Category Archives: Lessons from Atropia

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NTC Update (MAR 20)

Defensive Operations for the Field Artillery Battalion

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The purpose of this paper is to provide a context for Field Artillery (FA) units executing defensive operations in a Decisive Action Training Environment (DATE). The specific unit of focus for this paper is the Brigade Combat Team’s (BCT), Direct Support (DS) Field Artillery (FA) Battalion. The primary audiences for this paper are Fires Battalion Staff Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers, Battery and Forward Support Company Commanders, and First Sergeants. This paper is a collaboration of Key Developmental billet complete Observer Coach Trainers (OC/Ts) with an aggregate of ~100 rotations of experience at the National Training Center (NTC) Fort Irwin, CA.

Troopers from the Field Artillery Support Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, support Iraqi army operations with artillery fires from their M777A2 Howitzers. (2nd Lt. Jamie Douglas/Army)
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NTC Update (MAR 20)

Lift Aviation Assets in the Defense and Counterattack

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Defensive operations for a Brigade Combat Team (BCT) are complex operations requiring the synchronization of numerous units across multiple lines of effort. Critical to the success of any defensive operation and to subsequent counterattacks is the BCT’s ability to rapidly move personnel and equipment across the battlefield to support sustainment as well as movement and maneuver operations. Aviation assets are particularly valuable in the defense because of their speed, mobility, and versatility.[1] Directly or indirectly, lift aviation is able to support each of the fundamentals of the defense (disruption, flexibility, maneuver, massing effects, operations in depth, preparation, and security).[2] These valuable assets, require in depth planning and analysis prior to executing the defense to ensure efficient execution.

Army AH-64 Apache aircrews conduct formation practice at Camp Williams, Utah, June 5, 2019, before the funeral flyover for Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield, whose remains were recovered after being listed as missing in action for 74 years. (U.S. Army photo).
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NTC Update (MAR 20)

Engineer Success in the Defense Rapid Preparation, Execution, and Transition

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Although the defense is an opportunity to inflict tremendous casualties and damage to enemy forces, many Army units and leaders view the defense with suspicion. Leaders often choose to spend the vast majority of training time on offensive tasks rather than defensive fundamentals. With appropriate planning and preparation for defensive operations, units can halt the enemy’s momentum, regenerate their own combat power, and then regain the initiative for offensive operations. According to ADP 3-90, this is the primary purpose of the defense[1]. When properly utilized, Engineers shape the battlefield, enhancing maneuver units ability to stop the enemy’s advance and destroy them in an engagement area (EA). If units overcome the following common friction points observed during National Training Center (NTC) rotations they can aggressively train and prepare to repel a fierce enemy attack – at NTC or wherever America needs them.

Soldiers from A Co, 116 Brigade Engineer Battalion, position their M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle during a live-fire training exercise at the National Training Center (NTC) in Fort Irwin, Calif., June 12, 2019. (Photo by: Cpl. Alisha Grezlik, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)
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Common Trends in Brigade Medical Operations from JMRC

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Many young Medical Service Corps officers have only conducted Medical Operations (MEDOPS) in support of counterinsurgency operations with uncontested airspace. Due to changing threats, the Combat Training Centers (CTCs) have adapted scenarios to replicate decisive action (DA) combat against near peer threats. The DA environment is much different because airspace, communications, and key terrain are all contested. Additionally, near peer threats cause higher numbers of casualties. I have observed the following 10 trends over four DA rotations as a BDE MEDOPS OCT at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC). The trends and recommended Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) described below are based on my observations in the field and each represents “a way,” not “the way” to coordinate health service support in the DA environment.

U.S Soldiers assigned to the the 82nd Airborne Division medevac a simulated casualty while conducting a freedom of maneuver detachment during a Kosovo Force (KFOR) mission rehearsal exercise (MRE) at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, July 1, 2017.
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Bringing the Crucible to your Couch

JRTC Virtual Training

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The enemy doesn’t practice social distancing. Great power competition and the adversary threat continue to grow during the time of COVID. The force is currently fighting to maintain the proper balance of safety for our troops and families, and readiness training to accomplish the mission. We must remain flexible and innovative. The Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) is here to help!

