Training CION Combat Skllfa at the Home 01 Armor

Back to Basic: Training Close Combat Skills At the Home of Armor by Ueutenant Colonel Thomas A. Dempsey "Sir, Bravo Company is in contact." Following the S3 Air into the TOC, I could feel the tension among the members of the day shift. An hour earlier, we had air assaulted two companies into the valley, following reports of an enemy patrol base in the area. 1be radios crack1ed to life with the Bravo Company commander's first SITREP. ''Quebec One-Niner. this is Delta Three-Six. Lead platoon is in conlaCt, size of enemy force unknown.... uh, I've got some casualties up there, I'm going forward with my second platoon to find out what's going on ... Over." The S3 keyed the mike: "Roger, Delta Th.ree--Six. Keep us posted. We've got Blackhawks on standby for medevac if you need them ... Over." While the 53 waited for the answer from Bravo. I turned to the Ops NCO. "Is the old man still asJeepT' I asked. "Yes, Sir," the tired sergeant responded. "Better get him up - he'll want to listen to this. And get a conlact report up to brigade." The Ops NCO began working up the contact report while his RTO went out to wake up the battalion commander, who had finally found time for some sleep after the air assault was completed. "Quebec, Della Three-Six ... In ron-lact, heavy casualties in my lead platoon, platoon leader and platoon sergeant are both KIA. We're trying to Basic trainees from Bravo Company, 2d Battalion, 46th Infantry close with the -enemy" during STX lane training. 38 get the casualties out now ... still don't know how big the enemy is, but I've got heavy conlacl, heavy contact - requesting medevac for ... " The transmission cut off abruptly, the rush of sialic filling the tent. 1be S3 tried to re-establish contact: "Della Three-Six, Quebec one-niner, you broke up, say again lasl, over!" The batlalion commander, listening to the end of the exchange as be entered the TOC, strode to the Ops map. "How far away is Charlie Company?" He asked. "About two Ks down the valley," responded the S3. "Well, get 'em turned around. Bravo's going to need some help." Turning to me, ·'XO, go find our Blackhawk guy, and lake the FSO with you. Slart working a mission to extract Bravo's casualties, and plan for a hot LZ." As I turned to go, the radio traffic picked up again. ''Quebec one-niner, this is Della Two-Five." Two-Five was the company XO. ''Three-Six is down, still in heavy contact, I'm trying to get our trail platoon into the fight. I need medevacs now, over!" The battalion commander swore. "11ley're nickel and diming us to death. If we don't get some more combat power in there. we'll lose the whole company," he said, laking the hand mike from the S3. "Della Two-Five, this is Quebec Three-Six. We're moving your sister element up to support you, and we're cranking the Blackhawks for your medevac. but you have to hold what you got. Don't commit the rest of your company, we need you to hang on to your LZ. Do you understand, over?~ "This is Two-Five. in contact now, can't break off - I'm hit ... " Again, transmission cut off in mid-sentence. It was the last we would hear from Bravo Company until Charlie and Alpha reached the battlefield several hours later, and we began recovering the dead. Fortunately for us, the "dead" would be "resurrected" as replacements 24 hours later. They had been killed not by real bullets, but by Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement Systems (MILES) wielded by one of the deadliest light infantry forces in the world today - the OPFOR of the Joint Readiness Training Center's 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Our infantry battalion was encountering them for the first time during our training rotation at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. In the After-Action Review (AAR) which followed the battle. we got some unpleasant surprises. The OPFOR, which we had estimated at a company (minus) was, in reality. less than a platoon. It had succeeded in destroying an entire rifle company in a series of disjointed. squad-on-squad firefights. Losses inflicted by our infantry on the OPFOR were minimal. All in all, it had not been a good day for the BLUEFOR. While our battalion would learn from that engagement, and would eventually locate and destroy almost the entire OPFOR company. the memory of that first experience remains a sobering one. It became evident during the AAR that the OPFOR won its fire fights for several very simple reasons. They had out-shot us. scoring first round hits with M 16 MILES consistently al ranges of one 10 two hundred melers. They had also used individual movement techniques (IMn and executed battle drills at the buddy team, fire team. and squad level far more effectively than their BLUEFOR opponents. Following our rotation to JRTC. I spent a great deal of time thinking

