FRANKFORT, Ky. –
Twenty Soldiers graduated the Unit Retention Non-Commissioned Officer Course conducted by the Mobile Training Team from Professional Educational Center’s (PEC) Strength Maintenance Training Battalion at Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center (WHFRTC), July 29-Aug. 9, 2024.
Kentucky’s Recruiting and Retention Battalion coordinated a two-week Unit Retention NCO Course with instructors from the Army National Guard PEC in Arkansas to train unit retention NCOs from across the state in order to ensure units are retaining qualified and talented Soldiers. The Mobile Training Team provided retention NCOs with information and strategies to help units and commanders maximize the service and benefits a Soldier can get from the Kentucky National Guard.
There are three tenants to strength maintenance – recruiting, retention, and attrition management. Unit retention NCOs are responsible for assisting commanders with managing retention and attrition.
The overall goal of the course was to arm units with the tools to be successful retainers. The course provided retention NCOs with the basic knowledge, as well as tactics, techniques, and procedures to retain Soldiers who are approaching the end of their enlistment.
U.S. Army Master Sgt. Nicholas Vaughn, senior operations sergeant at Garrison Training Command at WHFRTC, served as the class leader and discussed how the course emphasized the importance and the impact of having a good retention NCO in each unit.
“The role of the retention NCO is as important as any role within the unit,” said Vaughn. “I think of it in terms of trying to keep the best Soldiers within a team, which in turn will make the squad stronger. That squad will make the platoon stronger, and so forth. For me personally, the course made me reevaluate what I do as a leader, and my impact on whether a Soldier decides to stay in.”
The Recruiting and Retention Battalion coordinated the course by leveraging the subject-matter expertise from both their team, as well as that of the National Guard Bureau team at PEC. The intent is to continue providing the course to train and develop unit retention NCOs at least once or twice a year moving forward.
“The network that we were able to build in the class will serve our Soldiers well in the future,” said Vaughn. “Retention is so important to the Guard, and for us to remain as strong as we are, we have to continue keeping the best.”