4th Brigade, 75th Division (Training Support)
[ex 479th Field Artillery Brigade]
The 479th Field Artillery Brigade was redesignated as 4th Brigade, 75th Division (Training Support) as of 01 October 1999.
4th Brigade, 75th Division is a Tri-component Organization with members drawn from the Active Army, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard. The Brigade's main focus is providing training support, assistance, and evaluation to client units. 4th Brigade is comprised of two Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) Training Support Battalions, three Combat Support / Combat Service Support (CS/CSS) Training Support Battalions and one Logistical Support Battalion. 4th Brigade's mission combines assistance to client units and the ability to deploy the client units to all parts of the world with support to Federal Agencies during Disaster Relief and response to Weapons of Mass Destruction incidents. 4th Brigade Provides: Observer / Controller-Trainer Teams to Reserve and National Guard Units in a seven state area; Disaster Relief and Weapons of Mass Destruction Response Teams; and Mobilization / Demobilization assistance to Reserve Units.
The Lineage of today's 4th Brigade, 75th Division is long and distinguished. In World War II as a combat unit, the Division proved its valor on the battlefield. Now the Brigade trains soldiers from across the nation to operate on new battlegrounds under varying conditions. It continues to strive for the high level of achievement its proud tradition demands.
The 4th Brigade, 75th Division has a proud heritage and lineage that is traced back to the 75th Infantry Division. The 75th 's baptism by fire began on Christmas Eve, 1944, during the "Battle of the Bulge". In the forested area known as the Ardennes, the Division was committed to some of the toughest fighting of the war in Western Europe. By the end ofJanuary 1945, the division was busily engaged in driving the retreating German forces from Alsace-Lorraine. As a result of its heroic actions in the Battle of the Bulge during December 1944, the Division became known as the "Bulge Busters".
Today, 4th Brigade carries on the fighting spirit of the "Bulge Busters" as a tri-component organization with members drawn from the Active Army, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard. The Brigade's main focus is providing training support, assistance, and evaluation to units in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota, and New Mexico. During disaster response situations, the Ready Fourth is there providing Military Support to Civilian Authorities. Tornadoes, Hurricanes, and Flooding; our soldiers are there helping put the pieces back together. When the call comes, as it did in World War II, the 4th Brigade is there. Currently supporting units deployed on contingency missions, such as those in Bosnia and Kosovo, the Brigade stands ready to support a major mobilization as in the 1991 Gulf War.
More than two-thirds of the Field Artillery is in the ARNG. The 479th Field Artillery Brigade, Fort Sill, OK provided U.S Army active component soldiers for training, evaluation, and mobilization support to U.S. Army National Guard and Reserve units.
In support of the 1990 Persian Gulf War, Reserve Component (RC) forces--Army National Guard (ARNG) and US Army Reserve (USAR)--mobilized and deployed, sometimes in advance of active forces. Benefiting from Cold War preparations and policy, both the Active Component (AC) and RC were better prepared than in the past to operate in the same theater. However, the Army still learned lessons from this mobilization.
For example, during the presidential selective reserve call-up, some units were assigned to headquarters with which they had never trained. Consequently, units could not coordinate with their gaining headquarters until after they knew to which headquarters they were assigned.
Additionally, some units mobilized at installations unfamiliar to them. These mobilization stations were understaffed because the RC units usually present under a full mobilization were not activated. Active units pulled double duty--deploying themselves while training and assisting RC units.
Another challenge was that new personnel were assigned as fillers to units immediately before deployment. Their level of expertise varied, and many were not military occupational specialty (MOS)-qualified. New equipment greatly enhanced RC unit capabilities, but units receiving the equipment after mobilization had little or no time to train on it. Scarce resources are continuing to cause problems in the length of the preparation time needed for RC units after mobilization and in the slowness of RC modernization, which will result in equipment compatibility problems on the battlefield.
In his One Team, One Fight, One Future concept of a totally integrated AC-RC force, General Reimer states that the Army must have one clear, consistent standard. Achieving one standard requires Army readiness to be tested and validated continually. Furthermore, a thorough assessment of training and mobilization is necessary to ensure both realistically meet the needs of the Force.