May-June 1994 about the best ways to train close combat skills in preparation for rotations at a combat training center, and for actual combat. Then, in the summer of 1992. I was designated to assume command of a battalion of five basic combat training companies at Fort Knox, Kentucky. I had never served in an Initial Entry Training (IE1) unit. and had no idea of what to expect. I was initially a little disappointed at leaving a line unit, but was detennined to make the best of things. Upon arrival at Fort Knox, and participation in my initial training "cycles." I made several welcome discoveries. My first discovery was the superb quality of the officers and NCOs who made up my cadre. Each company included a captain company commander, first lieutenant executive officer, first sergeant, and 12 drill sergeants organized into four platoons. The officers came from a variety of branches. with armor officers being in the majority. Mosl of them were vet· erans of DESERT SHIELD and DE· SERT STORM. All of the lieutenants were experienced fonner platoon leaders and company XOS from tank and infanuy companies. The drill sergeants. as you would expect of Neos in Department of the Army-select p0- sitions. were among the very best in the Anny, most with combat experience and many with multiple rotations at JRTC, NTC, or Hohenfels. The quality of our initial entry soldiers was also encouraging. Recruiting Command was doing an excellent job sending us motivated. smart young trainees. They were hungry for leadership and eager to meet the challenges of basic training. From the people side. command of a BCT battalion promised to be a rewarding and enjoyable experience. The most pleasant surprise, however. came as I reviewed our BCT Program of Instruction (POD and observed my first basic training cycle al Fort Knox. I quickly discovered that BCT focuses on precisely those core combat skills that win firefights at JRTC and in comba!. Rifle marksmanship. individual movement techniques (IMT). battle drills and collective tasks at the buddy team_ fire team and squad level fonn the heart of the BCT POI. The emphasis of the BCT POI on core combat skills directly renects lessons learned at the combat training centers and in combat zones from Panama to Iraq. 11lose lessons point to a salient characteristic of the modem battlefield. 1be risk of close combat today penneates every comer of the combat zone, from the forward line of own troops (FLOn to the 10- The XO of C Company, 2-46 Infantry conducts an AAR during ItIe training cycle. 39 gistics and adminislrative nodes of the communications zone (COMMZ). Military occupational specialities that have traditionally been thought of as "non-combat" now expose clerks. petroleum handlers, mechanics. and vinually every other speciality to the hazards of direct combat. That lesson is being reinforced on a daily basis in places like Somalia. Bosnia, and the Arabian Gulf. Basic Combat Training must, in only eight weeks, establish the core combat skills that will prepare young trainees for the rigors of close combat. At the same time, BCf must transform citizen to soldier, instilling the warrior ethic in the new recruits. It is a challenging mission for all concerned. It tests the skills of the finest noncommissioned officer corps in the world at tasks that sergeants have been performing since ancient Rome's centurions drilled new legionnaires under the hot Mediterranean sun. In teaching its core warfighting skiUs, basic training builds logically from simpler to more complex. and from individual to collective, The "crosswalk" of individual to collective task is built into the POI training plans. 1bese plans are designed to take the individual trainee from the most basic individual soldier skills all the way through to small unit (buddy team, fire team, and squad) collective tasks concentrating on "shoot. move. and communicate." The heart of Basic Combat Training is rifle marksmanship. This is the most important hurdle of the trainees' first four weeks, It begins with two and a half days of instruction on fundamentals. concentrating on the steady hold factors. proper sight alignment and sight picture. and the integrated act of shooting, The Weaponeer and Multi-Purpose Arcade Combat Simulator (MACS) are used extensively to evaluate trainee progress in assimilating the fundamentals of shooting. Following instruction in marksmanship fundamentals, three days are spent on the rifle range, determining 40 Band of Excellence PROFtctENCY Figure 1 the proper zero for the soldiers' weapons and confirming that zero at 75.

