The Army recently introduced a new version of its premier training manual to help leaders from sergeants to generals improve their unit’s readiness.
“Train to Win in a Complex World” is the title of the new Field Manual 7-0. The digital field manual explains Army training strategies and new initiatives for assessing Army training readiness. What’s more, the manual offers links to online training resources.
Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Mark A. Milley said the new field manual will help the force achieve his No. 1 priority — readiness.
“Training is the key task to improve our readiness,” he said. “Realistic, hard, rigorous, repetitive training increases combat performance and reduces friendly casualties. Read, understand and use [the manual].”
Col. Steve York is the director of Training Management Directorate, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the organization that wrote the new Field Manual 7-0.
“The field manual is the primary source for leaders — noncommissioned officers to division commanders — to find the information they need on how to conduct successful training,” York said. “It gives Soldiers the ability to pick up a single-source document that tells them how to plan, prepare, execute and assess training events.”
The field manual details how to plan training events, conduct training meetings, write after-action reports and carry out many other training tasks. Field Manual 7-0 will not be published in book form. Soldiers can read the field manual online or download it from the Army Training Network, where it can be found under the What’s Hot section, or the Army Publishing Directorate, where it can be found in the Field Manual section.
Field Manual 7-0 links to Army Training Network’s many resources, including instructional videos, mission-essential task lists, training and evaluation outlines, and best training practices.
“The field manual and online resources will help leaders at every stage of the training process,” York said.
The new Field Manual 7-0 reflects the Army’s transition from preparing units at training centers for a specific mission in Iraq or Afghanistan to training to set standards. The manual will help leaders who have never conducted standards-based training and leaders whose training planning skills have atrophied, York said.
“[Field Manual 7-0] states that the unit commander is at the center of the plan-prepare-execute-assess cycle and much of the training will occur at home station,” he said.
The new field manual also makes training proficiency ratings more specific and more objective. The old proficiency ratings of T (trained), P (needs practice), and U (untrained) have been replaced with T (fully trained), T- (trained), P (practiced), P- (marginally practiced), and U (untrained). The change is designed to give leaders a more accurate picture of their unit’s readiness.
Though it’s new, the field manual returns to time-tested training concepts such as battle-focused training and hip-pocket training.
Battle-focused training meets the commander’s guidance while taking into account limited time and resources. The concept helps leaders understand the responsibility for, and links between, collective mission essential tasks and the individual tasks. The field manual points to online resources to help leaders conduct battle-focused training.
Hip-pocket training usually consists of individual tasks on which the unit can train during inactive periods. Ideally, leaders train these selected tasks in 15 to 30 minutes. The field manual provides examples of hip-pocket training.
By combining the old and new, Field Manual 7-0 shows Army leaders how to conduct training that will help their Soldiers successfully complete their missions.
“The field manual blends long-established training practices with online training resources to meet the Army’s training readiness goals,” York said.
Soldiers of the California Army National Guard and 1st Armored Division conduct joint training at Camp Roberts, California, in May. (Photo by Master Sgt. Paul Wade)
Two-Soldier teams across the Army are studying and training hard as they prepare to compete for the title of best medic.
The Command Sgt. Maj. Jack L. Clark Jr. Best Medic Competition, a 72-hour competition that pushes Soldiers to their physical and mental limits, will take place Oct. 24-27 at Joint Base San Antonio – Fort Sam Houston and nearby Camp Bullis, Texas.
After reacting to fire, competitors in the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School Best Medic Competition had to move an injured Soldier to safety and treat his injuries. Above, Sgt. David Hull inserts an IV into a training arm. (Photo by Meghan Portillo / NCO Journal)
After proving themselves at lower-level competitions, 42 two-person teams will represent divisions, commands, separate brigades and special operations units from throughout the Army. Each team member must have a 68 medical series military occupational specialty and must have earned either the Combat Medical Badge or the Expert Field Medical Badge to be eligible to compete.
The team members representing U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School, which will host the Armywide event, said they plan to utilize every resource available to them at Fort Sam Houston and Camp Bullis as they prepare. Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Cummings of A Company, 264th Medical Battalion, 32nd Medical Brigade, and Sgt. David Hull of C Company, 232nd Medical Battalion, 32nd Medical Brigade, know too well the bitterness of coming in second, and have vowed it will not happen again.
Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Cummings fires an M16 rifle during the AMEDDC&S Best Medic Competition at Camp Bullis, Texas. (Photo by Jose E. Rodriguez / AMEDDC&S)
Hull came in second place at the Best Medic Competition two years ago, and Cummings came in second at the Advanced Individual Training Platoon Sergeant of the Year competition that took place only the week before the AMEDDC&S Best Medic Competition. The disappointment was fresh in their minds.
“You never live down a second place finish, because you are the first loser,” Hull said. “I couldn’t go last year, because my unit was in predeployment training. So this is my chance to go back for first place. I’ve been looking for redemption.”
“We already talked about it,” Cummings said. “We said, ‘Hey, if we are on the team together, we are not getting second. First is the only option.”
Inspiring others to compete
Only five participants competed in September for the title of AMEDDC&S Best Medic. Cummings said he was sad to see younger Soldiers were not making competitions a priority, and decided to compete in both the AMEDDC&S Best Medic Competition and the AIT Platoon Sergeant of the Year competition to inspire his Soldiers and others to compete in the future.
His plan is working. Even before the AMEDDC&S competition came to a close, Cummings said several of his Soldiers approached him, saying, “Hey, let me know what you learn, because I want to compete next year.”
Sgt. David Hull, center, instructs Soldiers as they secure a “casualty” to a litter for evacuation during the AMEDDC&S Best Medic Competition. (Photo by Meghan Portillo / NCO Journal)
“We all need to remember that the Warrior Ethos is more than just for combat,” Cummings said. “You live it every single day. Your desire to go out and fight and win should be instilled here, each and every day, with everything you do. There is no room for complacency. There is no room for just getting by. You push yourself every single day, and you push your peers. You motivate each other. That is how you get better.”
“If I, a sergeant first class, am willing to go out and do back-to-back competitions – neither one a walk in the park, by any means – and still put forth my best effort and give these guys a run for their money, then that’s what it’s all about. We are the best military in the world because we push ourselves and we push each other. We need to keep that going. Even if you don’t win, it still sets you apart, because you are out there demonstrating that you want to get after it. You want to go and push yourself and test yourself and, if nothing else, you will learn, you will improve yourself, and you will at least give the people who do win those competitions a contest worth winning.”
Hull said he also hopes younger Soldiers and NCOs will rise to the challenge and recognize the benefits of competition. Not only would winning set them apart when it comes time for their next promotion, but the process itself is a valuable training opportunity, especially for those who do not practice those skills in their everyday job.
“This is such excellent training,” Hull said. “Everyone comes to win, but even if you don’t win, you leave having learned a lot. And you rarely get this kind of support on lanes like we did. The amount of cadre and personal – they provided an enormous amount of training in just two days.”
Preparing for the Armywide competition
The Command Sgt. Maj. Jack L. Clark Jr. Best Medic Competition is designed to physically and mentally challenge each team and test its tactical medical proficiency and leadership skills.
Events will include a physical fitness challenge, an obstacle course, a written test, a ruck march, and combat, shooting, medical and land-navigation challenges.
Cummings and Hull said they will be resting up and doing as much as they can to prepare before the end of October.
“Every medical course under the sun is here [at AMEDDC&S], pretty much, and we want to take advantage of that,” Cummings said. “We don’t have a lot of time, but the more training we can do, the better.”
The medical tasks are the most daunting and, for him, require the most preparation, Cummings explained.
Sgt. David Hull, left, and Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Cummings cool down with a tub of ice water during the AMEDDC&S Best Medic Competition at Camp Bullis in September. Hull and Cummings were the winners of the competition, and will represent AMEDDC&S in the Command Sgt. Maj. Jack L. Clark Jr. Best Medic Competition. (Photo by Meghan Portillo / NCO Journal)
“Only because there are so many steps. If you miss a step, it can throw everything off,” he said. “For example, if you start an IV before you secure an airway – that is a huge mistake. You are starting an IV to restore circulation and/or maintain blood pressure on somebody who doesn’t even have an airway, so they are dead before you even start the line. You can literally get so focused on what is in front of you that you get that tunnel vision. You can execute an intervention perfectly, but if it is at the wrong time, that is as lethal as not doing anything at all.
