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The Danger of “Should”

Guest Post by Capt. Benjamin Hockman

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In 218 B.C.E., Hannibal crossed the Alps and invaded the Italian peninsula. It should not have been possible to bring a large army, including cavalry and elephants, along that route during winter. When the two armies met at Cannae, Hannibal’s elephants were long dead, and he was outnumbered 5 to 3. The Roman leadership assumed their standard tactics would be sufficient. What should have been a straightforward victory became one of the most famous massacres in military history; Hannibal slaughtered virtually all of the 50,000 Romans.

A 173rd Airborne Brigade Paratrooper gives directions to his troops while participating in Exercise Immediate Response at Pocek Training Area, Slovenia, May 15, 2019. Exercise Immediate Response is a multinational exercise co-led by Croatian Armed Forces, Slovenian Armed Forces, and U.S. Army Europe. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Henry Villarama)
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Not Just for Nerds

Real-Time Military Strategy Games as TDEs

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Real-time strategy computer games are an underused tool for teaching tactics and strategy. Hold your skepticism and hard eye-roll for just a moment. I’m not talking about first person shooters where you look through the eyes of a soldier (although some of these games might have a place when it comes to tactical teamwork and on the spot decision-making). I am referring to tactical strategy games where the gamer control various units against another thinking, human being. They are simulations and they are not perfect, but I believe if you can teach a tactical leader the controls of some of these games you can hit home the complexity of tactical combat.

Wargame, and other such real-time strategy video games, offer another tool to add to our TDG kit. We push LVC-G options at the unit level, why not look to open source, market solutions as well. Image retrieved from YouTube still photo.

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Want to Avoid Getting W.T.F!ed? Lead.

A Response to U.S. Army W.T.F! Moments' Article

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The U.S Army W.T.F! Moments Admin Team recently wrote a guest piece on Joe Byerly’s blog, From the Green Notebook, titled “The Leader’s Guide to Being Featured on U.S. Army W.T.F! Moments.” The team offered the 10 most common ways leaders find themselves featured on their forum. Like any list, this one is ripe for a few addenda. While they offer a great list, these 10 examples are the baseline; they are the minimum expectation of our leaders. Here are an additional 3 ways you can strive to create a command climate that avoids the dubious honor of a W.T.F! Feature.

Brigadier General Hodne, Deputy Commanding General–Infantry Maneuver Center of Excellence, talks with Charlie Rock 22-week OSUT Soldiers of the Mailed Foot Battalion (2-54 IN) at Fort Benning Georgia. (Photo Retrieved from the 2-54 IN Facebook Page).
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Fight for Information (ABCT PLT Recon)

The Company Leader TDG 19-06

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You are a scout (recon) platoon leader in Apache Troop, 5-7 CAV, 1st ABCT, 3rd ID. You and your troop are conducting a zone reconnaissance in Donovian occupied territory of Atropia, from PL MIAMI (Whale Gap) north to PL BOSTON (the northern wall). Over the previous two weeks, your brigade has traded blows with elements of the 111th Brigade Tactical Group (BTG) in your fight to liberate Atropia. Your squadron has been critical in answering Brigade PIRs and informing the Brigade Commander’s decisions. But now isn’t the time to hit the breaks. As your infantry battalions shift their movement northward, it’s again time for you to cross LD in advance to provide space in time and fight for information.

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Don’t Schedule – Prioritize to Maximize

Maintaining Consistent Development During Seasons of Inconsistency

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Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes – if you were able to read that without singing, you may not have seen RENT. We have 525,600 minutes in a year, each of them equal in seconds but varying in value. We define the importance of these minutes by how we use them. Tailoring this to a week, we have 168 hours to accomplish that to which we invest our hearts and minds. Josh Bowen of 3×5 Leadership provides a great overview in terms of structured time in his piece “6 Ways I Develop as a Leader Each Week.” But, what if this framework doesn’t work for you? In this post, we will review 3 guidelines to maintain consistent self-development in an inconsistent schedule.

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Operationalizing the Battle Staff in Garrison

Part II: Processes and Procedures

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Now that you replicated your tactical command post in your unit headquarters (Read Part I HERE), you need to put it to use. If the Command Post exists to enable Commander decision-making and to synchronize and support the efforts of subordinates, then we must implement the processes and procedures necessary to facilitate those efforts. Establish a battle rhythm focused on Commander touchpoints, build the running estimates that efficiently inform his or her decisions, and enforce tactical reporting as the mechanism to update those running estimates.

Engineer Advisors from A Co, 5th BN, 1st SFAB work with FORSCOM units to enable their advisory missions in the Indo-Pacific region. Photo Retrieved from Facebook.
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Beware the Casual Clausewitzian

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Major General Carl von Clausewitz’s On War sparks discussions in military classrooms across the world. However, German General Gunther Blumentritt cautioned against handing Clausewitz’s work to the military, as it is like “allowing a child to play with a razor blade.”[i] It is certainly not an endeavor to be taken lightly, as Clausewitz’s difficult writing style, which is full of metaphors and philosophy, is challenging and prone to misinterpretation to those not ready to wrestle with his ideas. Overcoming this requires serious preparation, repetition, and reflection to develop a personal understanding of Clausewitz’s insights on war.[ii] As growing professionals, it is important to understand the business of our profession–war–and wrestling with his ideas is a great place to start learning about war’s nature, despite claims to the contrary.

A grenadier with 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, strives for maximum lethality on the battlefield. Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, April 3, 2019. T (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Geoff Cooper)
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Operationalizing the Battle Staff in Garrison

Part I: Train Like You Fight

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In the next Decisive Action (DA) conflict, we will be outnumbered, outgunned, and potentially matched in every other domain. If this is the case, then we can only win by synchronizing and massing combined arms at the decisive point faster than the enemy. We must anticipate the enemy’s scheme of maneuver, develop a collection plan to confirm it, synchronize fires and effects to attrit enemy forces, and provide subordinate commanders with a detailed plan to execute the enemy’s destruction–all while conducting protection and sustainment operations. To quote the 25thCommander of Operations Group, “We have to do this perfectly and continuously, every time.” Developing and retaining proficient and cohesive battle staff teams is essential to winning the next first fight.

1st Cavalry Division Troopers at NTC. Image retrieved from Twitter.
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Hitting the Mark

Teaching Unit Level Marksmanship

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Marksmanship in the Army is continually evolving, and everyone seems to be an “expert.”  Leaders at all levels tend to limit their teaching to the TTPs that they think work best. Individuality has its benefits, but we can’t rely on a “shooter’s preference” mentality when teaching marksmanship. Don’t become the NCO who says “this is how I did it,” or “this is how I was taught.” Learn the standard and know the doctrine. We need to balance hard-earned experience with an understanding of our constantly developing profession. TTPs and personal experience makes NCOs stronger as teachers and trainers. But if they aren’t built on a strong doctrinal foundation, we are setting our soldiers and future NCOs up for failure.

Soldiers with 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, prepare to qualify on the M240 and M249 in South Korea, Jan. 25, 2019. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Alon Humphrey)
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Deliberate and Measured

My Love Affair with Strykers

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Military folks love to argue myriad topics, but one that seems to stoke the vitriolic flame is Strykers. Whether it is their inception, their fielding, their maintenance issues, or the never-ending up-gun debate, the Army community is never short on opinions about Strykers. There are valid arguments on all sides, but I–for one–love Strykers.