The AC-RC Training Association Program includes the AC training support brigades (TSBs) with their training support battalions (TSBns) working with RC units. New AC-RC TSB organizational changes that became effective 01 October 1999 with the implementation of Training Support XXI.
Each of the 10 AC TSB s in Fifth and First Armies that train RC FA units has its own procedures and operational policies to comply with training support requirements mandated by Federal law.
AC-RC Program Overview. Since the Gulf War, legislation and programs introduced for both the AC and RC strive to improve the mobilization, training and integration of the RC. The Army National Guard Combat Readiness Reform Act (ANGCRRA) of 1992 (Public Law 102-484, Title XI, as amended) requires that RC units considered essential for execution of the national strategy be associated with an AC unit. ANGCRRA also prescribes responsibilities for the associated unit commanders, commune called Title XI responsibilities.
In compliance with Title XI, Forces Command (FORSCOM) Regulation 350-4 AC-RC Training Association Program (17 August 1998) establishes associations between AC units and priority RC units. In addition, it provides the TSB guidance for readiness oversight responsibilities.
Not all RC units receive the same amount or type of training support. The RC unit's order for force generation--first-to-go in a deployment--coupled with its training needs determine the type and priority of support. Within Fifth Army, priority units include divisional roundout units (ROs), force support package (FSP) 1 and 2 units (primary feeder units into theaters one and two), units that will close into theater with the latest arrival dates less than or equal to 30 days (called LAD < 30 units), designated attack helicopter units (AH-64) and enhanced separate brigades (eSBs). The other "traditional" units are supported within the TSB's capability after supporting its priority units.
The 479th TSB is an active Army organization reporting directly to Fifth Army, a Continental United States Army (CONUSA) Command. Within Fifth Army, the 479th FAB has Title XI responsibility for FSP units that are not General Officer commands (GOCOMs) and for LAD < 30 units within its designated states.
These responsibilities include approving unit training programs; reviewing readiness reports; assessing manpower, equipment and training resource requirements; and validating the compatibility of the unit with AC forces. These responsibilities empower the TSB commander to approve yearly training plans (YTPs) and post-mobilization (post-mob) training plans (PMTP) for its FSP and LAD < 30 RC units (with the exception of GOCOMs).
FORSCOM Reg 350-2 specifies the TSBs help the RC unit commanders determine the information for their training assessment models (TAMs) in accordance with FORSCOM Regulation 220-3 Reserve Component Training Assessment. TAM is a management tool that provides leaders a framework for planning, supporting and assessing training readiness.
TSB Organization and Training Support Operations. The TSBs execute many of these responsibilities through their organic TSBns. In the case of the 479th FAB, it's organized into five battalions: two train RC multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS) units and three train RC combat support/combat service support (CS/CSS) units. The 479th's 1st TSBn (MLRS) advises priority RC units on training matters, assists in training validation and provides lane training.
The center of gravity of the TSB is its observer-controller/trainer (OC/T) teams in its TSBns. Each TSBn is composed of highly skilled and experienced teams that provide quality lane training, training assistance, assessment and feedback to their supported priority units.
The 479th FAB's two battalions that support ARNG MLRS units are configured the same. Each consists of three firing battery teams and a headquarters battery team--a total of six officers and 29 NCOs. It has 12 OC/T teams. The battalion's CS/CSS NCOs in the headquarters battery have a dual responsibility to provide OC/T teams for low-density CS/CSS MOS in MLRS units and internal organic support. The operations section plans and coordinates both internal training for the OC/Ts and external training with supported priority ARNG units.
Because the 479th supports ARNG MLRS units, other TSBns that work with FA units in direct support of ARNG maneuver units have a slightly different organizational structure. For example, such units include a fire support section.
