WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 9, 2007 -- The Army’s Noncommissioned Officer training and education programs are getting a thorough update to make them more relevant to soldiers who are deployed more frequently and have less time for training, and who also want to get civilian college credit for their military education.
 
The NCO education system is also adapting to the fact that NCOs are taking on greater responsibilities at lower echelons than was the case when the system was designed, said Command Sergeant Major John Sparks, the CSM of Training and Doctrine Command, speaking at a forum October 9.
 
One of the biggest changes in the NCO education system is the shortening of the basic noncommissioned officers course (BNCOC) and advanced noncommissioned officers course (ANCOC). The courses, which have been up to 25 weeks long, are too long, given that soldiers today may only have a year between deployments abroad, Sparks said.
 
“So it’s obvious we need to shorten the class lengths,” he said. The goal is to shorten the courses to eight weeks. As of now, 109 of 131 BNCOCs have been reduced to eight weeks, as well as 73 of 80 ANCOCs. The courses have been shortened by eliminating unnecessary elements, as well as by extending the school day and having courses on Saturdays as well.
 
The rest are in the process of getting shortened, and in the future courses may be shortened even further, perhaps to six weeks. “Eight weeks is not a magic number,”  Sparks said.
 
In addition, the courses will be oriented towards higher echelons than before. BNCOC – to be renamed the Advanced Leader Course – will train NCOs for squad and platoon command. ANCOC will be renamed Senior Leader Course and will teach platoon and company command, he said.
 
 Sparks also outlined other  initiatives in NCO education, such as the Army Career Tracker, an online tool to help enlisted soldiers more easily navigate their educational path. The site will collect all of  a soldier’s educational records in one place and recommend further courses appropriate to the soldier.
 
Army Career Tracker will also automate the process for getting college credit for Army education. That process will also be made easier by the new College of the American Soldier, a consortium of several civilian two- and four-year colleges and universities that will regularize the process of getting college credit and more closely integrate civilian college education into the NCO education system,  Sparks said.
 
“We will change the way we train NCOs but we won’t change what’s important about being an NCO,” he said.

 
POC:
John Grady
Director of Communications
Association of the U.S. Army
(703) 907-2613
jgrady@ausa.org