Established in 1918, Fort Benning is one of the largest military facilities in the United States Army. In the past, such distinguished figures as Dwight D. Eisenhower, the thirty-fourth president of the United States, and the United States Army Chief of Staff and Secretary of State George C. Marshall were associated with it. In 2005, Fort Benning was transformed into the Maneuver Center of Excellence.
Warrant Officer Ireneusz Chyziak is taking part in the seven-week course for senior non-commissioned officers called “The Maneuver Senior Leader Course (M-SLC),” held within the walls of this distinguished military school.
– The course is intended to prepare non-commissioned officers to assist the commander during training and in the decision-making process at battalion level – reports Warrant Officer Chyziak. – It is not easy – during the first week alone, I already had seven examinations, including language and fitness tests. Fortunately, I passed them successfully. The course has 140 participants, and apart from me there are only six other foreigners here from five countries: Taiwan, Korea, Brazil, Armenia, and two from Afghanistan. Our examinations are no different from those taken by soldiers of the American Army, so we have to keep up with them and meet the high standard of training. This is a major challenge for us, especially given the climatic conditions here: heat and humidity reaching as much as 95 percent.
The range of activities offered during the course is extensive. – The subjects vary: both kinetic and non-kinetic, concerning tactics and methods of operation. On Tuesday, for example, we had classes in what is known as Land Navigation, or, as we would say in Poland, terrain navigation. Our task was to complete an orienteering march and find successive points in order to pass. For a soldier, this is nothing unusual; however, when one takes into account that the temperature was above 35 degrees, the task turned out not to be as easy as one might expect.
The Maneuver Senior Leader Course (M-SLC), attended by Warrant Officer Chyziak, serves as a gateway to further promotion for American soldiers, while for a soldier of the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade it is an opportunity to gain new experience and knowledge, cooperate with other nationalities, and improve his language skills. – I am proud that I was selected as the only soldier from Poland to take part in the course at Fort Benning. I will try to present myself in the best possible light, especially since I represent the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade, whose distinguishing feature is the high standard of everything it undertakes – adds Warrant Officer I. Chyziak.
Warrant Officer Ireneusz Chyziak graduated from the Non-Commissioned Officer Vocational School of the Rocket Forces and Artillery. He has been associated with the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade since 1996. He is currently a soldier in the anti-aircraft squadron, serving as senior instructor – operations section (S-3). He has twice taken part in a military mission in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Captain Adriana Wołyńska