The upcoming TRADOC Senior Leaders Conference (TSLC) in Gettysburg comes at an important time for Training and Doctrine Command and for our Army. We continue to transform TRADOC while simultaneously supporting transitions in both OIF and OEF. Let me offer some thoughts and considerations as we put our shoulders behind these challenges and opportunities over the next 2 years.
If our experience over the last eight years has taught us anything, it's that war and conflict will continue to increase in complexity. We know that conflict will be waged among the population and for influence on the population, and we know our leaders and their soldiers will operate among a diverse set of actors along blurred military, political, economic, religious and ethnic lines with the potential for escalation and spillover in a variety of unpredictable ways.
Hybrid threats--combinations of regular military forces and irregular threats often in collaboration with criminal and terrorist elements--will migrate among operational themes to seek advantage. The operating environment will become more competitive as our adversaries decentralize, network, and gain technological capabilities formerly found only in the hands of nation states.
The challenge confronting us is building balance and versatility into the force by developing our leaders, by designing our organizations, and by adapting the institution. The outcomes we seek are flexibility and resilience to hedge against future uncertainty. Three imperatives are guiding our efforts to align the operational and institutional Army to meet demands and support the Army Force Generation (ARFORGEN) model:
• Develop our military and civilian leaders• Provide trained and ready forces to support current operations
• Integrate current and emerging capabilities
These imperatives will remain in tension for the foreseeable future, but there are things we can do to bring them into better balance. The TRADOC Campaign Plan (TCP) describes how we'll achieve balance across our priority lines of operation: Human Capital, Initial Military Training, Leader Development, and Capabilities Integration.
The focus of our discussions during the TSLC will be on the TRADOC Campaign Plan (TCP). We will also examine how TRADOC's TCP aligns with and complements the Human Capital Enterprise. We'll demonstrate how the Central Training Database will become the "Training Brain" for TRADOC and provide us the opportunity to enhance training in the institutional schoolhouse.
As you may know, we've asked ourselves how we can replicate the complexity our leaders experience while they are deployed, and we will discuss some emerging opportunities to do just that. I'd like this to generate discussion about how TRADOC can lead innovation in training and education to account for the speed of change in the contemporary operating environment.
I look forward in the coming weeks to a lively, thoughtful discussion with the Small Wars Journal community.
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SWJ Editors' note - We will be live blogging from the TRADOC Senior Leaders Conference next week. A discussion forum has been set up at the Small Wars Council. Please feel free to post your questions, thoughts and opinions - engage!
Comments
USMA OUTCOMES BASED TRAINING & EDUCATION (OBTE) WORKSHOP
1. Background. USMA West Point, hosted an OBTE and Adaptive Leader Methodology (ALM) workshop from 4 to 7 Aug 09, hosted by the Department of Military Instruction (DMI).
2. Aim. The workshop was designed to do the following:
a. Demonstrate how ALM and OBTE have been successfully implemented within the DMI at USMA.
b. Inform and teach the new intake of DMI instructors about OBTE principles and work practices.
c. Share best practice and experience with instructors from other schools and training establishments.
3. OBTE Principles. The most often phrased question from the uninitiated is "what is OBTE and how does it differ from current training?"OBTE seeks to merge the benefits of training and education in order to;
a. create thinking individuals and organizations that know how to solve problems.
b. train to Army standards in a manner that positively develops the desired intangible attributes expressed in Army values.
c. emphasize the development of the individual based on operational expectations, tangible skills and intangible attributes that are directly related to military tasks.
This will result in soldiers, leaders and units that have;
a. learned to teach themselves.
b. are able to solve problems as individuals and teams.
c. realised an increase in intangible attributes and mastery of basic skills.
