Category Archives: Lessons Learned

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Think, Ask, and Observe

Preparing for Command, Part I

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Company command is the pinnacle experience for a junior army officer. It gives officers the first true opportunity to take charge and implement a vision. There is a lot that goes into a successful command, but it starts with the right preparation. The best prepared commanders use the pre-command transition to think, ask questions, and observe. These short weeks make the difference between a running start and feeling lost three months into command.

A paratrooper from the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, performs the action of present arms on Fort Bragg, N.C., May 19, 2017. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Dustin D. Biven)
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Success at BOLC

Pulling back the curtain

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If you’ve recently commissioned, or intend to commission in the next 4 (or 5) years, you likely have some curiosity about the next step in your Army career.  The Basic Officer Leaders Course (BOLC-B) is the first stop for newly-commissioned officers.  Because BOLC-B is branch specific, the courses vary in duration and program of instruction.  Regardless of branch, however, keys for success at BOLC are more-or-less universal.  The recommendations found in this article are based on survey responses by Engineer BOLC instructors and administrators.

The leadership attributes and competencies that you learned and developed at your commissioning source are no less applicable at BOLC.  If you were successful at West Point, ROTC, or OCS, you likely already possess most of the skills required to succeed at BOLC.  The difference is that you are now a professional Army officer, and expected to conduct yourself accordingly.  Furthermore, you are now working with peers from all walks of life- the homogeneity of your commissioning source is a thing of the past.

BOLC is an opportunity for immense professional growth. Make the most of it.
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Who Should Serve as TF Engineers in an IBCT?

A Critical Position for Success in the Decisive Action Training Environment

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The Infantry Brigade Combat team is, by definition, a light organization.  Never is that more apparent to its soldiers than on the lead edge of the battlefield, defending against an Arianin armored thrust. This is the point, in time and space, where soldiers rue the fact that “light” fighters, are also “light” on engineers and their heavy equipment.  Whether the defense at the battalion-level fails or holds usually boils down to one person, the Task Force Engineer (TF ENG).

Soldiers assigned to the 36th Engineer Brigade breech a wire obstacle, November 26, 2019 during rotation 20-02 at JRTC.
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Leadership During COVID-19

How Army Leaders Maintains the Winning Edge

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The year 2020 has been quite a wild ride for not just soldiers, airmen, sailors, marines and their families, but for leadership across the globe. Coronavirus Disease 2019 or better known as COVID-19 has changed life as we know it. The DoD has published guidelines (1 OPORD and many, many FRAGORDs) for mission essential manning and scaled back training to protect the force, however, they have reiterated the importance of readiness, lethality, and taking care of the force and our families. This has forced leaders at the lower levels to drastically change training and assess how we conduct daily business.

U.S. Army Airborne School students carry their primary and reserve parachutes back to the pack shed April 28, 2020 at Lawson Army Airfield, Fort Benning, Ga. (Army photo by Patrick A. Albright)
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More than One Weekend a Month

OC/T Opportunities for Reserve Component Leaders

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A rotation at one of the Army’s Combat Training Centers (CTCs) is an incredible development opportunity for Army leaders at the brigade combat team (BCT) level and below. For the three weeks from reception, staging, and onward integration (RSOI) through the rotation’s culmination upon the announcement of “change of mission,” every soldier in a rotational training unit (RTU) experiences tactical and logistical challenges. These experiences push the RTU  to the limits of human, mechanical, and systemic endurance and capacity. In the reserve component (RC), these invaluable opportunities are limited. Observer Coach/Trainer (OC/T) augmentee opportunities at the CTCs multiply development opportunities for RC leaders. Expanding these opportunities will broaden RC leaders’ doctrinal foundations while strengthening the RC and active components alike.

A U.S. Army Soldier assigned to Second Squadron, Third Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord Wa., pulls security while breaching an objective during Decisive Action Rotation 20-05 at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California, March 18, 2020. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Khari Bridges, Operations Group, National Training Center.)
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Splitting the Battalion Aid Station

Are Units Doing it Right?

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It’s common for units at the National Training Center to split their Battalion Aid Station (BAS) into a Forward Aid Station (FAS) and a Main Aid Station (MAS). Unfortunately, many units find they don’t really know what to do with them once they’re split. Observers often find units asking the same questions; Is there a difference in capability? Is the MAS required to stay fixed, while the FAS bounds ahead? When does it make sense not to split the BAS? To answer these question, we must look at doctrine to clarify commonly misused terms, understand medical unit composition, and review tactics. These three steps will demonstrate that extended medical coverage and bounding medical coverage are useful techniques that units can use to increase survivability and treat wounded soldiers to get them back in the fight.

A Soldier assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) monitors a simulated casualty during a training exercise at Camp McGregor, New Mexico March 31, 2020. The training exercise focused on enhancing a wide variety of skillsets for the participating Green Berets and soldiers such as weapons training and medical training to prepare them for future operations. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Steven Lewis)
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The Skolkan OPFOR Empire

Three Years of Lessons Learned as US Army Europe's Opposition Force

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They are the demons who run around in black, tan, or green uniforms. Unnamed fighters who cover their MILES gear in sunscreen, wreaking havoc to friendly forces on the mock battlefield. They are the source of sweat drenched days and sleepless lights, a seemingly unbeatable force from the depths of hell. Just who are these mythical combat creatures?

OPFOR from JMRC prepare to deploy to Exercise Combined Resolve V in Hohenfels, Germany. (US Army Photo)
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Bridging the Gap

Transitioning from an IBCT to ABCT

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My first maintenance meeting as a company commander may as well have been conducted in a foreign language, it might sound similar for you. “Alright commanders, I want all of you to talk me through your 5988 flow, now let’s discuss all your ancillary equipment on the slash fault ESR. CPT Edwards, could you tell me how many ORILs you have turned in this week?” The vehicular imperative is an HRC initiative to broaden officers across BCT types: IBCT, SBCT, and ABCT. In practice, it pushes light fighters to Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCTs) across the force. I was one of those former light fighters. While bridging the gaps was difficult, the lessons were invaluable.

2-16 CAV, ABOLC executing Platoon STX at the Good Hope Maneuver Training Area. (US Army Photo)
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A Practical Approach to RETRANS Certification

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Somewhere in Atropia there is a struggling battalion retransmission (RETRANS) crew. They are on the hills of Porta-Potty Wadi, or somewhere in the Tiefort Mountain Range. These soldiers have a critical task–to facilitate their unit’s communications. But either because they lack the training, the leadership, or the equipment, they often fall short. Signal trainers at NTC consistently observe units struggling to maintain long range push-to-talk communications. BCTs should consider using three events to properly train and certify their RETRANS crews.

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Things I Learned in Combat

Part II: Planning

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The hard-fought lessons we learn in combat can’t die with us. They need to be passed on to help others succeed. Those lessons aren’t just in fighting. One of the most sacred responsibilities of a leader is to create more leaders. In Part I of this series we reviewed lessons in fighting. You can find those lessons HERE. In Part II, we will discuss the fight before the fight: planning.

An interpreter with the 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade translate information from a Afghanistan National Army member to a 2nd SFAB advisor during engagement training at the Joint Readiness Training Center. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)