Exhausted from doing push-ups, struggling to maintain the front leaning rest position, Pvt. Yolanda Cervantes desperately sought the right words.

“Permission to release,” she said.

“Permission to what?” Sgt. Eric Ingalsbe said.

Within minutes of arriving for her first Non-Prior Service School in August, Cervantes was on the floor doing push-ups for Ingalsbe. She had failed to follow his instructions on completing paperwork.

Now — flustered, confused and pressured — Cervantes, with the 3650th Maintenance Company, repeatedly mangled the words she needed to end her predicament.

She called Ingalsbe “Sir.” Confused her rank and his. Repeatedly asked for “Permission to release.” Eventually, she got it right. Ingalsbe gave her permission to recover.

Non-Prior Service School is conducted at the Centennial Training Command of the 168th Regiment at Fort Carson. Open to all newly enlisted soldiers in the Colorado Army National Guard, the school provides green recruits with skills that will help them integrate more quickly and effectively into their units and give them an edge at Basic Combat Training.

REDUCING ATTRITION
“Our main goal is (for soldiers) to be mentally prepared, physically prepared and have the confidence and skills to make it through,” says Centennial Training Command’s Maj. Shawn Boller.

“We want them to be glad they’ve joined the Colorado Army National Guard, but also take away part of the fear,” says Lt. Col. Dana Marie Capozzella, commander of the Centennial Training Site. “They’ll have the mental strength to be able to combat it when they start getting scared and second guessing what they’ve done.”

The school also is intended to reduce the attrition rate for newly enlisted soldiers by providing them with more training than many are able to get at their units before they have completed Basic Combat Training and training in their Military Occupational Specialty.

“We want you to come back and be part of the Colorado Army National Guard — we don’t want to lose you,” Capozzella says.

The time between enlisting and shipping to Basic can be tough on new soldiers and their units alike because often the soldiers cannot participate actively with the unit because they have not been qualified in their specialty.

“Some of the units have no use for their soldiers until they’re MOS qualified,” Boller says.

A BASIC EDGE
Anecdotally at least, there is evidence Non-Prior Service School soldiers are more likely to excel at Basic Combat Training and less likely to drop out of the Colorado Army National Guard.

“Most of the people I’ve talked to that have been to Non-Prior Service School, they do great in Basic,” Capozzella says. “They shine. They have the skills, the familiarity and the confidence to complete everything.”

At her first Non-Prior Service School, Pvt. Cervantes had not yet been issued a uniform and had little idea about the Army beyond an ideal to serve.

“I wanted to do something different,” she said. “I wanted to make my family proud of me. I thought it was going to be a lot easier.”

WARP SPEED
The school runs from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon one weekend a month.

“This is not a playroom,” Drill Sgt. Daron Nedio tells 18 apprehensive recruits gathered at the start of the November school. Of the 18, 12 are men and six women. Eight do not yet even have uniforms.

“This is not high school,” Nedio says. “This is not the YMCA. When you move around here, you move at warp speed. We are here to give you a smidgen of Basic Training. Basic Training is not a joke. If you learn it now, you’re going to be way ahead of the others when they come off the bus. You’ve got to get your head in the game and get focused on why you’re here. This ain’t the civilian world. You’re playing by totally different rules.”

One of the soldiers yawns.

“Why are you yawning in my class?” Nedio says. “Get on back there and do some push-ups! Get on back there!”

The school has the advantage of having two drill sergeants who have taught Basic Combat Training — Nedio and Drill Sgt. William Spriggs. Sgt. Eric Ingalsbe and Sgt. Tommy Irvin assist them.

“On your feet!” Nedio says. The soldiers are soon learning to stand in formation. As Nedio gives basic instruction such as the stationary positions, the other instructors give soldiers individual attention.

A recruit calls one of the sergeants “Sir.”

“Boy, you’re going to be strong,” Spriggs says as the recruit does push-ups. “You’re going to be strong as heck before you leave here if you call a sergeant ‘Sir’.”

“When you wear this uniform, you had better make sure that every button is buttoned,” Nedio tells the soldiers. He turns to his fellow instructors. “What are we charging this time?” The four consult. Nedio turns back to the recruits.

“If you get caught with a button unbuttoned that’s supposed to be buttoned, it’s going to be 20 push-ups,” he informs them. An unraveled string on a uniform is worth 10 push-ups.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL
For the soldiers there is so much to think about. Buttons. Strings. Gig lines. Army Values cards. Canteens.

Lack of attention to any detail has the potential to trigger the wrath of one of the instructors, each of whom has a pet peeve. Ingalsbe is infuriated when soldiers don’t carry and study their Army Values cards; inability to respond to questions in a strong, confident voice and classroom sloppiness aggravate Nedio; Spriggs’ anger can be triggered by just about any infraction; Ingle is the sergeant the soldiers say they can turn to if they’re completely overwhelmed.

“I enjoy sharing the knowledge because it reflects upon the state of Colorado when they go to boot camp,” Ingle says. He has 10 years in, including four years’ active duty and says he also likes Non-Prior Service School because it’s a good unit where the instructors work well together.

“I like teaching people,” Ingalsbe says. “That’s the bottom line.”

His advice for new soldiers coming to the school is to have a desire to learn, stay motivated and not take anything personally.

MENTAL SHOCK
Pfc. Melissa Collins, with Det. 1-140th Signal Company, echoes that. “I would feel sorry for them if they didn’t (attend),” Collins says. “It is beginning to teach you how to be a soldier. If you’re going to be here for six months before Basic not doing anything, it seems like a good idea.”

Pvt. Charles Groce, with the 157th Field Artillery Battalion, is with his battle buddies in unanimously agreeing that Non-Prior Service School is helpful. “If you don’t do this, you’re going to have a mental shock when you go to boot camp,” he says. “I didn’t know anything about the military. Just from one drill, I’ll feel a lot more comfortable when I go to boot camp.”

Pfc. Joshua Rose, with the 1/157th Field Artillery Battalion, whose initial attitude earned him the undivided attention of both Nedio and Spriggs, says the school probably saved him from failure.

“If I’d have walked into Basic and faced this, I would’ve left the first day. This is the only thing that’s going to prepare me for Basic Training. If you’re looking just to slack off and not do anything, stay with your unit.”

MOTIVATION
Back in the classroom at the Centennial Training Site after the field exercise, Nedio reviews the day.

“It’s all about paying attention to detail,” he says. He explains about the buttons. “It’s something that simple that will cause you to pay attention to detail with your weapon. Everybody dies because you failed to pay attention to detail. That’s how important it is.”

Nedio also motivates the soldiers. “Your body can do a hell of a lot more than you think it can,” he says. He taps the side of his head. “It’s all up here.” He is confiding in the soldiers now, subtly gentler, sitting on the stage up front instead of standing, modulating his voice, still not a friend but someone who cares about their welfare.

“Your body will do what your mind tells it to do,” he says. “The problem is, you’ve got a weak mind.”

Irvin joins in. “Where the mind goes, the body follows,” the sergeant says.

Nedio returns to the advice to do push-ups during commercials at home. “I may only do 10, but I’ll stay in the front leaning rest until the commercials are over.

“If you join the military, you better be in shape. It’s all about trying to get you in the right frame of mind. ‘Who’s ready to quit? Don’t be shy. Put your hand up.’” No one does.

Spc. Jim Greenhill with Det. 1-128th MPAD is a graduate of the Non-Prior Service School.