Military

This article synthesizes two years worth of observations into a compact set of doctrinally grounded, specific recommendations to assist support battalion company commanders and first sergeants in planning and preparing for a rotation at the NTC. Company leaders need to focus their efforts on the fundamentals. To be successful the company must first learn to crawl before it can walk or run. The first challenge (crawl stage) is for leaders to develop standards. The second challenge (walk and run stage) is for every soldier in that organization to exercise disciplined initiative in executing those standards. As Vince Lombardi once commented, “ The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual. ” After standards have been developed, are understood, and are readily attainable, the unit is ready to run.

Orders Process and Time Management.

Due primarily to poor time management, company leadership does not consistently issue fragmentary, warning, and operation orders (verbal or written) during their training at the NTC. Company commanders and first sergeants spend their days in a frenzy of activity managing the myriad of tasks before them and ultimately lose focus and fail to delegate tasks to key subordinates. Empowering your subordinate leaders and providing clear direction as to the way you want the mission accomplished will enable you as company commanders and first sergeants to focus on future operations.

Key leaders from each section and platoon must be present during the orders process itself. Some self-checks may include the following:

• Have the reconnaissance and surveillance (R&S) overlay/matrix, operational, and combat service support graphics (at a minimum) been acquired and disseminated in order to effectively battle-track and anticipate logistical requirements based on the tactical situation?
• Has information (task and purpose) filtered its way down to the lowest levels?
• Once the order and backbriefs are complete, has the company leadership given its subordinate leaders enough time (1/3 - 2/3 Rule) to plan and prepare accordingly?

PCC/PCIs.

Do personnel and equipment meet unit standards outlined in the battalion/company tactical standing operating procedure (TACSOP)? If not, have discrepancies been submitted to the proper authority, and have follow-ups been conducted to ensure that missing and non-functional items are immediately replaced?

Units deploy to the NTC with thorough PCC/PCI checklists embedded in the TACSOP. However, subordinate leaders do not follow the checklists when preparing for operations because the checklists are neither readily accessible nor specific to a particular company function. A successful technique is developing PCC/PCI checklists for both daily activities and convoy operations. Require the signature of either the platoon leader or platoon sergeant on the checklists and maintain them at the company command post until completion of the mission. This method demands key leader involvement while also incorporating a system of checks and balances.

The daily activities checklist should include tasks such as daily preventive maintenance checks and services, weapons cleaning/test fires (headspace and timing for M2s), communication checks on command and subordinate nets (ambulance transfer point [AXP] and unit maintenance collection point [UMCP] personnel), and the physical condition and operability of equipment (camouflage, M8/M22 chemical alarms, protective masks, and field/MOPP gear). The convoy operations checklist should focus on particulars such as:

• Are vehicles topped off?
• Do soldiers have ample food, water, and ammunition?
• Are night vision and land navigation devices in a working state?
• Are load-plans (secondary loads) present and secure?
• Have FM communications been established with higher headquarters?
• Are soldiers aware of the current tactical threat?

At a minimum, soldiers and leaders should accomplish these checks before any vehicle and/or personnel depart the brigade support area. Executed correctly, PCC/PCIs will give soldiers and organizations their best shot at maintaining safety and achieving success on the battlefield.

Rehearsals.

Rehearsals are a very important element in preparation for combat. They allow soldiers to understand their place in the fight and build confidence in their ability to execute the mission. Rehearsals help leaders see how things might happen, what might go wrong, how the plan needs to be changed, and what things leaders failed to consider.

Company level rehearsals are not practiced with any regularity at the NTC. When executed, the backbrief and battle-drill/SOP rehearsal technique all pay big dividends. Some recommended considerations are:

• Movement operations: Was a route or map reconnaissance conducted, has a movement rehearsal taken place, were enemy actions on contact discussed, have PCC/PCIs been executed, and do all participants have strip maps?
• THREATCON status operations: When does the company go to one hundred percent manning, what is the task and purpose behind battalion quick reaction force (QRF) and R&S operations, and what are the established fire control measures (to include ground and aerial target engagement criteria)?
• Tactical ballistic missile (TBM) strikes: Do all soldiers have their MOPP gear in close proximity, are buddy-checks being conducted, are there audible alarms, are the M8/M22 chemical alarms activated, what sections execute M256 kits, and what are the internal reporting procedures?
• Casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) operations: Has the company established a casualty collection point (CCP), what is the role of the combat life savers, are there litters with straps, have four-man litter teams been identified, is patient triage taking place, and are non-standard platform(s) readily available to transport casualties?
• Save plan operations: Have we identified both equipment and personnel, are assets checked on a daily basis to ensure their state of readiness for rapid deployability, and has the battalion/company established a linkup point

Rehearsals significantly reduce confusion. A simple walk-through helps soldiers visualize who should be where and do what when. Units must refine and enforce their SOPs and, more importantly, take advantage of every opportunity to train the rehearsal process at home station.

Company Defense.

In order for the company to perform its wartime mission, it must survive. In order to survive, a company must be able to successfully thwart both Level 1 and 2 threats. Careful planning and diligent effort will enhance an organization’s ability to survive and win on the battlefield.

During initial and subsequent occupations, soldiers and leaders must clearly understand and exercise the companies' priorities of work (security, wire obstacles, communications, hasty and deliberate fighting positions, and camouflage). Once adjacent unit coordination has taken place (during quartering or advance party operations), the company is ready to establish its defensive framework.

• Fighting positions: Leaders must establish sectors of fire prior to soldiers constructing fighting positions. Are fighting positions to standard (dimensions, overhead/frontal cover, sector/limiting stakes, clearance of fires, identification of dead space, and range cards)? All positions must be progressively developed to insure flexibility, security, and protection in depth. Is the most critical killing system (M2 machine gun) positioned along a high-speed enemy avenue of approach and are soldiers familiar with its proper operation? When does battalion require the company to turn-in a consolidated sector sketch? Are there ammunition issues (especially with soldiers forward on the battlefield)?
• Wire: Is it to standard (single, double, or triple-strand with pickets properly emplaced)? Are key leaders checking the wire daily for breaks? If not, the opposing force (OPFOR) will be sure to capitalize and inflict significant damage.
• M8/M22 alarms: Are they strategically and doctrinally emplaced to provide the company early warning, and have they been properly marked and activated?
• Vehicle dispersion and camouflage: Are vehicles/equipment roughly 50 meters apart and camouflaged throughout the perimeter? Power generation shortfalls (authorization shortages) may present a problem with the proper dispersion of assets within the company area, so plan accordingly.
• R&S plan: Does the company have a role in the battalion’s plan (listening post/observation post [LP/OP], named area of interest [NAI], or roving patrols)? What is the task and purpose and through what channels do our elements report--the battalion S2/3 or the company headquarters?

This is tough business and it requires leaders to actively participate and enforce standards in order to sustain a viable defense. Although the topics of discussion may seem simple and obvious, they present true challenges to rotational units. The adage “never be satisfied because improvement is always possible” says it all. Only when your organization leaves the NTC better trained and combat ready will you truly value the experience. Revisiting and/or refining basic skills is not a step backwards; it is the first step to success at the NTC.