“And the chaotic nature of the competition is meant to mimic combat, and it leads to mistakes like that,” he continued. “That stress is built in, and it is realistic. You get so focused on your casualties – and you want to do your best for them. You immediately see something that needs to be fixed, but if you are not careful to step back and look at the big picture, you [could lose them.]”
That is why preparation is key, Cummings said. He is determined to prepare as well as he can, and then once the competition begins, he will focus only on the task before him. He said his experience in the recent AIT Platoon Sergeant of the Year competition will certainly help him, but the experience he will rely on most is his teammate’s, because Hull has actually competed in best medic.
“Cummings’ performance [in the AMEDDC&S Best Medic Competition] is evidence of his ability – after competing for AIT Platoon Sergeant of the Year and having only one day off in between competitions – I think we will make a very strong team,” Hull said. “Get this guy some rest, and he will come back and ‘beast mode’ the Army Best Medic Competition.”
“Were going to tear that stuff up,” Cummings said.
Surrounded by smoke, Sgt. David Hull moves a mannequin onto a litter for medical evacuation. The MEDEVAC lane was one of the competition exercises at the AMEDDC&S Best Medic competition. (Photo by Meghan Portillo / NCO Journal)
Sometimes a person is just in the right place at the right time.
And so it was for Pfc. Katherine Beatty when she learned her chosen military occupational specialty in signal intelligence wasn’t going to work out. Then came an offer too good to pass up.
Why not be the Army’s first female cannoneer?
Pfc. Katherine Beatty is the U. S. military’s first woman to become a cannon crewmember. (Photo by Cindy McIntyre / Fort Sill Tribune)
“They said I could pick a different MOS,” she said of her nine-week holdover after basic combat training. The combat specialty of 13B cannon crewmember was on the list.
“They said there was a lot of heavy lifting, and it’s a pretty high-speed job, and I would be the first female,” she said. “I was pretty excited about it. I called my husband (in Inverness, Florida) He’s infantry and works side by side with 13 Bravos. He told me what to expect, and I just went for it.”
Not only did she pass, she excelled, earning the title of distinguished honor graduate for Class No. 12-16. She was assistant platoon guide and helped teach her peers. She also earned the top scores in several exams and passed her go/no go events, including the High Physical Demand Test, the first time.
She said none of it was easy, especially the first week.
The Army’s new HPDT was in place for the first time, and men and women both need to pass it to graduate from 13B school.
She said the most difficult task was loading and unloading 15 155mm ammunition shells, weighing nearly 100 pounds apiece.
“That was pretty tough,” she said. “We had 15 minutes to do it.”
That means moving 3,000 pounds – a feat even some men couldn’t do.
Pfc. Katherine Beatty’s platoon fired three shells apiece to qualify on the M119A3 howitzer during live-fire training March 1, 2016 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. (Photo by Cindy McIntyre / Fort Sill Tribune)
“I did power lifting and trained with my husband, Charles (before enlisting),” she said of her ability to pass the test. She also went to the gym in her spare time while at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. She said Charles is her hero because of all the support he’s given her.
Beatty earned high praise from her primary AIT instructor, Staff Sgt. Michael Prater, as well as her battle buddies.
“She’s held her own as an APG, as far as leading the Soldiers where they need to be, keeping up with who’s on sick call, who’s in formation, and who’s not,” Prater said after her platoon’s live-fire training in March. “She took good notes and kept up with the training. Pfc. Beatty was an excellent Soldier.”
Pvt. Marc Etinne, one of Beatty’s battle buddies, said initially he wasn’t sure how things were going to work out with a woman in a combat MOS.
“At first I was like, ‘Oh, this is going to be interesting,’” he said. “But then the sergeant talked to us and said anybody in Army green, we have to treat them with respect. She really surprises me with all the physical stuff she can do. She’s been treated just like everybody else. She’s a great Soldier.”
Another battle buddy, Pvt. Jesse Hurtado, agreed. He said having a woman in his 13B class was “awesome.”
“She worked a lot harder than the males did at some point,” he said. “She proved herself. She made her battle buddies push harder because she was there pushing with them. She’s an inspiration, seeing her going through what we’re doing. We all love her. She’s an awesome battle buddy. We all want her to do great in her career.”
Beatty’s platoon specialized in the 105mm lightweight towed M119A3 howitzer. Even though those shells weigh about 30 pounds, all 13B Soldiers need to be able to meet the physical standard with the 155mm shells used in the M777 and the Paladin howitzers. They also need to be able to drag a casualty in combat, so part of the HPDT is to drag a 270-pound skid 20 meters out and back.
