Category Archives: Case Study

Posted on

The Changing Face of Rifle Qualification

Best Practices to Succeed in a New Era

by

Rifle qualification has long served as a gauge of unit proficiency and training. It facilitates risk mitigation and serves as a gate from individual training to more advanced unit training. For years, the Army has used a three position static record fire rifle qualification. This course allowed a modicum of understanding of individual marksmanship from 50m to 300m, but did little to enforce the skills needed to employ the rifle in combat. Soldiers require the skills to react to an immediate threat, reload, use cover, and change positions during an engagement to maximize their lethality and survivability on the battlefield. These skills weren’t effectively represented in the legacy rifle qualification table. The U.S. Army required a test that better prepared and qualified Soldiers for the marksmanship required by the crucible of ground combat. Now it has one.

Soldiers across the 25th Infantry Division with varying skill levels prepared for the new marksmanship standards by conducting a pilot program to assess current installation support capabilities at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. (U.S. Army photos by Sgt. Sarah D Sangster)
Posted on

Ethics in the Crucible

The Saga of Lieutenant Jake Portier

by

It seems that the entire world has heard of the saga of Chief Eddie Gallagher, the Navy SEAL on trial for charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, and obstructions of justice. Members of his own platoon alleged that he engaged in heinous acts of violence against civilians and detained combatants. The purpose of this article is not to weigh in on the accusations against Gallagher. Many have and will continue to do so, including the President himself. Nor is it to further probe the bizarre alleged “spying” of the defense by the prosecution. For us junior officers, the more relevant leadership lessons come from a lesser-known member of Gallagher’s unit– Platoon Commander Lt. Jacob “Jake” Portier.

Navy SEALs conduct dive operations training in the Atlantic Ocean, May 29, 2019. SEALs are the maritime component of U.S. special operations forces and are trained to conduct missions from sea, air and land.
Posted on

Attacking Razish – Part II

Getting Punched in the Face

by

After seven hours of fighting our way through the central corridor the support by fire was set, obscuration smoke was out, our task force engineers were reducing the breach and my assault force began moving forward to quickly secure the far side objective and seize a foothold in the city. After months of preparation and midway through our combined arms breach the brigade was poised to take the largest city in the national training center and my battalion was about to lead the assault. That’s when things started to go wrong and failure ensued.

Paratroopers with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, participate in Exercise Rock Spring 19 at Grafenwoher Training Area, Germany, March 6, 2019. Rock Spring is an annual exercise to validate platoon-level proficiency at conducting offensive operations under live-fire conditions. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Henry Villarama)
Posted on

Attacking Razish – Part I

Top 5 Keys to Success

by

Twenty-four hours after completing our assault on the National Training Center’s largest urban objective, Razish, I took two pages of notes on the things that I felt made us successful. Like all lessons in the Army, none of these are new or novel. And, like all lessons at NTC, just because you know what you need to fix doesn’t always mean that you can pull it all together in the face of the short timelines, harsh conditions, and the ever-present 11thArmored Cavalry Regiment. Here are my top 5.

Posted on

Right of the Line (IBCT Attack to Clear)

The Company Leader TDG 19-01

by

You are the Company Commander of A Company, 2-14 Infantry Battalion of 2nd IBCT, 10th Mountain Division. Your unit is deployed to Southern Afghanistan. For the last three months you’ve been partnered with the Afghan National Army and conducting offensive operations in Zharay District of Kandahar Province. In the last month, Taliban forces have establish a complex defensive belt along the primary north to south running main supply route (MSR) in your area of operations (AO). This is disrupting the movement of military logistical supplies to the Afghan National Police and, more importantly, is limiting the local populous’ access to the primary water supply during the rainy season – the Arghandab River. Your company is tasked with conducting a clearance operation along RTE Hope.

Soldiers of Strike Brigade, 101st ABN DIV (AASLT) during Operation Dragon Strike in Zharay District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Photo taken on September 21, 2010 by Army Sgt. Joe Padula and found HERE.
Posted on

The Rock at Lookout Mountain

by

On November 24, 155 years ago, a force of Union Soldiers gained redemption they never felt they needed. The Army of the Cumberland (AOC) was an outfit comprised mostly of Ohio and Kentucky units with a smattering of other mid-westerners. It’s fellow western army, the Army of the Tennessee, was composed mostly of Soldiers from Illinois and Iowa. Both were tough outfits with capable subordinate leaders. While neither gets the same acclaim of the Army of the Potomac, they are prideful units. Never was this better demonstrated than at Lookout Mountain where the Rock of Chickamauga, just two months after devastating defeat, kicked the Confederacy in the teeth and planted Old Glory at the summit.

Posted on

Letter To Me (On Day 1 as XO)

by

Five years. Five years is the average amount of time you spend from the moment you arrive on campus, enrolled in ROTC or at USMA, to the time you become a Platoon Leader (PL). You invested five years of work, effort, and striving toward that one goal. You’ve heard it is “the best job you’ll ever have.” And when the old timers say, “I would go back in a heartbeat if I could,” you return a half-embarrassed chuckle and a rueful smile. Then it is gone. Suddenly, you wake up and your platoon is no longer “yours.” You’re no longer a “PL” or “The Sir/Ma’am.” Now they call you “XO.” What now?

XO can be a lonely job – but it doesn’t have to be. Knowing where you fit in, how you can best impact and serve the Soldiers by serving the command, and feeling comfortable in your spot at the back of the formation will make all the difference.

Posted on

A Few Moments After

The Nightingale Series

by

When I joined the 101st as a replacement Captain, I was sent to the Screaming Eagle Replacement Training Center (SERTS) for a programmed week of prep before being assigned to a specific unit.  On the first day, the Brigade S1 raced up in a Jeep and told me to load my duffle bag and get in the truck.  I was replacing part of a company command group that had been killed on the edge of the A Shau. Training was over.

Posted on

It Can Be Done

Lessons from an HHC TOC Defense Live Fire

by

As the company commander of a Headquarters & Headquarters Company (HHC), I was given a tremendous opportunity to conduct a company live fire (LFX) for the first time in the unit’s memorable history. The company had minimal experience in the tactical arena. We struggled with the little things like qualifying on our machine guns and carrying our weapons at the low ready. Leading up to the LFX, we focused on building soldier familiarity with basic skills and the ability to operate tactically in a deployed environment. We knew the experience of conducting a live fire exercise would be beneficial, but we didn’t realize how much we would learn from the process.

The Butcher, the Baker, and the Candlestick Maker – an HHC LFX is rarely “sexy”. It is hard to plan and even more difficult to pack into an already full training schedule focused on preparing lethal squads and platoons. But…it can be done!