New STX is now 96 hours
The combat focus of the course culminates in a 96-hour Situational Training Exercise or STX. Nine battle drills and 39 warrior tasks are the framework driving the planning, preparation, rehearsal and execution of all squad operations, This STX is competency-based, battle-focused, grounded in a combat scenario, driven by troop-leadingprocedures, officials said.
Instructors must complete certification before leading and evaluating students. The WLC also requires trainers to have squad leader and platoon sergeant experience and to be certified to teach the entire curriculum.
NCOES has been changing since WWII
The post-World War II NCO Academies at division level began a great tradition of NCO education that continues today. The concept was later adopted Armywide, but it initially provided education only to Combat Arms Soldiers. PLDC integrated Soldiers from all fields, but instructors were not certified.
The Warrior Leader Course is the first course to apply the same combat leader-specific training standard for all Soldiers, regardless of gender or background, Schexnayder said.
G1/G3 set long-term goals
The long-term goal is to train all specialists with promotion potential at the WLC, Schexnayder said. He said the course will teach specialists how to be an NCO and focus on leading, training, caring, maintaining, and warrior skills.
The WLC will prepare Soldiers for promotion to sergeant and for assignments in teams, crews, and squads. Conceptually, graduating Soldiers could be appointed to corporal upon graduation, he said – effectively symbolizing their transition from “follower” to “leader.”
Gerald Purcell, a retired sergeant major now serving as a personnel policy integrator for G1 Enlisted Professional Development, said “In concert with this philosophy, and in an effort to ensure all Soldiers are trained before the Army asks them to perform at the next level, only corporals would attain eligibility for recommendation to sergeant.”
This is strictly a long-term goal, explained Schexnayder, adding that there is currently no timeline to implement such requirements for promotion to sergeant.