Although the physical part of training was grueling, Beatty said she loved it. She and her husband have taken their 2-year-old daughter hiking and lead an active life, she said. Being the first woman wasn’t as much of an obstacle as she thought.
“Everyone treats me like a Soldier, like part of the team,” she said. “There was a lot of positivity from my platoon, the instructors, the NCOs. It’s been really awesome.”
Pfc. Katherine Beatty records firing data during dry-fire training Feb. 24, 2016, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, during 13B cannon crewmember school. (Photo by Cindy McIntyre / Fort Sill Tribune)
Week 4 of training was hands-on dry fire with the M119A3. March 1, her class fired on the equipment they were trained on. Booms from the M777 and the Paladin interspersed with shots fired from Beatty’s team. Finally, it was her turn.
She fired three rounds, then caught the next gunner’s smoking cartridge when it was ejected, and spent time on the radio and recording firing data. When the last round was called, Prater took out a marker and began writing on the shell. Pens materialized and everyone squeezed in to leave their message on it. Beatty’s read “Miss 13B.”
Then she returned to the radio and called, “last round!” The excited cannoneers echoed her, and rushed the round into the chamber. Prater checked the round, held up his hand, and yelled, “stand by,” for the umpteenth time that day. Then he dropped his arm and yelled, “fire!” The round sped off into the distant hillside, and everyone cheered. Then they started tearing down and had a late lunch of meals, ready to eat.
“Everyone was excited in our platoon. I can definitely say that we had a lot of fun today. This is what we’ve been waiting for,” Beatty said.
Although she hoped to go to Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga., Beatty was assigned to Fort Carson, Colorado, following her graduation March 11.
Dozens of women have followed in Beatty’s footsteps to train as 13Bs, and plenty more are still to come. Her advice to them: “Go for it. It’s an awesome job. You’ve got to be strong, both physically and mentally, but there’s definitely a lot of support here.”
Pfc. Katherine Beatty gives tips to her teammate, who is holding four excess gunpowder bags that weren’t needed for the three-increment charge during live-fire training on the M119A3 howitzer in March at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. (Photo by Cindy McIntyre / Fort Sill Tribune)
Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey has asked female NCOs to consider transferring into combat arms military occupational specialties.
More than 100 women have volunteered to join the ranks as combat arms Soldiers, but these Soldiers also need female leaders. Dailey said he hopes female NCOs will answer the call and rise to the challenge.
“These young women have demonstrated the drive and desire to take on some of the most challenging assignments the Army offers,” Dailey wrote in a memo to the force Aug. 1. “As young Soldiers do, they will look for leadership and mentorship from their superiors. Unfortunately, we have not had a sufficient number of serving female Soldiers and NCOs volunteer to transfer into these mentorship and leadership roles.”
In April, the Department of Defense opened the remaining combat-arms MOSs to women, including all positions in 19-series armor and 11-series infantry. Dailey said he personally supports the move to remove all gender-based restrictions, and is glad to see anyone who is qualified, male or female, serve the Army in any capacity.
As it has done in the past when integrating women into an MOS, the Army is taking a “leaders first” approach. Placing female leaders in those MOSs before integrating new Soldiers has been made a priority, but finding those leaders has been a challenge. Dailey is asking more female NCOs to make the change to combat arms because there are still not enough female mentors for the new recruits.
“We need leaders to help shape the next generation of combat Soldiers,” Dailey said. “I know we already have female Soldiers with the drive and ability to be successful in ground combat arms formations. If you think you have what it takes, I am personally asking you to consider transferring to combat arms.”
Dailey noted that it will not be easy. Soldiers are required to pass MOS-specific High Physical Demands Tests, for which men and women are graded on the same scale.
“The standards have and always will be very rigorous,” he said. “You will be challenged both mentally and physically. If you are interested in taking on this challenge and leading our Soldiers into the future, please talk to your career counselor today.”
Pvt. Kaleena Gaeth was one of 16 women in a class of 75 Soldiers who graduated June 3 from Advanced Individual Training as 13B cannon crewmembers at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. (Photo by Meghan Portillo / NCO Journal)
Since February, women have been proving that they have what it takes to be 13B cannon crewmembers, and their NCOs have been guaranteeing each an equal opportunity to rise to the challenge.
