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Jeff Cook
4th November 2000, 02:45
Well, I'm en-route to Ft. Jackson for ANCOC. Don't know if I will have internet access while I'm there, so you may not hear from me for awhile.

I know you will all behave; in my opinion, this is the most polite and respectful forum on this board!

Talk to you all soon (I hope).

Jeff Cook
Wabujitsu

Juan Perez
8th November 2000, 13:53
Good luck out there, Sergeant.
I'm sure you will breeze through it.

Juan Perez, Jr.

Jeff Cook
8th November 2000, 21:06
Thanks, Juan; it's going pretty good so far. The billeting is great; internet access in each room, microwave, refrigerator. I feel like I'm in the air force!

Jeff Cook
Wabujitsu

Kolschey
8th November 2000, 21:11
Jeff,

I am curious, what does ANCOC stand for?

Jeff Cook
8th November 2000, 21:26
Advanced Non-Commissioned Officer's Course. (Sorry for the ommission!)

Jeff Cook
Wabujitsu

Joseph Svinth
9th November 2000, 10:56
ANCOC is where the Army sends its staff sergeants (E-6) in preparation for becoming sergeants first class (E-7). It is a mid-level management course, with training in both book work and occupation specific matters.

ANCOC suggestion 1. Start the study halls from Day 1. You'll be holding them for the slow ones anyway, so why wait for the first failure?

ANCOC suggestion 2. During the study halls, stress the use of the index. This sounds really stupid -- everybody knows how to use an index, right? Wrong. Rather than use the published index, many people try to tab or underline the important places in the text, and of course there are so many important places that no one could possibly find them all in the time allotted. It took me about three weeks to realize that this was happening in my ANCOC course, but once I gave that block of instruction, suddenly all kinds of people were getting 95%+ on tests instead of only a few of us.

ANCOC suggestion 3. Hold joint study halls with the other platoons. I started platoon study halls from Day 1, and had real good turnouts by the end of Week 2. Because of this, our platoon had no test failures among any attendees, and that in turn sparked interest in joint study halls around Week 3. The joint study halls worked -- we even saved a fellow from another platoon who was about to flunk due to two successive failures on the comprehensive test (eek!). Furthermore, the joint study halls:

1. Introduced everybody to everybody else, which helps when doing company level operations, to include leadership positions.
2. Shared the insights of other instructors and students.
3. Built group solidarity. The latter, unsurprisingly, proved very useful in the field portions of the training.

Furthermore, to everyone's amazement, the cohesion started during these study halls meant that there was no serious hate and discontent at any point during the training cycle.

So what, you say -- isn't that to be expected? No.

For those who don't know, the standard training cycle psychology goes something like this: For the first week or so everybody is nice because nobody knows anybody else. During the second and third week things start falling apart because all the egos clash. Hopefully the fourth or fifth week hopefully things start working out. Sometimes they don't work out, and then the training is no fun at all, but instead something you simply endure.

Anyway, this sounds really sick, but I did these things and actually enjoyed ANCOC...

Jeff Cook
9th November 2000, 12:00
Joe,

Thanks for your experiences.

Unfortunately, there are no indices in the student manual. Just a random order of lessons (none of us have figured out a pattern, not even the instructor - brand-spanking-new POI, of course), and a HUGE stack of AR's and FM's. But the lessons do have a TLO (terminal learning objective) and ELO's (enabling learning objectives). From my experience in BNCOC, the test questions are always based upon the ELO's, so I advise folks to tab their lessons, and next to the ELO's write the reference in the corresponding manual(s).

This worked well for me in BNCOC; it took me about 20 minutes to complete the three-hour final exam. It seems to work well for others also. Hopefully the same will hold true for this go-'round.

So far, no significant ego clashes. Since many of my class mates are old guys, they just go get sauced in the evening together to build unit cohesion and dissipate animosity.

It is fun to look at the hung-over old dogs in the morning! PT at five in the morning is great entertainment, watching these guys.

Jeff Cook
Wabujitsu

Joseph Svinth
10th November 2000, 02:47
The ARs and FMs are the ones with the indexes that most folks don't know how to use. Yet you have to read through a huge stack of the things to finish the end of Phase I comprehensive.

Keeping the old guys sober enough to wake up at 0500 is always a problem. But you're right, there is group cohesion, and the ideal is to make sure that they look out for one another. Most of them understand that logic -- one morning it will be their turn to oversleep, and then they'll appreciate the doublecheck. And if you drove, well, remind 'em that if they get stupid and they didn't walk, to make a phone call. Yes, you swear a lot getting woke up at two in the morning, but it beats the alternatives...

Jeff Cook
10th November 2000, 12:45
Just when you think you've covered everything in your risk assessment, the unforseen happens.

The obligatory regimental run was this morning. A large undulating formation made it's way off down the road, over the hills, shuffling, singing, and puking on it's merry way.

All of a sudden, out of the dark, threatening woods burst - tah dah! - a deer on the rampage. Hooves scraping, soldiers screaming, a mad melee in the middle of the formation. Cadence was broken and chaos reigned. Popping out the other side of the formation was a scrambling deer, doing it's best to put distance between itself and the pillaging horde of gasping troops.

PT is now more interesting.

Jeff Cook
Wabujitsu

Neil Hawkins
10th November 2000, 23:50
Jeff,

You mean you guys didn't have venison for dinner that night? Call yourselves first sergeants, ha! :D

Have fun

Neil

MikeCallender
11th November 2000, 00:05
" The billeting is great; internet access in each room, microwave, refrigerator. I feel like I'm in the air force!

Jeff Cook
Wabujitsu"

Excuse me Jeff, BUT this is not AF billeting---no cable. Good luck

Mike Callender
Operations Officer, Airfield Operations
Kadena AB, Japan

Jeff Cook
11th November 2000, 11:07
Neil, we considered your suggestion, but we were afraid of what the infantry guys would do to the deer before eating it. After all, there are female soldiers present!

Mike,

Actually, sir, I do have cable! HBO every night!

Jeff Cook
Wabujitsu