Those Readiness Training Brigades are a beautiful example of unintended consequences and flawed training strategies.

They were created in the wake of Desert Storm during which the Active Army fough stupidly and successfully to avoid deploying ArNG comabt units by insisting they had to go through the NTC. One Brigade was about to be declared operationally ready -- much to the chagrin of Binny Peay and Carl Vuono -- when the war ended, thus the issue became moot. That fiasco resulted in Congress passing a law that instituted those Readiness Training Brigades and a very wrong emphasis on collective skills. One AC GO called a Congressional Staffer he knew and asked what on earth Congress meant by that convoluted law. The response was that Congress wanted to make sure that in future wars, the ArNG was used as that would justify the costs. The GO replied "Well, you've screwed the pooch. You should have passed a law that said that. What you've done is create a monster that won't do what you want, will be terribly expensive, will harm both the AC and the RC and will create as many problems as it solves." He was horrifyingly right...

We simply do not train the basics well, AC or RC. We insist on teaching folks how to run before they can crawl, much less walk. I recall watching the 1-17th Infantry make a heliborne assault at Nightmare Range in the ROK some years ago. Great job, looked like a Benning training film. This from a Battalion that did not know how to employ, maintain or even dismount its M113s or conduct competent dismounted patrols.

However, they had good PT scores, could do great dog and pony shows and sent all their Platoon Leaders to Motor Stables.

Mayhap if we force the AC to become smaller, we can find time for everyone to become better...