Further Reading

Army-Marine Integration Newsletter Vol. III

Newsletter 11-35
July 2011

Table of Contents

Foreword

The United States faces diverse challenges requiring a broad range of flexible capabilities to meet the ongoing security and stability operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, confront aggressive state and non-state actors, and provide humanitarian assistance. The key objective in force readiness and preparation to operate in diverse environments across the spectrum of conflict is flexibility. This enables the Army and Marine Corps to meet today's global challenges and successfully respond to emerging crises. Operational forces maintain flexibility to succeed in overseas contingency and civil support operations only through rigorous, effective training.

Effective training conditions thought processes, reinforces best practices, and improves operational capability. The best training combines personal and corporate knowledge with "hands-on" experience to keep Soldiers and Marines responsive and flexible to fast-changing operational environments. Each must be proficient in individual skills and critical collective functions identified in their unit mission-essential task lists. Today's ongoing complex operations demand adaptive training that realistically incorporates lessons learned and enemy and friendly tactics, techniques, and procedures for counterinsurgency (COIN) and hybrid operations. The dynamic demands of persistent conflict and a high operational tempo are met through effective training, which is essential to our nation's success.

This newsletter focuses on Army and Marine Corps predeployment and sustainment training for operations in Afghanistan as service, joint, or coalition forces. The professional journal articles included herein illustrate unit actions taken at home station, combat training centers, and in theater to prepare personnel and units to meet Operation Enduring Freedom's (OEF) challenges. The Soldiers and Marines highlighted clearly demonstrated ingenuity and leadership in their actions to defeat the enemy, enabled the operating forces, and successfully prosecuted all other missions relating to COIN and stability operations. The lessons learned and invaluable insight to training management can be readily adapted to similar situations encountered by either service.

The Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) and the Marine Corps Center for Lessons Learned (MCCLL) hope this issue stimulates innovation, learning, and sharing of ideas between services. The goal is to get the knowledge and insight found in these pages into the field in such a timely manner as to make them invaluable to the next Soldier and Marine in the deployment queue.

CALL and MCCLL provide vehicles to inform the operating forces; the doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and facilities (DOTMLPF) stakeholders; and the advocates of the unvarnished experiences of servicemen preparing for and engaged in operations. Reporting or relaying these experiences may provide the impetus to effect a change in any or all of the DOTMLPF pillars.

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