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| Army Command Sgt. Major Charles Salinero attends the Joint Operations Module of the Keystone course hosted at U.S. Joint Forces Command's Suffolk, Va. complex. Keystone is a joint professional military education course targeted for senior enlisted leaders heading to joint task force or combatant command level assignments. (Official photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Joe Laws) |
USJFCOM hosts Keystone course for command senior enlisted leaders
U.S. Joint Forces Command's Joint Warfighting Center is hosting the Keystone training course in Suffolk, Va., designed to educate command senior enlisted leaders on joint doctrine and the joint operational art.
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By Robert Pursell
USJFCOM Public Affairs
(SUFFOLK, Va. – July 11, 2008) – Senior enlisted leaders from across the Department of Defense and from other countries continued the Keystone training course here today at U.S. Joint Forces Command's (USJFCOM) Joint Warfighting Center (JWFC) as part of an effort designed to educate command senior enlisted leaders (CSELs) who could eventually work as part of a joint task force commander's team.
Keystone, one of three courses sponsored by USJFCOM and the National Defense University (NDU), plays a critical role in the continuing development of senior military leaders. Capstone is for newly selected flag and general officers, while Pinnacle targets two- and three-star joint task force commanders.
Keystone occurs twice a year consisting of a two-week schedule. It kicks off in Washington, D.C. at NDU, then participants make their way to the JWFC for the joint operations module (JOM) of the course for four days. It wraps up by visiting other combatant commands.
Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan Battaglia, USJFCOM command sergeant major, explained the goal of Keystone.
"This is senior enlisted joint professional military education at its best," he said.
"It's a 14-day curriculum with four very focused days here at the joint operations module. It's designed to elevate take them from a learned tactical mindset and expose them to many aspects of the operational level of war fighting within a joint operating environment."
The course includes a number of seminars and small group exercises that emphasize critical joint force commander issues and lessons learned. Senior mentors, observers/trainers, and various subject matter experts support the participants in their efforts.
Army Command Sgt. Maj. Mike Balch, U.S. Southern Command command sergeant major is one of the senior mentors for Keystone. He explained how he and the rest of the mentors use the JOM to educate CSELs on joint doctrine and the joint operational art.
"We take it in and dissect the whole life cycle of a JTF," he said. "We start off with forming it, how to do the operational design of an operation, forming the JTF, planning for the JTF, putting together its mission statement, employing the JTF, sustaining it and logistically getting it there."
Air Force Command Chief Master Sgt. Jack Johnson, from the18th Wing of Kadena Air Base in Japan and one of the 48 participants, explained what he saw as a major benefit of the course.
"It's been exceptional," he said. "As a senior enlisted leader, most of the important things that benefit us are the relationships. Not just relationships that we're building here amongst the senior enlisted leaders, but the relationships that we have the opportunity to build with the other services, with other agencies, and things of that nature. The second thing is the education. The education that we're gaining here is better preparing us for the building of relationships which makes us more effective enlisted leaders…and quite honestly, better advisors and leaders to the bosses that we serve."
CSELs from NATO nations may attend the JOM piece of Keystone also. Retired Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bill Kinney, a senior mentor from NDU, explained the importance of having coalition members in attendance.
"In today's battlespace, you can't do anything alone," he said. "Everything is either done joint or more importantly, with coalition partners. It's very important that senior enlisted leaders from the United States learn how to create networks with their coalition counterparts."
British Warrant Officer Gary Dunning explained how the course will help him.
"One of the things that has been highlighted is the understanding of the other force because each nationality has its own caveats, its own rules. It's understanding from that perspective that I can pass on to my soldiers," he said "More importantly, there has to be more of an interaction between not just American forces, but all coalition forces and this is definitely a step in the right direction.
Battaglia says the Keystone graduate will have a leg up by being better prepared for their role and responsibilities when operating in the joint environment.
"When that joint task force is called out and it happens to be one of these senior enlisted that the commander assigns to his JTF, we want them to be a Keystone graduate. The measures of success increase rapidly with this experience rather than going in cold without the education that's available through Keystone and the joint operations module."
He said based on feedback so far, the course is a success.
"One of the measures of success in a program such as this is the interaction and the feedback shared from the participants during lectures, discussions and open dialogue. The feedback has really been exceptional."
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| Army Command Sgt. Major Charles Salinero attends the Joint Operations Module of the Keystone course hosted at U.S. Joint Forces Command's Suffolk, Va. complex. Keystone is a joint professional military education course targeted for senior enlisted leaders heading to joint task force or combatant command level assignments. (Official photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Joe Laws) |
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