8/2/2019 Special Forces NCOs Train Leaders

1/28 MARCH 2012

INA

CTION

By Jennifer Mattson NCO Journal

When captains arrive at the Special Forces Quali-cation Course, their primary instructors areNCOs who have been on small Special Forces

teams downrange.Tese NCOs take their skills, expertise and knowledge,

and instruct their uture leaders on what each member o a

Special Forces team is capable o. Aer graduation, SFQCstudents will join an operational detachment A (or SpecialForces A team) downrange.

Master Sgt. Shawn Tompson, an 18F special orces in-telligence sergeant, served on a team or three years beorecoming to the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special WarareCenter and School at Fort Bragg, N.C., as an instructor orthe SFQCs military occupational specialty phase or 18A

detachment ocers.Te inside joke is were training captains who are sup

posed to be smarter than us, Tompson said. But [theirknowledge is all] book knowledge, and we show them hoto apply that book knowledge the way it needs to be ap-plied. Tats the strength o the NCO.

Te NCOs who train the captains at this course bringa diferent perspective how teams operate and what

each team member brings to the table, Tompson said. AODA is made up o a 12-man team: a detachment com-mander, an assistant detachment commander, a team ser-geant, a special orces intelligence sergeant, two weaponssergeants, two engineer sergeants, two communicationssergeants and two medical sergeants.

Knowing who is responsible or what and how NCOswork together is critical, Tompson said. Tat inormatiois what NCOs pass along to captains during the 14-weekMOS portion o the course.

Weve had so much team time, held diferent positionon teams and have watched a lot o captains, Tompson

spcl fc nCo

h ldInstructors share their experience to teach the next generation

Captains are brieed by host-nation military members

Sept. 20 during an exercise at the Special Forces Qualifca-tion Course at Fort Bragg, N.C. NCOs run the course and act

as instructors and role players. PHOTO BY Jennifer maTTsOn

8/2/2019 Special Forces NCOs Train Leaders

2/2 NCO JOURNAL

said. Captains only get a couple years on a team; anNCO can get 13 years on a team. You see a lot o captainscome through, you see how they interact, you know whata team is responsible or. And what each section on theteam does, you have that expertise yoursel. By bringingthat to the table, youre able to bring to the captains howa team operates and, basically, allow him to nd his placeon a team.

Master Sgt. Steve Everett has served 14 months at the

Special Warare Center as an instructor and served twoyears in Okinawa, Japan, as a team leader.

He said NCOs bring their downrange experience tocaptains in the classroom so that those captains can seedirectly how textbook theories and tactics are applied onthe battleeld.

We have to make sure that they understand whats be-ing taught, not just on a book basis, but on an operationalbasis, Everett said. NCOs have been in the environment,and we know what works in that kind o small SpecialForces team.

NCOs help expose ocers to the realities their Soldierswill ace and the things the ocers will have to keep in

mind when theyre downrange, Everett said.[A captain] needs to be able to consult the senior non-

commissioned ocer and the rest o the men on his team,Everett said. Ocers are oriented toward planning; NCOsare more directed toward taking care o their men.

During the course, NCO instructors act primarily asobservers. Tey assist and guide ocers through the train-ing, and can be used as a resource. Tey also lead aer-action reviews once the training missions are complete.

Steve McDaniel, a retired sergeant major, served 18years on a Special Forces team, 16 o which were spentdownrange. He currently serves as a contractor with the

SFQC, where he provides inormation to the commandabout students in the course and guidesstudents through role playing, which isbased on doctrine and his experience.

It says a lot about NCOs that are[teaching here], he said. It says a lotabout the command that NCOs areenabled to teach these ocers everythingthey need to know so they can be suc-cessul commanders.

A lot o time, you dont get that NCOpoint o view, McDaniel continued. Allo these NCOs have served on a team

as an NCO team leader. Tey know theweaknesses that theyve seen in the past,as well as the strengths. Teyre the onlyones here with team experience. Anocer cant share what the Soldiers onthe team eel like; they can command

a lot better i they know what the guys on the team areexperiencing.

Sgt. Maj. Gil Vargas, who oversees the instructors dur-ing the MOS-training portion o SFQC, said that being aninstructor can help an NCOs career. An instructor at theschool has the best promotion potential to become a stafsergeant or sergeant rst class within the special opera-

tions community, he said.It expands an NCOs horizon and prepares him or the

next level o responsibility by executing his duties here,Vargas said. Its a very challenging job as an NCO here be-cause now you have guys who are really, really smart. TeNCOs have to stay one step in ront o them all the time

Te NCOs also have to demonstrate their proessional-ism, qualication and experience daily, Vargas said.

I you look at what the denition o a proessionalis, my view is its a guy whos in shape, whos very smart,thinks outside the box, is committed to his mission andhas passion or what he does, Vargas said. Tose are the

guys I have working here as ar as NCOs.

uMaster Sgt. Steve Everett bries cap-

tains Sept. 20 on their next mission duringthe Special Forces Qualifcation Course

at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special

Warare Center and School at Fort Bragg.PHOTO BY Jennifer maTTsOn

Wh h l

Special Forces Qualifcation Course graduates earn the privilege

o wearing the Special Forces tab and the green beret. But beore

they graduate, Soldiers complete extensive training in:

u Special Forces history

u Language and culture

u Special Forces tactical combat skills

u Military operational specialty training

u Unconventional warare practicum (commonly reerred to as

Robin Sage)