The 479th's 1st TSBn provides training assistance, support and assessments for five FSP 2 units. These priority units are the 45th FAB; 1-158 FA (MLRS) plus its 1045th Ordnance Detachment and 1-171 FA (MLRS) plus its 1145th Ordnance Detachment, all in the Oklahoma ARNG.
AC and RC leaders at all levels work together to plan, execute and assess premobilization (pre-mob) and post-mob training, based on the unit's mission essential task list (METL). The pre-mob objective is to identify achievable, sustainable pre-mob training requirements that will produce a predictable starting point for post-mob training to accommodate the required deployment time line.
479th's Battle Rhythm. The TSB training support cycle is similar to the training management cycle in FM 25-101 Training the Force: Battle-Focused Training. Once a priority ARNG unit has been associated with an AC unit in accordance with FORSCOM Regulation 350-4, the commander of the 479th FAB forwards a memorandum to the unit. The memorandum identifies which AC unit will provide the ARNG unit training support and explains how the TSB will accomplish its training support responsibilities.
The 479th FAB charts its cycle of training support events, called its "Battle Rhythm," on a three-year calendar to ensure it executes its Title XI responsibilities. The 479th's Battle Rhythm covers the TSB's three-phase training cycle with overlapping planning cycles.
In Phase I, the 479th approves the ARNG battalions' post-mob plans in the first quarter of each year. The ARNG unit commander plans pre-and post-mob training by evaluating his unit's METL with the assistance of the TSB and its TSBn. He selects a specific set of tasks cross-walked with the METL that can be mastered and sustained annually within the pre-mob 39-day training year. The pre-mob set of tasks may include only the critical tasks for the most important METL missions. Those tasks not selected are deferred for post-mob training.
RC units in Fifth Army may separate these tasks by categories. Category 1 tasks are the most important that the RC unit commander determines he must train to Army standard and achieve the assessment of "trained" (T). Category 2 tasks are important, but time may be insufficient to achieve T. The RC commander only may have time to achieve an assessment of "needs practice" (P) and must allot time to train these tasks in post-mob training to achieve the Army standard. Category 3 tasks are those remaining that support the METL but can't be trained in the 39 days of training each year. These tasks are included in the PMTP. Identifying what collective tasks need to be trained leads to the unit's yearly training calendar (YTC) that directs when and where to train the tasks.
In Phase II, the primary focus during the second quarter is the preparation of the YTP for the following year and coordination for the current year's annual training (AT). The RC commander develops detailed post-mob plans with the help of its TSB/TSBn. The postmob training and support requirements (PTSR) document is updated with collective tasks that were not trained to Army standard during the training year. Upon mobilization, plans are reviewed and implemented by the organization responsible for validating the RC unit's combat readiness.
Approval of the YTP is followed by the yearly training brief (YTB) in the third quarter. The YTB is the ARNG unit's vehicle to present the YTP to the chain of command and to the TSB for approval. The YTB identifies the external resources necessary to accomplish the training. Inactive duty training (IDT) lane training also is completed in the third quarter.
During Phase III, the emphasis is on supporting and assessing AT in the fourth quarter of the year. In conjunction with the ARNG unit commander, the 1st TSBn assesses and evaluates the tasks performed during the IDT and AT portions of the training support cycle. OC/T teams use the after-action review (AAR) process to help the unit discover training deficiencies and determine corrective actions.
Based on the results of training, the ARNG commander reevaluates the status of his unit. He updates the TAM to identify the collective tasks and PTSR to be trained at AT. The annual TAM reflects the unit's functional, administrative and collective task areas, providing a "snapshot" of the unit's readiness rating. The ratings are based on success in training pre-mob tasks, impacting the number of days needed to attain combat readiness in future pre- and post-mob training.
After AT, the TSBn works with the ARNG unit to adjust its upcoming YTP and finalize training support agreements. AT planning begins two years prior to execution--hence, the 479th's three-year Battle Rhythm. AT scheduling conflicts are resolved during the Regional Scheduling Workshops (First Army) and the annual Training Support Synchronization Conference (First and Fifth Armies).
And then the cycle starts again with Phase 1. Throughout the cycle, the OC/ T teams provide branch, functional and mobilization assistance to their priority support units, as required.
