Military Review English Edition March-April 2014 | Page 56

Between 2010 and 2012, the original CCC concept was tested during several pilot programs, with the lessons learned from the pilots resulting in significant changes to the concept, and, ultimately, approval of a mid-grade learning continuum. The mid-grade learning continuum expanded to include the development of mid-grade officers from the rank of first lieutenant through promotable captain and warrant officers from the rank of warrant officer 2 through promotable chief warrant officer 3.12 The intent of aligning officers and warrant officers within the course was to provide a common framework for leader development and ensure the horizontal and vertical alignment of the development of enterprise-wide leader competencies shared by mid-grade leaders. The officer and warrant officer courses include four components (ALA-1, Officer Self-Development Program-1 [OSDP-1], professional military education, and OSDP-2) tailored to each cohort’s requirements. Initiation of the officer mid-grade learning continuum takes place upon promotion to first lieutenant, when the officer takes the ALA that measures his or her knowledge in foundational Army and branch doctrine. The ALA-1 results will provide remediation guidance for the officer to complete OSDP-1, guided self-development, consisting of common core and branch doctrine learning modules for areas found to need improvement. Once piloting is complete, the ALA-1 and OSDP-1 completion will become a prerequisite to attending the CCC. The CCC will continue to be a course requiring a PCS. The common core curriculum will not exceed eight weeks of instruction. The common core may be executed as a distinct module at the beginning or end of the course, or it may also be sequenced no lower than block level within branch material. The branch curriculum may follow the common core module and include tracks of instruction tailored to officers’ past education, training, and experience, or it may be sequenced with common core blocks. The final portion of the mid-grade learning continuum is OSDP-2, continuing through the officer’s branch key developmental assignments. Each OSDP-2 comprises tailored and modular learning agreed upon by the unit commander, branch commandant, and officer. It effectively completes the officer’s prerequisites for the Command and General Staff Officer’s Course and beyond. The mid-grade learning continuum model for the Reserve Component is equivalent to the Active Component model and similar in sequence and design. The only significant difference is the distributed learning delivery of portions of the instruction for Reserve Component officers versus primarily resident instruction for Active Component officers. The mid-grade learning continuum began initial operating capability in fiscal year 2014 with the full implementation of a new CCC common core and Army learning model course design. The ALA, OSDP, and Reserve Component elements of the midgrade learning continuum will be piloted and phased in with full implementation in fiscal year 2017. Conclusion The 2010 CCC study provided a valuable baseline for making critical improvements to the CCC, and the findings and recommendations established a way ahead for revising captains’ education. The mid-grade learning continuum builds on the 2010 CCC study and the Army Learning Concept and extends learning beyond the schoolhouse. It establishes a program of career-long learning supporting the goals of the ALDS. The CCC is the foundation for the mid-grade learning continuum and continues to be essential to developing critical and creative thinkers who are agile and adaptive enough to address complex problems. MR NOTES 1. William M. Raymond Jr., Keith R. Beurskens, and Steven M. Carmichael, “The Criticality of Captains’ Education: Now and in the Future,” Military Review, November-December 2010. 2. Army Leader Development Strategy 2013, found at . 3. Ibid., 3. 4. Ibid., 8. 5. TRADOC Pamphlet 525-8-2, The United States Army Learning Concept for 2015 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office [GPO], 20 January 2011). 6. Operation Order 11-008, Army Learning Concept 2015 Implementation Plan (Headquarters, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Monroe, VA, 14 March 20), 11. 7. Raymond, Beurskens, and Carmichael: 55. 54 8. Army Regulation 350-1, Army Training and Leader Development (Washington, DC: GPO, 18 December 2009), para. 3-32. 9. At the time of the study, the common core curriculum comprised 7 1/2 weeks of keystone and capstone doctrinal foundations (based on Field Manuals 3-0, 5-0, 6-0, 7-0, and 6-22, which every U.S Army captain received). 10. Special Commission from The U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, Report of Findings and Recommendations 2010 U.S. Army Captains Career Course Study, 14 June 2010. 11. “2015 Captains Career Course (CCC) Concept,” Draft version 1, (School of Advanced Leadership and Tactics, Fort Leavenworth, KS, 3 June 2010). 12. “The Mid-Grade Learning Continuum for 2015,” A White Paper, Version 1.1 (School of Advanced Leadership and Tactics, Fort Leavenworth, KS, 11 July 2013). March-April 2014 MILITARY REVIEW