My leadership philosophies remain the same as I reflect on my experience with the Advance Leadership Course (ALC). I still stand firm in my belief that leaders create effective leaders not followers. Two months with my peers provided an opportunity to network and share experiences about our new career. I avoided listening to naysayers and doubters about ALC leading up my departure. I arrived with a positive attitude, thirsty for knowledge. I was already comfortable being a leader of soldiers. The challenge was remembering everything I had learned from my training in Pensacola, Fl. The first month of ALC was fantastic, as I learned about analytical, critical and creative thinking. A topic I find extremely valuable with my career.
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As a Cryptologic Network Warfare NCO, my training leading up to ALC was substandard. In fact, the entire class had less than a year in this new MOS. Couple this with our SGL debacle and you have a recipe for failure. Our profession requires skills that are perishable if not used daily. Less than a year after my MOS training, I arrived to my unit and immediately became a squad leader. This was great, but my days are now filled with soldier duties, not my MOS. I’m not alone as my classmates have the same issues. I sadly admit that I was not properly prepared for the second half of ALC. This was my biggest frustration. Most of the ALC material was outdated and several of the exercise didn’t work. It also didn’t help that our new SGL wasn’t familiar with most of the material. We spent most of the time just speculating and guessing. I regretfully have to return to my unit with a half empty tool belt. On a positive note, I am now motivated to regain my interest in cyber. I refuse to let my skills and knowledge dissipate. Life is about survival and learning everything you can without regret or remorse. I’ll continue to take care of soldiers, but I will now become more aggressive and selfish in my training as I see clearly that this is
As a Cryptologic Network Warfare NCO, my training leading up to ALC was substandard. In fact, the entire class had less than a year in this new MOS. Couple this with our SGL debacle and you have a recipe for failure. Our profession requires skills that are perishable if not used daily. Less than a year after my MOS training, I arrived to my unit and immediately became a squad leader. This was great, but my days are now filled with soldier duties, not my MOS. I’m not alone as my classmates have the same issues. I sadly admit that I was not properly prepared for the second half of ALC. This was my biggest frustration. Most of the ALC material was outdated and several of the exercise didn’t work. It also didn’t help that our new SGL wasn’t familiar with most of the material. We spent most of the time just speculating and guessing. I regretfully have to return to my unit with a half empty tool belt. On a positive note, I am now motivated to regain my interest in cyber. I refuse to let my skills and knowledge dissipate. Life is about survival and learning everything you can without regret or remorse. I’ll continue to take care of soldiers, but I will now become more aggressive and selfish in my training as I see clearly that this is