
the context of complex OEs. Unlike many tasks with
discrete performance standards and a definitive end
to the performance, the competencies are in a broader
skills construct within the Army learning model. These
evolved from ALC 2015. ALC 2015 is the learning
environment the Army envisions in 2015.15

U.S. Army soldiers assigned to 412th Aviation Support Battalion conduct training using the Dismounted Soldier Training System (DSTS) at
the 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command at Grafenwoehr, Germany, 11 December 2013. The DSTS is the first fully-immersive
virtual simulation for infantry, and one of several virtual training systems available to U.S., partnered, and allied forces in Europe.
(Photo by Markus Rauchenberger, Training Support Center Grafenwoehr)

MILITARY REVIEW  November-December 2014

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