4. OBTE Application. Perhaps the best example of the practical application of OBTE is at the USMA. Prior to the arrival of Col Casey Haskins as the new Director DMI, a number of DMI instructors, most notably Maj Chad Foster, had questioned traditional methods of training. Based on their operational experience and relevant academic works, such as "Raising the Bar ,"they believed that a new approach would produce young officers and soldiers better trained to deal with the challenges faced in current and future operations. Critical in this process is the idea of getting students to solve problems for themselves based on a clear understanding of why particular training is conducted. The initial focus at the USMA was the use of ALM within the Military Science 300 (MS300) course using Tactical Decision Exercises (TDEs)(also referred to as Tactical Decison Games (TDGs).
5. Shortly after his arrival in Jun 08, and based on his previous experiences at Ft.Benning , Col Haskins set about implementing OBTE across all military training within the remit of DMI.
Comment: Much has been written on the principles and assumptions when comparing OBTE with existing training methodology in many Army schools. In general terms a "standards based" training approach focuses on achieving easily measurable standards which are characterized by soldiers/leaders being told what to do instead of how to do various tasks. A fear of failure stifles initiative and results in a strict culture of "checklist training" that provides a solution instead of allowing students to discover solutions for themselves. In addition training is resource driven when it should be adaptable to constant development.
6. After Action Reviews (AARs). The importance of AARs cannot be overstated. Recent extensive observation of AARs, at various Army schools, highlighted a serious problem in that, "90% add no value - yet "we" say that it is the most important part of training!" It is essential that instructors think ahead of time in order to determine what the focus points of an AAR are likely to be. A useful set of simple rules should be considered as pre-requisites for conducting successful "value added"AARs. These are as follows;
a. The Facilitator (instructor) must keep control by asking leading questions.
b. He must remain flexible and be open to opportunities as they arise.
c. He must be imaginative and use available tools to emphasize key points.
d. He must conduct an AAR ASAP after each main training event.
e. All participants must participate.
f. Discussion should remain focused on 2/3 key points.
g. Focus on what and why (cause and effect).
h. Be practical, not dogmatic.
i. Ask; "so what?"and "how to change?"
j. Be open and honest but not antagonistic.
7. Summary. The workshop was conducted using the principles of ALM and OBTE. This immediately involved all participants in problem solving (TDEs), and generated debate in the various discussion groups. The outcome was to provide everyone with a clear insight of how effective this approach to training can be. Although OBTE is not complicated it is difficult to implement. The reasons for this are highlighted in Col Haskins Campaign Plan (slide 7 of Attachment 3). This was a hugely successful event. Everyone involved gained a clear understanding of exactly what OBTE is all about and saw for themselves proof of the advantages this approach to training can deliver.
Comment: There is considerable resistance to OBTE among many senior Officers/SNCOs who, perhaps, do not fully grasp the raison d'être behind this approach to training. A culture of training to easily measured standards, learning by rote, set-piece script/checklist driven events where students are told what to do, exists in many training establishments. This training ethos is "set in stone" through complicated sets of rules and regulations. These restrict or restrain any attempt to improve the training experience by authorizing a host of individuals (safety staff, range control etc), outside the relevant chain of command, with a power of veto.
As the arguments rage on, visionary individuals, such as Casey Haskins, Chad Foster, Don Vandergriff and Morgan Darwin, realize that a "bottom-up" approach is the only way forward. Currently a body of evidence necessary to fully support OBTE is thin. However what evidence there is is very impressive. Indeed many senior commanders' support this work but will not, as yet, fully commit to an Army-wide implementation. The door to achieving better training practices that produce more capable, thinking, young officers and soldiers is ajar. Much remains to be done in order to open the door fully - but the possibility of the door being slammed closed remains.
GEN Dempsey, I'm looking forward to the opportunity to follow the TRADOC SLC via SWJ. Although there are many fundamental differences in how we operate and fight in our respective domains, the principles you will be exploring - particularly the growing complexity of conflict, its increasingly hybrid nature and the resultant need to build balance, versatility and agility into our forces and develop the same characteristics in our people - apply broadly. I'm sure there will be a great deal here for all of us, regardless of service branch. All the best and v/r, John