1 Attachment(s)
Lead, coordinate and synch all
When we got to this slide shortly after lunch, this little yellow text box got most of us listening again :rolleyes:
Most of us paused (sigh) when we heard...
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A complete and detailed approach focused on a general solution for the entire Army
Positive experiences with AWG
I had some good experience with the AWG guys. I'd sum the organization up as SF NCOs conducting FID with regular US military.
Prior to deployment (spring 2006), they provided dedicated marksmenship training for three of my NCOs at Bragg. Several school houses deploy training teams CONUS these days (Scout course, Sniper School) IOT maximize training opportunities.
In country, they embedded with my company for two weeks to observe and coach. I liked it b/c it gave my leaders and I a second set of neutral eyes to evaluate our company's operation and TTPs.
Overall, the program is win-win. The AWG gets to train units and pass on what works/doesn't work, and they also get the observe many different units.
Mike
What Happened to TRADOC? (II)
Retired Army Major General Robert Scales says the following in today's Best Defense blog by Tom Ricks:
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You have made some very useful observations about TRADOC. But really the issue is not TRADOC so much as the state of intellectual capital in the Army. When we overused our equipment in units we "circle x'd" minor faults (then called deferred maintenance). If the odometer or the fuel gauge went on the fritz units deferred maintenance so vehicles could still be driven. Inevitably the fleet melted down under the cumulative effect of neglect over time. We are at a similar place now with our intellectual capital.
Click on the link below to read the rest of the article.
http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts..._in_the_scales
Whatever Happened to TRADOC? (III)
From the Tom Ricks blog today:
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The shallowness of General Dempsey's presentation was all the more striking to me because on the same day I read a similar piece by retired Army Lt. Gen. David Barno. Like Dempsey, Barno is grappling with change and trying to look into the future, but he shows much more rigor and originality in doing so. He also challenges the Army far more than Dempsey did.
Click on the link below for the entire story:
http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts...arno_challenge
TRADOC interview over at National Journal Online
TRADOC contractors are essential, like it or not
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Originally Posted by
Schmedlap
If TRADOC has responsibility for training and leader development, then that is a problem.
"Taking a knee" generally refers to taking a breather. "Tapping out" would be the proper phrase for quitting. I don't know how it can be considered a "put down" to consider a non-operational assignment to be "taking a knee." It's just an acknowledgment that the tempo in operational assignments is far more intense than a non-deployable position.
Several points:
* Many Soldiers have earned "taking a knee" given repeated combat deployments in austere and dangerous conditions away from their families
* Using TRADOC contractors frees Soldiers for resetting TOE units so their expertise is best applied in units preparing for combat while still "taking a knee" stateside with their families
* TRADOC contractors are a necessity because the Army deploys more often and for longer durations than any other service...which might, IMO, indicate an unbalanced distribution of service personnel if some branches can deploy 4-7 months while the Army is deploying 12-15 months....with a year break in between.
* TRADOC contractors often are less expensive than military personnel and develop writing and research expertise that are lost when Soldiers learn a TRADOC job and then leave it
* TRADOC contractors provide institutional memory without the cost of extra permanent civil service personnel who we complement by working programs for several years and then moving on to other programs without the billet still being there
As part of an Army-contractor team, for the past 8 years I have written doctrine, worked FCS task analysis and training, and currently we are conducting doctrine and tactics training for a new Army system. The Army is getting it's money's worth from company team members who work TRADOC-related jobs, just as it does for our company's government and private sector clients. Our extensive experience working for TRADOC coupled with past military experience, gives us some unique capabilities and perspectives.
True military personnel could do the same thing, but some of the drudgery associated with technical requirements for doctrine writing and lesson plan development are the intellectual equivalent of KP. We long ago decided contractors could accomplish KP and other dull work to spare Soldiers from such duties. It's all the worse if Soldiers perform such dull duties and it does not help their careers much in the process.
Sort of agree with both Schmedlap and Eden
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Originally Posted by
Schmedlap
I'm not sure how to square your insights with your question.
Long days + no days off + less time with family < shorter days + days off + more time with family?
I guess the work behind the desk sucks a lot more. But I'm thinking that being able to take frequent showers, getting to eat real food, having a somewhat more normal sleep schedule, actually getting some days off, and having more predictable hours has got to more than offset the added mental strain.
I didn't much like my unaccompanied year flying in the Sinai, so can't imagine repeat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
On the other hand, in a TRADOC environment, it's stressful making major revisions to 20 collective tasks followed by development of nearly 700 slides and 200 pages of lesson plans for training within a six month period.
There are things learned from both a TDA and TOE assignments.