Fort Bliss, TX –
Commandants from various NCO Academies (NCOAs) converged at the NCO Leadership Center of Excellence (NCOLCoE) on Fort Bliss, Texas, to take part in the Commandant’s Pre Command Course (CPCC). The week-long event began on February 24 and was hosted by the NCOLCoE. Various representatives from departments from across the NCOLCoE gave presentations and answered questions from the new commandants.
The training course had a focus on mentorship, with two mentors leading some of the discussions. Both of these senior mentors formerly served as NCOA commandants and were able to bring their personal experience to the discussion table.
One of the attendants of the CPCC was Command Sgt. Maj. Dorian Brumley, currently serving as the commandant for the Louisiana Regional Training Institute. He said the class had many valuable takeaways for him and his peers. “Some of the key take aways were the duties and responsibilities. While these responsibilities are clearly spelled out in regulation, it is good to collectively come together with other commandants and have the chance to discuss how we implement those regulations at our particular installations. Most of us have the same challenges just in different locations.”
Brumley is a Soldier in the National Guard and students attending his NCOA are drawn from both the active-duty force and the National Guard. Brumley said it was helpful to make more connections with Soldiers on the active-duty side.
“This class helps us understand the challenges of today so we can prepare to meet the challenges of tomorrow.”
The mentors were able to address some of the challenges that the nine new commandants are likely to encounter. They also offered advice and helped to guide discussions.
For Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Deserto, this was his third time attending the CPCC. He participated as one of the senior mentors drawing from his own experience as the commandant of the Fort Cavasos and III Corps NCOA.
“I am just sharing my experience and things I have done as a commandant to assist others in improving the education and leadership at their academy. I have been there as a commandant and can share a lot of experience with newer commandants.” Deserto said he provides the students with the best advice he can from his own experience to make their time as a commandant successful.
“Our role is to educate Soldiers in the Basic Leader Course. We send those students back to the force with what they learned to improve their organization and assist their leaders,” said Deserto on the place of the NCOA in the Army’s warfighting mission.
All in attendance left with new tools and connections to help make their respective NCOAs better places to prepare NCOs to become the leaders and warfighters of tomorrow.