ALC-Common Core gets an update

Lessons learned influence revisions to online portion of midgrade-NCO course

By JENNIFER MATTSON NCO Journal

he Advanced Leader Course-Common Core, taught via distance learning from the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy at Fort Bliss, Texas, is in the process of updating its course material to reflect the changing atmosphere on the ground. ALC-Common Core focuses on tasks all staff sergeants need to know, regardless of military occupational specialty. Sgt. Maj. Scott Denson, director of ALC-Common Core distance learning at USASMA, said the new course focuses more intensely on conducting counterinsurgency techniques, monitoring electronic warfare, counseling subordinates and supporting Soldiers families. We looked at the course, and it is a little outdated based on the lessons learned during the Global War on Terrorism, Denson said. Were looking at what Soldiers need to be doing when theyre in that midgrade-NCO level. In the new course, we tried to incorporate tasks that are more relevant to todays Army. Though some of the content will change, the purpose, length and facilitation of the course will remain the same: The course will still be taught through distance learning; Soldiers will still have 90 days to complete it; and it will still be broken down into five modules, Denson said. The length of the course wont change, Denson said. Big Army tells us this is a 90-day facilitated course and that its 80.4 hours [of online instruction]. The only things that change are some of the tasks. We look at whats needed, but we also bring NCOs to a critical-task site selection board every three years. These NCOs come [to USASMA to] sit down, examine the tasks and select the tasks they think are the most critical to the Soldier. After the last critical task site selection board held September 2010 at USASMA, the group determined there were some things that needed to be taught in ALC to make sure the sergeants and staff sergeants who graduate from the course are equipped with the information theyll need to lead troops, Denson said. The main focus of our course now is on leadership skills, NCO duties, and on responsibilities and authority, and how to conduct performance-oriented training that is the nucleus of this course, Denson said. The tasks that we have outlined in this course feed into one of those areas. The course remains important and should not be taken lightly, Denson said. Now that the Army is in a slower

operational tempo, sergeants will have a harder time being promoted to staff sergeant if they fail to take the course because there will be no more waivers for those who fail to complete or pass the course. The course had an 82 percent graduation rate for fiscal year 2011. Soldiers fail to graduate the course for a variety of reasons, including not communicating effectively with the facilitator of the course, not staying within the timelines and not understanding that the course is taught to doctrine. Some sergeants and staff sergeants, though, have failed the course through no fault of their own, Denson said. Content changes Soldiers are enrolled in the course by Human Resources The revised content of the 80.4-hour Command at Fort Knox, Ky. Advanced Leader Course-Common HRC then sends an email to Core now features new topics, Soldiers AKO accounts to let which include: them know they are enrolled X Communicating effectively in the course. X Implementing the Army Family If Soldiers fail to underTeam Building Program stand the importance of the enrollment or fail to check X Integrating newly assigned their AKO accounts, they Soldiers can unwittingly jeopardize X Counseling subordinates their careers, Denson said. X The history of the NCO Corps The leaders of ALC-Common X Supervising range operations Core are working with HRC X Training for full-spectrum to identify a solution in the operations notification process for these Soldiers, he added. X Understanding public affairs Graduates of the course principles receive a DA Form 87 (a certificate of training). The course is part of the NCO Education System course and takes the place of Structured Self-Development level 2, Denson said. This is part of NCOES; its not just a correspondence course, Denson said. Its a course that people have to complete in order to move on in their career.
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