Staff Sgt. Allan Russell, a squad leader with Company C, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div., and the rest of a basic noncommissioned officer's course class look on as an instructor demonstrates proper safety and technique on the engagement skills trainer's .50 caliber machine gun, July 2. This class is unique in that it's taught by a mobile training team out of Fort Benning, Ga., which brings the school to Fort Riley, saving the Army money and the Soldiers time with their families. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Nathaniel Smith, 4th BCT PAO)

MOBILE TRAINING TEAM BRINGS COURSE TO RILEY

 

Until recently, Soldiers returning from deployment who needed to attend schools would have to sacrifice a month away from their families to get the education needed for advancement.

 

A Mobile Training Team out of Fort Benning, Ga., is trying to fix that problem by taking the training to 82 infantrymen with the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division who recently returned from a 14-month tour in Baghdad.

 

Staff Sgt. Brian Ratel, a small group instructor with the Infantry branch’s Noncommissioned Officer Academy, said in addition to the extra time with families, there are other benefits to the program.

 

“First and foremost, it saves the Army and the units a lot of money,” the Grass Valley, Calif., native said. He said with “All the stuff the unit has to buy and issue, it’s a lot easier maneuver-wise and it’s a lot more cost-effective.

 

“It also saves the unit a lot of time. They can start getting those NCOs pushed through the academy by setting up home station MTTs.”

 

Staff Sgt. Adrian Lopez, a squad leader with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th IBCT from Lorraine, Ohio, agreed with Ratel.

 

“I think it’s a good idea to bring the course to us. They sent a good team here,” he said. “These guys seem to know what they’re doing. It’s well-planned out, which makes it easier for us.”

 

Lopez added he was excited when he found out he could stay at Fort Riley to complete his Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course.

 

Staff Sgt. Allan Russell, a squad leader with Company C, 1^st Bn., 28th Inf. and native of Layton, Utah, said he liked that he did not have to be away from his family after the long deployment.

 

“It’s a lot more convenient while I still get the training and education, and I get to go home and be with my family,” the father of one said. “I don’t have to deal with any of the hardships of being away.”

 

Aside from the added convenience and cost-effectiveness of the course, Lopez said the training itself is still up to standard.

 

“I’m looking to sharpen my NCO skills. No matter who you are, where you’ve been, how long you’ve been in, you can always learn new things,” he said. “Every time you get together with fellow NCOs, no matter what you think you know, you can always learn things from the people around you.

 

“You come here thinking you know all these things but those skills are perishable. It’s important to have people come here to refresh those skills.“