“When I first picked this military occupational specialty, I had sergeants telling me it was going to be very hard, that there are going to be males who don’t want me in this job,” said Pvt. Kiara Carbullido, who graduated in June from Advanced Individual Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. “But then they said there will be NCOs who are going to look out for your best interests and push you to be your best, and I think that is exactly what our sergeants have done for us. They are helping us out, making everything equal between the males and the females. Whatever they can do, we can do.”
Pvt. Natasha Madison holds up the four excess gunpowder bags that were not needed for the three-increment charge during live-fire training on the M119A3 howitzer in May at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. (Photo by Meghan Portillo / NCO Journal)
The move to open most field artillery MOSs, including 13Bs, to women came in the fall of 2015, months before the decision was made in January to open all combat arms positions to women. The first female cannon crewmember, Pvt. First Class Katherine Beatty, graduated from AIT at the top of her class in March.
Many AIT platoon sergeants at Fort Sill said they never expected to see women in field artillery positions during their careers. All of them, however, said the gender integration training is going well and expressed a positive hope for the future of women in their MOS.
“Before I retire in the next few years, I would love to see one of the females here today become an NCO, become a staff sergeant, become a section chief,” said 1st Sgt. Marlow Parks, first sergeant of C battery, 1st battalion, 78th Field Artillery Regiment. “I can’t wait to see that, to be honest with you. I’m proud that I have had some kind of part in it, making sure that Soldier initially got the foundation she needed in order to advance. To me, it’s a very rewarding job for me and my cadre to train these females, to see the Army change to where we are today. It’s good. When I am long gone and retired, I can see a female command sergeant major in field artillery. She may be here now; you never know. The sky is the limit for all of these Soldiers, male or female.”
AIT for 13Bs
Throughout the first three weeks of AIT, 13Bs learn about the equipment they will be required to use in their jobs. The first week covers the basics of communication. They learn the ins and outs of the radios and how to record firing data. During the second week, they study the ammunition they will fire – 105mm or 155mm rounds – and how to calculate targets. In the third week, they are introduced to the three artillery pieces they may work with: the M777 howitzer, the M119A3 howitzer, and the M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer.
In the remaining two weeks of AIT, the Soldiers must apply the knowledge they have gained in real-life scenarios and learn how to work as a team. During the fourth week, each platoon takes their specified howitzer into a field near the motor pool for dry-fire training. The Soldiers run crew drills for the first time on the actual weapon. A live fire is conducted during the fifth and final week of training, and each crewmember must fire three shells to qualify on one of the howitzers.
No matter which howitzer a platoon works with, each crewmember must pass the High Physical Demand Test to graduate from AIT. The test levels the playing field, said Staff Sgt. Michael Prater, an AIT instructor for C battery, 1st battalion, 78th Field Artillery. It’s difficult, and the requirements are the same. Both men and women are graded on the same scale.
Pvt. Nareisha George prepares an ammunition round for a fuse during live-fire training in May at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. (Photo by Meghan Portillo / NCO Journal)
“I have no problem with females being integrated into this MOS,” Prater said. “They are just like any other individual. It depends on whether they can stand up to the physical demands of being a 13B. That’s the reason they have to pass the Army Physical Fitness Test as soon as they get here, and then they go into the HPDT, where I have seen males fail just as much as females. It depends on the physical attributes of that person. Are they able to handle that stress? Able to handle those different MOS-related activities?”
Among other strenuous tasks in the HPDT, Soldiers must demonstrate their ability to load and unload 15 ammunition shells in 15 minutes. Each 155mm shell weighs about 100 pounds, so Soldiers are effectively moving 3,000 pounds in 15 minutes – a difficult feat, regardless of gender.
“It feels amazing to be one of the first females here,” said Pvt. Jennifer Moreira, who also graduated in June. “The men aren’t used to it – they don’t expect us to do much, and it feels good to prove them wrong. They tend to say, ‘Oh, hey, let me get this.’ No. We’ve got it. I like to prove them wrong. It’s challenging, and these rounds are heavy, but our NCOs treat us all equally. They give us the opportunity to prove ourselves, and I think we all take advantage of that and prove we can pull our own weight. I am proud of all of us females. I am proud of what we can do.”
