MQS ... What It Is, How It Will Work

at places like Fort Irwin and Hohenfels, Germany, will live and be carried to other units on other posts and in other countries. Proud units never die. They infuse vitality into others. In every endeavor and in the face of every challenge, the firm dedication of soldiers of the 194th has been surpassed only by the active support and admirable unity of the spouses and families of the brigade. In every crisis and in every deployment, including support of DESERT SHIELD, the total 194th family has been a beacon of strength. While we may downsize the Army, we can never downsize the importance of our families. The opposite is true. Now more than ever we need strong, cohesive families. ture. The brigade is smaller, as the Army will be, but it is no less an awesome fighting force. The Total Armor Force will continue to look to the 194th for support, and most particularly, to remind us of the spirit of the armored combined arms team. Rest assured the brigade will continue to be our "Proud Legion." The soldiers and units of the 194th and the Army must look to the fu- I I What It Is

MQS...

How It Will Work, Forge the Thunderbolt! by Center for Army Leadership The Military Qualification Standards (MQS) system, the Army's new system to develop officers as leaders, provides officers, school commandants, and commanders with a framework for common and branch-specific training, education, and professional development. MQS I encompasses precommissioning training, MQS II covers company grade officer training, and MQS 111 applies to field grade officers. The MQS system identifies common and branch training requirements for officers. it has two components, a military task and knowledge component that provides the critical tasks on which officers must train, and a professional military education component that focuses on improving cognitive skills. MQS and Leader Development Leaders develop by progressive and sequential education, training, and experience. The process starts in the precommlssionlng phase of training: continues through commissioning, branch education, and operational assignments: and stops only when the officer completes his military service. Institutional training, operational assignments, and self-development all play apart. School commandants (and other proponents) are most directly involved with institutional training, which includes training company grade officers in the officer basic course, officer advanced course, and the Combined Arms and Services Staff School. Unit commanders are most directly involved with operational assignments. The MQS System provides the link between institutional training and operational assignments. it helps the commander construct his unit training plan and design his junior officer development program to complement the training of his unit METL. Self development is the responsibility of the individual officer. it includes professional reading and self study.

II, which applies to company grade officers in the Active Army, US. Army Reserve, and Army National Guard, prepares leaders to accomplish wartime tasks, provides the basis for promotion to major ahd attendance at Corn-mand and Staff College (CSC), and prepares officers for service in positions of greater responsibility. It guides officers through the first and second milestones, or passage points, in their careers. The requirements leading up to the passage points include completion of appropriate branch schools and developmental assignments, demonstrated proficiency on common and branch tasks, and completion of specified portions of the Foundation Reading program. An officer reaches the first passage point when he enters his branch advanced course. The second passage point occurs when he completes his company grade career and either enters resident CGSC or enrolls in non-resident

CGSC.

MQS II organizes military tasks artd knowledge into common task areas, which are essential for all company grade officers, and branch-specific task areas. The professional military education component of MQS II consists of a reading program and, for selected officers, advanced civil schooling. MQS provides commanders with the flexibility they need to tailor their leader development programs to their METL-based unit training. Unit leader development programs focus on warfighting and the Mission Essential Task List (METL). Therefore, commanders must tailor both their MQS task training program and their professional reading program to support their METL-based unit training plans. MQS does not require commanders to train tasks that do not support their unit METLs. A common manual and branch manual will support MQS II implementation. The MQS II common manual will be distributed in December, and the MQS It branch manuals in January to March

1991. Each lieutenant and captain will receive a personal copy of the MQS II common and branch manual, which will be fielded through pinpoint distribution, so, commanders should ensure that pinpoint accounts accurately reflect both lieutenant and captain authorizations, by branch. The US. Army Publications Distribution Center will ship the new manuals based on specific unit requirements identified on unit DA Form 12-99. Officers should ensure that they receive a copy of the appropriate manuals by checking with their units to verify that copies are on order. Once the manuals are fielded, follow-on distribution (to newly commissioned officers) will be accomplished through the officer basic course. 6 ARMOR '-