Army Training Network

On a break between discussions I was able to have a quick chat with COL Paul Funk, Deputy Commander of Combined Arms Center-Training (CAC-T). I asked him what his major concerns were and what was happening on the training side in regards to the issues being discussed at the SLC. In a nut shell:

• How are we going to deliver adaptive, versatile leaders (officer and NCO)?
  
• The Army Training Network, which went IOC on 20 April, will address the “how to train” portion of individual training, home station training, training center activities and training while deployed.
  
• Will also address the practical application of education in unit training.
  
• Meant to fundamentally change how the Army trains.

More from STAND-TO! Article dated 21 April 2009:

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Army Training Network

What is it?

Army Training Network (ATN) is the newest online tool designed for trainers and educators to provide best practices, a database of training solutions and collaborative tools such as a Blog and Battle Command Knowledge System forum. Accessible through a secure Army Knowledge Online (AKO) sign-in, ATN will be an important source of information about the many Army training resources available. The Army launched an initial operating capability for ATN yesterday.

What has the Army done?

ATN replaces FM 7-1, Battle Focused Training. As FM 7-1 provided examples of and guidance for ways to implement the concepts in the 2002 version of FM 7-0 Training the Force, so, too, shall ATN complement the 2008 FM 7-0 Training for Full Spectrum Operations. The major difference is that TRADOC can update ATN as often as necessary rather than wait years for the publication of a manual that would be out of date upon publishing. ATN is not doctrine. It provides an intuitive, easy to navigate website focused on Army training best practices, solutions and collaborative tools. Through Army-wide calls for training products, the ATN team has collected over 500 products from the field, and posted the best of them to the products portion of the Web site. ATN is always growing and will mature with time.

What efforts does the Army plan to continue in the future?

Because ATN is online, it will be available to the Army 24 x 7. Because it is "virtual" it will always remain current with no physical copy to maintain. Training solutions will now be at the fingertips of trainers through down loadable text and training examples with embedded links for easy use. Training management is now streamlined to provide best practices and unit-provided examples. The Combined Army Center manages ATN. CAC realizes that the training information business has turned into a "thousand blooming flowers." CAC and TRADOC HQ intend to eventually meld ATN into the Digital Training Management system as DTMS becomes the one-stop training management tool for the Army.

Why is this important to the Army?

Training techniques must adapt at least as rapidly as operations change. The Army wants leaders who are adaptive to the operational environment. Full- spectrum operations, modular forces, versatile adversaries and the reality of persistent conflict, forces the Army to think differently about training. A Web-based system allows Army leaders to share best ideas on training more intelligently, more effectively and more efficiently.

Resources:

Log in required: Army Training Network Web site

U.S. Army combined Arms Center Web site

Battle Command Knowledge System

FM 7-0 Training for Full Spectrum Operations

Related article:

Army Training Network set to launch

Related blogs:

The spectrum of conflict and aim point

CMETL and training conditions

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How big a piece of paper would it take to write down the Army's organization chart? I mean an org chart that would show all of the Army's schools, offices, directors, groups, etc., etc. The Army's structure is very complicated - no one can argue against that.

That seems bad. But maybe it is good. How could that be?

The conference just discussed rifle marksmanship training. The discussion noted that the Army had a variety of techniques and methods of teaching basic rifle marksmanship, with each training center doing things its own way. In addition, the Army has created new training groups to teach new shooting techniques for tasks such as convoy duty, irregular warfare situations, and so forth. Several wondered why the Army allowed new organizations to spring up when original training groups should adapt to handle new training demands. When each new task results in a new organization, one can see why the Army got complicated.

But is this bad? One senior general made the point that allowing such "bureaucratic entrepreneurs" to flower brings in new ideas from new directions, permits ambition to result in action, and improves morale among leaders who think they have good ideas.

The result is a very cluttered organization, which drains time and effort from senior leaders. In addition, many of these new organizations will end up being bad ideas and wasteful of resources. But these may be acceptable prices to pay for the benefits that result, both in new ideas and for those leaders with good ideas.

-Robert Haddick