The US Army has decided to cut more than 340 hours of online training for its enlisted troops, saying some courses are redundant.
The directive, shared on social media by the Office of the Sergeant Major of the Army, stated that soldiers are no longer required to take distributed learning courses (DLCs) effective immediately.
DLCs are self-paced online courses students complete over several months without an instructor. They account for 253 hours of training in front of a computer.
For noncommissioned officers, the service is removing two distance learning prerequisite courses, which require a total of 93 hours to complete
In total, the US Army is eliminating 346 hours of online training that many officials say no longer serve a purpose.
“We are scrubbing everything we are asking our soldiers to study because there is only so much time during the day to do your job,” Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer said.
‘Quality, Not Quantity’
DLC courses were originally introduced to the US Army in 2010 to improve soldiers’ decision-making, communication, and leadership skills.
However, the service later determined that reducing online training requirements would have little to no negative impact on enlisted personnel.
Weimer admitted that the army had not taken a holistic look at these requirements for years, resulting in failure to identify redundancies.
“We have added to the point of creating redundancies in distance learning, online learning, brick and mortar learning, self-study learning, what the units are teaching, what the leadership inside units are teaching,” he told Army Times.
“We are overwhelming people!”
With the recent cuts, Weimer said the army is hoping to ensure quality over quantity in soldier training.