Category Archives: Warfighting

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A Training Relationship

How Sustainment Leaders and Units are Developed

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While combat arms battalion commanders and company commanders maneuver their units to accomplish battalion level objectives, the Brigade Support Battalion (BSB) Commander and his or her company commanders must maneuver their units to enable the breadth and depth of the entire Brigade Combat Team’s (BCT) operation.  The BCT’s maneuver battalions fight to achieve BCT tactical objectives, and the Fires Battalion and Engineer Battalion shape for the maneuver battalions. Only the BSB, however, continually supports all seven organic battalions within a BCT.

U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Nathan Franco
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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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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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Red Dragons on OBJ Sword (IBCT CO Attack)

The Company Leader TDG 20-06

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The Atropian air helps to cool the sweat under your body armor. Your company has been moving all night to get to this point. You look at your watch…2200, March 5th.  The three weeks you’ve been conducting operations are beginning to take a toll. It seems more like a two months since you arrived in Atropia, but it’s only been two weeks. 1st Battalion is wrapping up its movement to contact covering nearly 24 kilometers since last night. You’re starting to feel the effects from a lack of sleep. The platoons are set in their positions and you were just about to close your eyes when your RTO comes over.  “Sir, new orders – intelligence  suggest the enemy seized an airfield about 5 clicks from our position.  BN wants us to seize the airfield NLT 12 hours from now.”

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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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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)
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Maintaining at Pace

An NTC Update Series of Articles

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In February 2020, the NTC Operations Group published an article entitled “Winning the Maintenance Fight At Pace.”  The article highlighted some common shortcomings with regards to creating a culture of maintenance in our formations as well as tips for building a solid maintenance program capable of performing in any environment. In March, the Officers and NCOs of Operations Group at the National Training Center built upon that article in an effort to help us all understand specific tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that can allow the Army to maintain combat power while simultaneously conducting large scale combat operations against a near peer threat.

Spc. Michelle Metzger, a motor transport operator with 1487th Transportation Company, Ohio Army National Guard, applies grease to her vehicle at Multinational Base – Tarin Kot, Afghanistan, Aug. 12, 2013. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Jessi Ann McCormick
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Cavalry Squadron Maintenance

NTC Lessons on Maintaining at Pace

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One of the biggest challenges facing a cavalry squadron at NTC is demand of maintaining their equipment in a tactical environment. Units often provide maintenance support from their motor pool while training at home-station, lending themselves to brick and mortar infrastructure and easy access to their brigade supply support activity (SSA) and other SSAs on the same installation. These unrealistic work conditions create complacency in our ability to conduct maintenance in a tactical environment. Under this construct, units do not stress their equipment, develop analog systems of record, test the strength of their shop stock listing (SSL), practice their 5988-E flow, or fine-tune hasty maintenance meetings at Logistical Release Points (LRPs).

A Soldier from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, unloads his Stryker armored fighting vehicle after a long day of conducting fire missions at the National Training Center Aug. 12. Photo by Army Spc. Ryan Hallock.
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Combined Arms Battalion Maintenance

NTC Lessons on Maintaining at Pace

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Operations in a Decisive Action environment against a near-peer threat stress maintenance systems at all levels. The units that go through the NTC carry in training level and competency. The following discussion is based on combined arms battalion maintenance observations over the last eight rotations.

An M1A2SEP Abrams Tank from Company C, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment ‘Desert Rogues’, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, sits ready while others complete the night portion of the Gunnery Table VI in the background at Red Cloud Range, Dec. 12. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Richard Wrigley, 2nd ABCT, 3rd ID, Public Affairs NCO).