Carbullido said she and the other women in her class would never use their femininity as a crutch or an excuse. They are more concerned with proving their worth. They chose this MOS because they know they have what it takes, she said. They don’t want any handouts.
“In this job I feel like, finally, I can do something the same as guys – protecting my family and the United States of America,” Carbullido said. “It’s badass. I’m so honored to be a female in field artillery.”
Sgt. Shannon Johnson, a platoon sergeant for C battery, 1st battalion, 78th Field Artillery, said he had heard NCOs express concerns that women would try to get away with doing less than their male battle buddies. However, the opposite has proven true.
Pvt. Bethany May communicates with her crew on the radio while Pvt. Michael Richardson records firing data during live-fire training at the end of AIT in May at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. (Photo by Meghan Portillo / NCO Journal)
“The physical demands testing has pretty much changed everybody’s views of having females in artillery because – you would be surprised – most females are able to pass it, and some males are not,” Johnson said. “There is always a technique. I have had big males that fail it. And smaller females come in here and just knock it out, first time go, with ease. I think most males think, ‘I’m strong; I’ve got this. I don’t need to prep for it.’ But the females come in, and we have rounds laying around. You see them on the weekends practicing, because they feel like they have to go the extra mile to prove they are worthy of being 13B cannon crewmembers. In my opinion, they are way ahead of the game.
“For all of our Soldiers, their hard work is worth it when they actually shoot that first round and see the cannon go off,” he said. “We had some females shoot for the first time last week. That look on their face – yeah. It is worth the hard work they put in to it. I always tell them the hardest part is prepping to go to the field. Once you are out there and are shooting and you see the camaraderie of the team coming together, you’re like, ‘Yeah, I’m part of something pretty awesome.’”
Adjustments for leadership
For Soldiers new to the Army, working alongside women is all they have known. But senior leadership will feel the minor adjustments, Johnson said.
Practical changes had to be made, including providing separate living quarters and separate outhouses in the field, and before the first woman attended AIT, leadership was required to complete a refresher course on Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention.
“I haven’t had to make too many changes,” Prater said. “Some things, like porta-potties, we have to label them to make sure the males don’t go into the porta-potties that the females use. Sick call is a little different. If a female has a female problem she has to take care of or go see a doctor about, that’s different, as opposed to a regular sprained foot or something to that nature. But training is no different. They wear the same ear plugs, eat the same MREs. So it’s just minor adjustments we have had to make as instructors.”
Pvt. Elisa Chaboya was one of 16 women in a class of 75 Soldiers who graduated June 3 from Advanced Individual Training as 13B cannon crewmembers at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. (Photo by Meghan Portillo / NCO Journal)
Staff Sgt. Allan Avendrano agreed the changes have felt minor, but said the overall experience has challenged him to be a better, more professional leader.
“Learning to lead females has definitely rounded me out as a leader, as an NCO. I never thought – not once – in my career, ever, that I was going to have female Soldiers to lead. I’ve been in the Army for 11 years, and this is my first time leading them, teaching them. And the No. 1 adjustment I had to make has got to be my language,” he said with a laugh. “You can ask anybody on the gun line, and I’m fairly sure that is going to be the first thing they will say. They have to clean up their language a little bit more, but that comes with professionalism.”
“‘Stop crying like a little girl’ is something you would never say with females in your platoon,” Johnson said. “No belittling language. We see the females work just as hard, and our language should reflect respect.”
Parks said he tells his NCOs to remain confident in their leadership skills. The Army has prepared them well for this. The NCO Creed states “All Soldiers are entitled to outstanding leadership; I will provide that leadership. … I will be fair and impartial when recommending both rewards and punishment.” As long as they follow TRADOC Regulation 350-6 [Enlisted Initial Entry Training Policies and Administration,] he said, they will do well.
“If you’ve got one standard for the male, it should be the same for the female. That is what I tell all my instructors. If you are a hard NCO, continue to be as hard with the female Soldiers as you would with the male Soldiers. Go from the book. Go from the manual. You will be all right.”
Since February, women have been integrating into the 13B Cannon Crewmember military occupational specialty. Pvt. Natasha Madison was one of 16 females in a class of 75 Soldiers who graduated June 3 from Advanced Individual Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. (Photo by Meghan Portillo / NCO Journal)
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