by Major General Richard C. Nash, Colonel Neal Loidolt and Lieutenant Colonel C. Bryan Tierney
LNO Missions as a Model for the Division Headquarters RIP/TOA Process (Full PDF Article)
Situational understanding is the paramount goal of any Relief in Place/Transfer of Authority (RIP/TOA) for a division commander as he accepts responsibility for his area of operations. This takes on even more urgency in counter insurgency or stability operations, as all the operational decisions and tactical employments that arise from protecting the population and rooting out insurgents takes on the gravity of strategic implications. The mobilization, and subsequent deployment, of the 34th ID Headquarters (HQ) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) created a unique challenge in preparing Soldiers for a challenging mission. For only the second time during OIF, an Army National Guard Division HQ had been assigned the responsibility of a Multi-National Division (MND) Area of Operations (AO).
The 34th ID HQ, better known as the "Red Bulls", has a long and proud tradition dating back to World War I, but had not deployed as a full division headquarters since World War II. While the division headquarters and many of its members had recently deployed to Bosnia, Kosovo and to Iraq as part of 1st Brigade/34th ID, the scope and responsibilities required of this deployment would be much greater. Some of the challenges facing the Red Bulls were a shortened mobilization timeline, conversion to a larger Division HQ MTOE and a greatly expanded area of operations. Further, the Red Bulls would be conducting their RIP/TOA in Basra with the 10th Mountain (MTN) HQ who had just deployed their division headquarters from Victory Base Complex in Baghdad to the Basra Air Station. Complicating this TOA even more was the movement into a new facility on Basra, since the UK Division had operated with a much smaller staff from the Basra Airport Hotel, as their responsibility had reduced to one province. Though the 10th MTN HQ did the initial RIP/TOA with the UK Division in Basra on 31 March 2009, the Red Bulls would conduct their RIP/TOA with the 10th HQ MTN a mere 50 days later. Three previous MND AOs, encompassing nine provinces, were now officially the purview of one command, MND-S.
On 20 May 2009, the Red Bulls conducted their TOA Ceremony with the 10th MTN Division. Despite all these challenges, the higher headquarters of MNF-I and MNC-I remarked that this was one of the smoother MND RIP/TOAs they had seen occur. One of the leading reasons for the ease of the transition was the implementation of a specific program to help the Red Bulls gain the necessary situational understanding required of a complicated TOA.
LNO Missions as a Model for the Division Headquarters RIP/TOA Process (Full PDF Article)
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Comments
Gentlemen,
The "Red Bulls" performance in Iraq is remarkable and will/should build on their strong defense of the union; however, the LNO mission is not THE model for RIP/TOA. I agree that this example is one of great initiative and should be adapted by any unit whenever possible, but other units are doing it better.
To start, I'm a tanker from 3ID and a paratrooper from the 82nd with mixed tours and experience with Special Forces.
The best model that I've observed is the active-duty Strykers. I've never served in a Stryker unit so I have no dog in that fight as far as my assessment goes, but I have spent a lot of time in Iraq. Strykers maintain the StrykerNet, a closed-source internet communication forum sharing lessons learned and intel-sharing. When stationed in CONUS, Battalion level S2's help with intel-collection and assessment of outsourced problems of deployed units down to the batallion level, and S3's maintain situational awareness of the current fight.
Their solution coupled with your example of the deployed LNO may become the true model for RIP/TOA.
v/r
Major Mike Few