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                         January 25, 2002

More schools to teach BNCOC, ANCOC common core

By Jim Caldwell

FORT MONROE, Va. (Army News Service) -- More schools in The Army School System are now teaching the stand-alone common core for basic and advanced NCO courses. The pilot program began this month.

"Expanding throughout TASS gives even more soldiers the opportunity to complete the common core phase of BNCOC and ANCOC at or near their home installations," said Sgt. Maj. Steve Merrill, chief of the NCO branch for the Deputy Chief of Staff for Training at the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command.

The U.S. Army Reserve NCO Academy at Fort Lewis, Wash., and the South Carolina Army National Guard in Eastover, S.C., began teaching the stand-alone common core in classes that started Jan. 4. The 3747th USAR Multifunctional Training Brigade (Europe), Grafenwoehr, Germany, starts classes later this month.

In May the NCO Academy in Alaska and the 25th Infantry Division NCO Academy, Fort Shafter, Hawaii, will enter the pilot program and begin teaching the common core.

Branch-specific NCO academies began teaching common core basic leadership tasks as Phase 1 for both BNCOC and ANCOC courses last October. Soldiers must pass this Phase I before taking the MOS-specific Phase II in residence.

"NCOs selected by Personnel Command to attend BNCOC and ANCOC may take the stand-alone common core at any location that teaches it, regardless of military occupational specialty, as long as it’s within 50 miles of where they’re stationed," Merrill said.

Soldiers will not be reimbursed for mileage if they elect to take the common core at or near their home installation.

"If I’m an infantry soldier stationed at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., I have the alternative to take the BNCOC or ANCOC stand-alone common core at Fort Huachuca. Then I can go to my Phase II at Fort Benning, Ga.," said Jeffrey Coliman, senior military analyst in DCST’s personnel proponent directory.

That means that it will be two less weeks a soldier must be away from the family, Colimon said. It will also be two less weeks for which the Army won’t have to pay temporary duty costs to send the soldier to his or her branch school.

To attend a branch school of another MOS on the same installation, an NCO must have been selected to attend ANCOC or BNCOC by Army Personnel Command, Army National Guard or Army Reserve personnel. The school also must have room in a class.

"The interesting aspect of the stand-alone common core training in Europe is that it will be done by distance learning," Colimon said. "It will be broadcast through video teletraining from Grafenwoehr to several locations in Germany and to other locations in Europe, such as Vicenza, Italy."

Merrill also said active soldiers can only take the stand-alone common core at RC schools when the training is conducted as a two-week block of instruction. Active soldiers are not permitted to attend training that is done on scattered weekends, nights or during other reserve component training periods.

More TASS schools will be added each year so that by 2004 the stand-alone common core will be taught in schools convenient to nearly every soldier, TRADOC officials said.

"The Army School System is one system, one standard, so every soldier taking the stand-alone common core will receive identical training no matter which school he or she attends," Merrill said.

Editor’s note: Jim Caldwell writes for the TRADOC News Service.