Tajik officers train with Virginia Guard

Story courtesy of the Virginia National Guard

The 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute and the Virginia Officer Candidate School hosted a delegation of three Tajik field grade officers from the Tajikistan Military Institute, as well as Maj. Joe Gross, a U.S. Embassy liaison in Tajikistanas part of the State Partnership Program, Sept. 20-24, 2010. (Courtesy photo)
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FORT PICKETT, Va., (10/7/10) -- The 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute and the Virginia Officer Candidate School hosted a delegation of three Tajik field grade officers from the Tajikistan Military Institute, as well as Maj. Joe Gross, a U.S. Embassy liaison in Tajikistanas part of the State Partnership Program, Sept. 20-24.

The Tajiks participated in a workshop with OCS staff as they analyzed the current OCS Program of Instruction and tried to assimilate applicable areas into creating a 20-day program for their Institute graduates as they prepare to stand up a peacekeeping battalion.

“Throughout the workshop the Tajiks were very open-minded and willing to hear and discuss ideas on how to improve their training methodology,” said 1st Lt. Carlos Maldonado, OCS training officer.

Col. Marie Mahoney, commander of the 183rd RTI, kicked off the week with a briefing on the training capabilities of the RTI and outlined the training curriculum and phases of the Virginia OCS, as well as setting expectations and guidelines for the workshop.

In the afternoon, Command Sgt. Maj. Skip Halfacre, the 183rd RTI command sergeant major, gave the Tajik officers a tour of the new RTI facility. He explained the training advantages that the new facility would provide as well the increased throughput the schoolhouse would experience due to these upgrades.

Maj. Tom Klump, commander of the Virginia Guard OCS, facilitated the second day with support from Maldonado. First, the group laid out the Tajik officer career training timeline and identified the best opportunity to impact training.

“We determined the best time to be right after commissioning from the TMI and before reporting to their first unit,” said Maldonado. “Then we identified which portions of our program of instruction they were interested in as well as identifying other training they are interested in. These included Warrior Tasks and battle drills, mounted and dismounted land navigation and first aid.”

On Wednesday a worksheet was developed to gather specifics on each of the areas the Tajiks identified.

“The purpose of this worksheet was to set out realistic goals and expectations for the particular tasks they identified such as training duration, equipment needs, translation required, instructor-to- student ratios and evaluation and testing standards,” said Maldonado.

The workshop ended on Sept. 23 with an out-brief in which the goals and accomplishments were re-stated as well as possible next steps such as determining future logistics, researching and building a training plan and the creation of a Field Leadership Exercise that incorporates all of the training.

The Tajiks also participated in rollover training at Range Control, as well as observed Pathfinder School Training at Range 7.

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