Waltham

Army 2nd Lt. Jeffrey J. Bender

Army 2nd Lt. Jeffrey J. Bender has graduated from the Army Basic Officer Leader Course III, designed to ensure a tough, standardized, small-unit leadership experience for officers. The course develops and produces competent, confident and adaptable officers with increased maturity equipped to share a common bond with their combined arms peers. The officers are trained to solve dilemmas, make rapid decisions and lead soldiers in the contemporary operating environment. Graduates are prepared and readied to lead small units upon arrival at their first assignment.The focus of the course is to provide branch training related to the officer's job/duty assignment, which includes the required skills and training qualifications to perform his/her occupational specialty duties in a field environment. Engineer leadership and digitization training are also part of the course.Bender, an armor officer, is assigned to L Troop, 2nd Battalion, 16th Calvary Regiment, Fort Knox, Ky. He has served in the military for more than three years.He is the son of Jeffrey J. and Sharon J. Bender of Ashwood Lane, Basking Ridge, N.J.The lieutenant graduated in 2005 from Ridge High School, Basking Ridge, and received a bachelor's degree in 2009 from Bentley University, Waltham, Mass.Source: Armed Forces News Services