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Air Defense Artillery School

Fort Bliss, the home of Air Defense Artillery, was the home of the Air Defense Artillery School and the ADA Officer Basic Course. The U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery (ADA) School Transformation is proceeding in consonance with Army Transformation, Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Transformation, and Air and Missile Defense (AMD) Transformation. The ADA School started the transformation process early by initiating projects in strategic planning and doctrine and training development. This head start has made the ADA School a lead pilot program for TRADOC Transformation. In 2005, however, the Department of Defense recommended to move the ADA to Fort Sill, OK and consolidate it with another training unit into a Net Fires School (see below for details).

The U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery School at Fort Bliss, TX, which is the home of air defense leadership and technical training, traces its lineage to the Artillery School for Instruction. This school, the oldest service school in the Army, laid the foundation for the present system of military education in the Army.

The U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery School (USAADASCH) is one of some 40 centers, schools, and activities in the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). Under the functional oversight of the Combined Arms Command (CAC), USAADASCH serves as the center of excellence for all aspects of Army air and missile defense.

The USAADASCH mission is to develop challenging training programs for both U.S. and Allied personnel that will produce leaders who are technically and tactically proficient; provide ADA units with fightable doctrine, organizations structured to support the full range of Army operations and superior weapon systems enabling them to achieve decisive victory with minimum casualties. To achieve this mission and to support U.S. forces worldwide, USAADASCH has identified the following mission essential task list items, keyed to the TRADOC domains of Doctrine, Training, Leader Development, Organization, Materiel, and Soldiers.

The primary organizations within USAADASCH are the Directorate of Combat Developments (DCD); the Directorate of Tactics, Training and Doctrine (DOTTD); the Office of the Chief of Air Defense Artillery (OCADA); the Directorate of Total Force Integration (DTFI); 6th Air Defense Artillery Brigade; TRADOC System Manager - Theater Missile Defense (TSM-TMD); TRADOC System Manager - Short Range Air Defense (TSM-SHORAD); and the Management Support Office (MSO). The standard pattern of organizational structure for USAADASCH is the directorate or command, the division or battalion, the branch or battery, and the section. In addition, "office" is an integral part of the organization, denoting staff elements that perform a special function or provide advice and assistance in connection with administration and operations.

Officers commissioned in the ADA start their careers with attendance at the ADA Officer Basic Course at the Air Defense Artillery School. During this 20-week course they are prepared for their first duty assignments and become familiar with the family of air defense weapons and their tactical employment. Based on needs of the Army and their personal preference, student officers are either trained in forward area air defense systems (FAADS), which maneuver with tactical ground units or specialize in high- to medium range- (HIMAD) missile systems, which defend division, corps, theater, and geopolitical assets.

The Officer Basic Course is designed to provide the newly commissioned Air Defense Lieutenant the tactical and technical skills he or she needs to assume control of a platoon sized element and prepare it to fight America's battles. The course is broken down into a common core phase and a weapon track phase. Students will attend either the SHORAD course or the PATRIOT course upon successful completion of the common core phase. The Common Core phase has four distinct segments. The Core 1A segment teaches the Lieutenant skills on Military Graphics, terminology, and Organization of the Army. The Core 1B segment teaches skills on Training Management; Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare; Military Justice; The Law of Land Warfare; and The Army Physical Fitness Program. The Core 2 segment teaches skills on the Army Supply System, The Army Maintenance Management System (TAMMS), Combat Service Support (CSS) operations. Finally, the Core 3 segment teaches skills on maneuver force offensive and defensive operations, Army Airspace Command and Control (A2C2), USAF Tactical Air Operations, Fundamentals of Air Defense Operations, and integration of Army Air Defense into maneuver force operations. Each Weapons Track is designed to provide in depth instruction of the technical and tactical aspects of the specific ADA weapon system the lieutenant has been assigned.

After this basic schooling, new officers are normally assigned as platoon leaders of Patriot, BSFV/Stinger, or Stinger/Avenger platoons. In BSFV units, the platoons often operate independently from present batteries to provide area air defense support for infantry and armor elements. As Stinger/Avenger platoon leaders, their troops will be deployed to protect critical assets in rear areas, to support field artillery, and to defend light infantry maneuver forces from air attack. The officers' responsibilities include the operational training and tactical employment of the platoon, the maintenance of equipment, and the welfare and morale of soldiers.

Through this training and experience, the ADA officer normally qualifies for positions of increasing responsibility as an Air Defense Artillery Unit executive officer or staff officer in the various Air Defense organizations deployed around the world. These positions provide for both new challenges and professional development opportunities in a branch with a vital mission for preserving peace.

The next phase of formal training occurs between the third and fifth year of commissioned service and is known as the ADA Officer Career Course, a training course conducted at the Air Defense Artillery School. The course prepares officers to command at the battery level and to serve as battalion and brigade staff officers. Also included is instruction in the tactical employment of ADA batteries and other elements of the combined arms team.

In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, DoD would realign Fort Bliss, TX, by relocating the Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Center & School to Fort Sill, OK. This recommendation would also consolidate the Air Defense Artillery Center & School with the Field Artillery Center & School at Fort Sill to establish a Net Fires Center. This recommendation would consolidate Net Fires training and doctrine development at a single location. The moves would advance the Maneuver Support Center (MANSCEN) model, currently in place at Ft. Leonard Wood, which consolidated the Military Police, Engineer, and Chemical Centers and Schools. This recommendation would improve the MANSCEN concept by consolidating functionally related Branch Centers & Schools, which would foster consistency, standardization, and training proficiency. It would also facilitate task force stabilization, by combining operational forces with institutional training. In addition, it would consolidate both ADA and Field Artillery skill level I courses at one location, which would allow the Army to reduce the total number of Military Occupational Skills training locations (reducing the TRADOC footprint).