I attended the National Guard phases 2 and 4 within a few months, so that the content from one was fresh at the other.  Like others have said, I wish I learned more about how to run a company.  I attended Ph2 as a 1LT at the conclusion of my time as an Aide, so I had not been at the company level for a few years.  My Ph4 time was right after pinning CPT when working at BDE S3, so I was already seeing MDMP and forgetting about life on the line.  When I took command two years later, I was not at all prepared for COMET, UAs, AWOL discharges, administration of Article 15s, and KRIs that are 90% of how I am assessed on my OERs.  Learning how to ensure my NCOERs/awards/inventories/etc. are validated and done properly would have been the most important pre-command lessons I could have learned, and I wish I wasn’t learning them throughout my command.

(I know, doesn’t my state have a pre-command course?  Well, it doesn’t count if you can’t get a slot!)

MCCC preparing you to be a commander is like relying on IBOLC to prepare you to be a PL.  For the RC version, at least, the Benning portions just don’t hit what I needed.  Perhaps every Ph4 student should first attend the pre-command course, to either learn what they need or, at the very least, know what questions to ask of the cadre.

(On a side note, the correspondence versions are horrible.  Who in their right mind is going to sit down and watch twenty 45-minute lectures that have 3 minutes of usable information?  It’s hard enough to do with a captive audience, but expecting RC officers to do this after working 8-12 hours at the job that pays the bills is not realistic.  <– I’m a teacher, so I know a little something about how to disseminate lessons, information, and content.)