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A Certified Staff is a Powerful Weapon

Time to Design a Deliberate Staff Certification Process

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Staff products feed, drive, run, and track battlefield operations. Those products have a direct impact on soldiers (see figure 1). Effective staff products correlate with conducting command and control, which in-turn produces better situational awareness at echelon. If the outputs of the staff processes hold that much impact, who certifies staffs to ensure they are ready to perform? Units need an outlined process for staff certification. Staff certification increases staff confidence, enables better staff synchronization, expedites the operations process, reduces friction, and provides a venue to solidify processes and procedures unique for staff atmospherics.

U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to 1-2 SBCT, 7th ID, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wa., tactically maneuver during Decisive Action Rotation 20-05 at the National Training Center (NTC), Fort Irwin, Calif., Mar. 10, 2020. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Rosio Najera, Operations Group, National Training Center)
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Winning the Maintenance Fight at Pace

Operations Group, The National Training Center

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When preparing for a major operation such as a deployment or a Combat Training Center (CTC) rotation, the volume of tasks that need to be accomplished to standard in a short amount of time can amaze the best commanders. Prior to, during and after deployment, many commanders find that maintenance consumes a disproportionately large amount of time. Even as the Commander of Operations Group, I often find myself more focused on maintenance and sustainment more than many other areas. Why? The answer is simple: An insufficient maintenance program can grind any brigade combat team (BCT) to a halt, even more so than an opposing force. You can’t fix it after first contact. Once you’re in the middle of a fight, it’s too late.

2-16 Armor Basic Officer Leader Course conducts Platoon STX training at Good Hope Maneuver Training Area. Photo retrieved from 2-16 Armor Facebook Page.
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A Peak Behind the Curtains

Leveraging Interagency at the JRTC for Successful Real-World Engagement

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Secretary of State Michael Pompeo recently remarked on the interdependence of defense and diplomacy during an address at Texas A&M University noting that “Neither diplomacy nor the military can succeed at delivering for presidents and for our country without the other.” A key element of “delivering for our presidents and for our country” is projecting influence overseas in accordance with United States foreign policy priorities. There are two principal means for doing so: through diplomatic suasion and military force. The Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of State (State), and other agencies of the U.S. government (USG), such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the intelligence community, comprise some of the most important members of the complex bureaucratic structure within which most U.S. foreign policy is formulated and decisions are made about policy implementation. This bureaucratic structure, the interagency (IA), is led by the President in Washington, D.C., and under the authority of the Chief of Mission (COM) abroad (usually the U.S. Ambassador) and through combatant commanders.

Capt. Christopher Young, a combat advisor team leader assigned to the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade speaks with simulated Afghan locals during rotation 18-03 at the Joint Readiness Training Center, Jan. 15, 2017. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Sierra A. Melendez, 50th Public Affairs Detachment, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs)
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Offensive Operations for the Field Artillery Battalion and Below

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The purpose of this paper is to provide a context for Field Artillery (FA) units executing offensive operations in a Decisive Action Training Environment (DATE). The specific unit of focus for this paper is the Brigade Combat Team’s (BCT), Direct Support (DS) Field Artillery (FA) Battalion. The primary audiences for this paper are Fires Battalion Staff Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers, Battery and Forward Support Company Commanders, and First Sergeants. This paper is a collaboration of Key Developmental billet complete Observer Coach Trainers (OC/Ts) with an aggregate of ~100 rotations of experience at the National Training Center (NTC) Fort Irwin, CA. 

1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division fires an artillery round from an M777 Howitzer while conducting calibration during Decisive Action Rotation 20-05 at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, Calif, Mar. 05, 2020. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Kamryn Guthrie, Operations Group, National Training Center.)
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Defense of the Cajun Bayou

Choose Your Course of Action

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Brigades that come to the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) will fight a brigade fight. Every unit, regardless of echelons or component, from the squad through the battalion, from infantry to military police to transportation to aviation, will leave better than they arrived after enduring the crucible training event here in Louisiana. However, small unit training can occur anywhere. The swamps and humid head of Fort Polk offer a unique opportunity. Through rational design and Observer Coach Trainer coaching, brigades can focus on their role in shaping deep, synchronizing maneuver, allocating resources, and setting conditions necessary for battalions to succeed in both the offense and defense. This book is an effort to reach units prior to their arrival in Louisiana by giving them realistic scenarios to think about while following the Cajun Brigade through the planning and execution of a defense.

Soldiers with 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, take movement guidance Nov. 12, 2017, during the brigade’s rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, La. (Photo by Joint Readiness Training Center Public Affairs Office)