ARNG Training Challenges. ARNG units face several training challenges. The ARNG budget limitations may not allow a leader to attend a leadership school required at his level and a major training event in the same year, limiting his timely development. The OC/T teams help by presenting unit leader classes covering topics such as troop leading procedures or other areas the ARNG unit commander wishes to emphasize.
Soldier proficiency is paramount. The ARNG commander faces the same challenges with soldier training as with leader training. Upon completion of initial entry training (IET) and usually during AT, the commander ensures that soldiers who are not duty MOS-qualified (DMOSQ) are enrolled in the first available MOS-producing school. These schools generally preclude participation in AT for a second year. Thus, the road to a fully DMOSQ soldier in an ARNG unit can be quite long. The OC/T teams' knowledge and experience are critical to the learning process of individuals and sections during training events.
Low-density MOS soldiers can present additional training challenges for ARNG commanders, especially when the geographic separation of subordinate units prevents consolidated training at the battalion level.
Some support for ARNG FA units comes from Infantry or Armor TSBns. Each TSB that has an eSB in its support area also includes an infantry or armor TSBn (depending on the branch designation of the eSB) that works in residence with the eSB. The eSB TSBn is organized by branch-specific companies or teams (formerly called resident training detachments, or RTDs), including an FA team. The company/team sizes vary but range from about three to seven people.
For example, First Army's 158th Infantry Brigade, a TSB at Patrick AFB in Florida, has no FA TSBns. However, it has an Infantry TSBn that works with the 53d Infantry Brigade, an eSB. Therefore, the Infantry TSBn includes an FA team in the armory with 2-116 FA, Florida ARNG, the FA battalion that is DS to the 53d Brigade.
Training Support XXI Organizational Changes. The Training Support XXI program continues to provide units suitably located to train and evaluate RC units on a prioritized basis. It consolidates all AC and RC soldiers into combat arms (CA) and CS/CSS battalions organized into a TSB under the command of a CONUSA. The TSBs will fall under the administrative control of training support divisions (TSDs), currently called Exercise Divisions, or DivExs.
Basically the reorganization takes the two separate training support structures (AC and RC) and integrates them into one. The AC structure is CONUSAs with TSBs and their TSBns, and the RC structure is the DivExs with field exercise brigades (FEBs) and their field exercise battalions (FEBns.) Training Support XXI organizes the CONUSAs' TSBs under the administrative control of the TSDs.
Except for unit name changes, the reorganization will be transparent for the user unit. For example, on 1 October, Fifth Army maintains operational control (OPCON) of the 75th Division that assumes administrative control of the 479th FAB.
Effective 16 October, the current TSB/ FEB and TSBns/FEBns will merge into tri-component (AC, ARNG, USAR) organizations called TSBs that change their unit designations in accordance with USAR lineage. Regardless, the TSBs will continue to support their same priority units. In the CONUSA, the TSBs will still be the single-source provider for METL development, YTP assistance, IDT/AT lane training support, PMTP/PTSR assistance, mobilization assistance and branch/functional area assistance.
As the Army postures for the 21st century, the traditional mix of AC and RC forces becomes redefined as do roles, responsibilities and associations. In 1996, for example, an AC lieutenant colonel assumed command of an Army National Guard (ARNG) FA battalion: Lieutenant Colonel John R. Hennigan, 1st Bn, 141st FA, Louisiana ARNG. In 1998, AC Redleg Colonel Mark A. Graham assumed command of the 40th Infantry Division (Mechanized) Artillery, part of the California ARNG. In the years ahead, command exchange programs will include RC officers commanding AC units.
The establishment of AC-RC training associations, the consolidation of the AC-RC training support structure for RC units and AC-RC unit command exchanges are only three of many programs to integrate the AC-RC into one Army.
Throughout it all, the TSB/TSBn and, more specifically, the OC/T teams will continue to provide the interface between the AC and RC to achieve the goals of one Army standard within the vision of One Team, One Fight, One Future.
