Army Education and Training System Overview

The Army has made a serious commitment regarding the development of its Soldiers and future leaders. The Army believes that well-developed leaders are the result of progressive and sequential education, training, and experience. It promotes three pillars of leader development: institutional training, operational assignments, and self-development. For purposes of COOL, the Army's institutional training was compared to certification requirements. What follows is a brief description of each level of training.

• In Advanced Individualized Training (AIT) Soldiers learn the skills necessary to perform their jobs. In general, AIT is a classroom learning environment similar to college or vocational technical school. In fact, over 60 percent of advanced military training courses are certified for college credit by the American Council on Education. Advanced training schools last from a few weeks to a few months, depending upon the complexity of the subject matter. Soldiers receive their military occupational specialty (MOS) upon completion of AIT.
• The Warrior Leader Course (WLC), formerly called Primary Leadership Development Course (PLDC), is the first leadership course Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) attend. WLC is a month-long course that teaches Specialists and Corporals the basic skills to lead small groups of Soldiers. This course is hard hitting and intensive with emphasis on leadership skills and prepares Soldiers to advance to the rank of Sergeant.
• The Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course (BNCOC) is between two to 55 weeks, depending upon the MOS, and consists of two or more phases. Phase I, which is a stand-alone common core, uses the small group instruction process to teach the theory and principles of battle-focused common core training, leadership, and war fighting skills required to lead a squad-sized element in combat. Phase II is “hands on,” performance-oriented technical training that is specific to the MOS. Promotion to Staff Sergeant is contingent upon successful completion of BNCOC.
• The Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course (ANCOC) is structured similarly to BNCOC, and prepares Non-Commisioned Officers (NCOs) to assume the duties and responsibilities needed to lead a platoon-sized element. ANCOC has a phase I stand-alone common core as well as proponent phases that include hands-on and performance-oriented training. ANCOC is conducted at resident service schools and the course length depends upon the MOS. Promotion to Sergeant First Class (SFC) is contingent upon successful completion of ANCOC.
• The Sergeants Major Course (SMC) prepares selected Master Sergeants (MSG) to perform the duties of Sergeant Major (SGM) and Command Sergeant Major (CSM) for staff and troop assignments. The SMC is the pinnacle of the enlisted education system, and is a prerequisite for promotion to SGM and appointment to CSM. This senior-level training is obtained through a nine-month resident course taught at Fort Bliss, TX, or through a two-year non-resident course for the Reserve Component and selected Active Army personnel.

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