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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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Recruiting Company Command

A Critical Job That Will Improve Your Leadership Skills

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Company Command is a critical assignment in the growth and development of Army officers. Recruiting company command is a fantastic opportunity available to officers from most branches. But it is often misunderstood. The geographical dispersion of recruiting companies and the difficult environment can be challenging. But these challenges should be viewed as opportunities that will help young leaders improve their leadership skills.  Additionally, officers serving in recruiting gain an appreciation for this strategically important side of our Army. This experience will serve them, and the Army, well as they progress in their careers. 

Gen. Gus Perna, commander of Army Materiel Command, administers the oath of enlistment to 27 future Soldiers during the 2019 AUSA Global Force Symposium and Exposition ROTC/Future Soldiers luncheon, March 28. (U.S. Army/Richard Bumgardner, USASAC Public Affairs)
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Objective Argon (Ambush)

A Tactical Decision Game for Cadets

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The Scenario

A week ago, when the last of the Arianan conventional forces withdrew from southern Atropia, your Battalion was tasked with clearing a AO Dagger in Northwestern Kurdamir province of remaining irregular forces.  Intelligence suggests that these irregular forces, consisting of approximately a company-sized element of the South Atropian People’s Army (SAPA), seek to disrupt US operations in the AO to prevent a massing of combat power while Arianan forces reconsolidate and prepare to defend or counterattack.  Their task organization as team-sized elements, and marked skill at avoiding decisive engagement make them a particularly frustrating opponent.

Though they have been attrited by approximately a third, identifying and maintaining contact with their elements continues to prove difficult.  Every opportunity to close with the SAPA brings the mission closer to completion.

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A Beginner’s Guide to Army Doctrine

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The task of familiarizing oneself with Army doctrine can be both daunting and confusing.  With the information being so readily accessible, becoming doctrinally fluent should be as simple as firing up ArmyPubs for some leisurely reading.  But with the high rate of change in publication and the breadth of publications available (ADPs, FMs, ATPs, ARs, etc…) it is no surprise that many young leaders have difficulty understanding where to begin their studies.

This article serves to demystify Army’s official body of knowledge and provide a foundation of understanding to foster self-study.  We examine four different categories of Army publications and provide recommended readings for each.  While the focus of the piece is specifically doctrine (defined in the following paragraph), it also introduces other publications that are of critical importance to aspiring leaders.*  Study and application of regulations, doctrine, and other publications is an ongoing endeavor that must be sustained throughout the span of a career.  As in all professions, the earlier and more broadly one immerses them self in their professional body of knowledge, the more successfully they will access and apply it.

*Suggested readings selected primarily based on their applicability to the primary audience (cadets and new lieutenants).

A fine setting for studying doctrine. photo by Staff Sgt. Jeremy Crisp
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Priorities

Suggestions and Lessons Learned

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Upon assuming his role as the Army Chief of Staff, General Milley’s speech included many of the expected platitudes. What set his remarks apart, however, was the unquestionable declaration on how the Army would remain the most elite fighting force in the world. It was then that General Milley announced with absolute certainty the words that would shape every subordinate command for the next four years: “readiness is the Army’s number one priority.”

Regardless of the level of leadership, the three critical principles of Mission Command are fundamentally impossible without leaders clearly dictating the priorities of the organization. Those principles are communicating commander’s intent, establishing shared understanding, and exercising disciplined initiative (ADP 6-0, Ch. 1, p. 26). This primer outlines how to best establish your organization’s priorities, and when it’s appropriate to change them.

Clearly defined and consistently communicated intent enable mission command throughout the organization. photo by Staff Sgt. Michael J MacLeos
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So, your summer training is cancelled…

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Perhaps you had the impression that you would be attending institutional Army training this summer.  Be it Cadet Troop Leader Training (CTLT), Individual Academic Development, Cadet Summer Training, Airborne or Air Assault School, or any of the myriad other training opportunities afforded to Cadets, the unfortunate fact is that many of these opportunities are being curtailed or all-together cancelled due to the effects of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.  Fortunately, there are other opportunities available to you to aid you in becoming the best leader you can be.

Curl up by the fire with some professional reading. Photo by CPT John Landry
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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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Training in the time of COVID-19

A Line Platoon's Experience

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As I worked the last few days of my short stint as an assistant S3, I could hardly contain the enthusiasm for the plans I had envisioned for my platoon. On the training calendar were numerous Live Fire Exercises (LFX) and Field Training Exercises (FTX) lined up to support mentoring and development of the young soldiers in 1st Platoon, Assault Company, 1-8th Infantry Regiment, 3ABCT, 4ID. COVID-19 had other plans.

Members of 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, patrol in the woods during a day of training at the gas chamber on Fort Sill, Oklahoma, May 14, 2020. Soldiers were required to wear face coverings when not wearing their gas masks. (Sgt. Amanda Hunt/Army)