Army staff college brings civilian leader course north Published Jan. 31, 2011 By Master Sgt. Eric Reinhardt USARAK PAO JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Twenty-seven U.S. Army Alaska civilian employees graduated from the Army Management Staff College's Civilian Education System, or CES, Basic Course, Jan. 21. Taking that first step into civilian leadership education typically involves a two-week trip to the lower 48 states, if you serve in the Last Frontier. Last month, however, the school came here for USARAK students. A mobile training team from the Army Management Staff College's Fort Leavenworth, Kan., campus traveled to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to instruct DA civilians from JBER, Fort Wainwright and Fort Greely. The CES Basic Course is designed to give students an understanding of how to effectively lead and care for teams. The course combines two weeks of distance learning and two weeks of resident instruction. Much of the resident portion puts students in charge of teams in problem-solving scenarios, according to Mike Brooks, a professor of leadership at the Army Management Staff College and one of four instructors who came to Alaska to teach the course. This was the first time the staff college's mobile training team has taught the course in Alaska. Brooks said the students' level of motivation here impressed him. "I would describe (the DA civilians in Alaska) as hungry to learn about leadership," Brooks said. "These 27 people that took the opportunity spent two weeks in some of the most intensive leadership development curriculum that the Army has to offer." Student Harold Zarecki, based at Fort Greely, said the course's inquiry-based-learning approach gave him a new perspective on leadership and self-awareness. "In a lot of courses, everything's fed to you, but this course develops you by making you make all the choices," Zarecki said. "You might make the wrong choice, but it makes you reflect upon yourself and why you made that choice." U.S. Army Alaska Commanding General Brig. Gen. Raymond Palumbo, addressing the students at their graduation ceremony, described a renewed civilian education and leadership development program as a "top priority in USARAK." The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have put the Army under stress for the last 10 years, according to Palumbo. "We've been running to the sounds of guns, as an Army, for a long time," he said. While the Army's war footing resulted in accelerated promotions and education for new officers and NCOs, according to Palumbo, emphasis on civilian-employee development has fallen by the wayside in recent years. "We haven't been putting the steam in the civilian education system like we should," he said. As talk of defense budget cuts grabs headlines, Palumbo noted, a period of austerity is likely to require civilian employees who understand how to do more with fewer resources and the civilian education system is an important part of developing such leaders.