175. and 300 meters (compare this to the two or three hours spent zeroing in most infantry units - a comment which is made frequently by JRTC observer-controllers). Once the soldier has a properly zeroed weapon, and he has demonslrated his ability to engage targets successfully. three further days and one night are spent on high tech, computerized field fire and combat qualification ranges. During this time, the trainee engages three-dimensional pop-up targets in a realistic combat setting, at all ranges out to 300 meters. His shooting skills are honed with personal attention from drill sergeants. concentrating on systematic, diseiplined application of rifle marksmanship fundamentals. The results can be seen clearly on qualification day, when our BCf platoons routinely qualify 100 percent of their trainees on a demanding, computer-seored qualification range after only four weeks in the Anny. Once the trainees have mastered the individual skills involved in rifle marksmanship. instruction shifts to the more advanced skills necessary to survive and win in the close fight It focuses on teaching the young soldier how to shoot. move, and communicate under fire. Instruction begins at the individual level, then moves to the

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buddy team. MlLES-equipped soldiers practice fire and movement against a live. MlLES-equipped OPFOR. TIley must apply their rifle marksmanship skills while simultaneously making use of available cover and concealment to close with and kill the enemy. The trainee quickly learns that he must depend upon his buddy for survival. and that cooperation and teamwork are the only way to overcome the inherent advantages of the defending OPFOR. The first time the young soldier and his buddy succeed in "killing" the OPFOR - or the first time he suddenly hears his own MILES kill indicator shrilling in his tan - the impact is tangible and immediate. As the platoons approach their final weeks of training, preparations begin for the capstone exercise that will test for each soldier the combat skills learned in BCf. In the course of a three-day field traJRlRg exercise (FI'X). trainees participate in a series of MILES-supported.. externally evaluated STX lanes. with drill sergeants acting as evaluators. The soldiers experience realistic combat situations, requiring them to apply all of the training they have received in the preceding weeks. The lanes are patterned after the combat training centers in that they emphasize maximum realism, thorough and candid evaluation of soldier perfonnance, and detailed after-action reviews following each lane. As the soldiers progress through the lanes, they confront the difficulties and hazards of maneuvering tw., separate elements against a hostile force. Most soldiers wiD serve at least once as a team leader. learning basic leadership skills that, even as a junior enlisted soldier. they may very well be called upon to exercise in combat. Watching the trainees move through the various lanes during the day, there is a perceptible and significant improvement in combat skills. By the end of the last FIX lane, the soldiers have reached a level of proficiency which, hopefully, will sustain them through that flfSt taste of combat, when most casualties occur. Within the context of the overall Bcr POI and mission training plans, the training environment at Fort Knox offers unique opportunities to NCO and officer leaders. Bcr company commanders and XOS. in partiCUlar. benefit from the Home of Annor's warfighting focus and commitment to excellence. The post offers superb training facilities, including state-ofthe-art computerized riOe ranges. and close combat courses with realistic pop-up target arrays. The live fire close combat ranges pennit buddy teams to execute fire and movement, applying all of their marksmanship and IMT skills in a realistic combat setting. For the FIX, maneuver uaining areas are readily available for all Bcr companies, along with a plentiful supply of smaJl arms MILES to support the more advanced squad STX lane training. 1bere are virtually no lr3.ining distractors at Fort Knox for the Bcr company commander and XO to deal with. The single overriding priority for Bcr companies is to graduate a quality soldier. and all of the resources affecting BCT are focused in that direction. There is a genuine and unbending commitment by the Post senior leadership to execute planned training with minimal changes imposed from above. This allows company commanders and XOs to con-

May-June 1994 duct detailed planning two to three months out, and then to execute planned training with few changes or disruptions. "Training is the cornerstone of readiness," as General Vuono nOied in his forward to FM 25-101. Battle Focused Training. That philosophy is embodied in Basic Combat Training, where the principles articulated in FM 25-101 are applied on a daily basis. To place the mission of the Bcr company commander in perspective, review for a moment the "Band of Ex-celJence" that fonns the foundation of the FM 25-101 training philosophy (Figure I). Commanders and XOS in a basic training company. in a period of only eight weeks. bring 200 new and completely untrained soldiers from zero proficiency all the way to the upper slope of the "sustainment training band" in individual combat skills and small unit collective tasks. The lieutenant or caplain who masters the task of transforming citizen to soldier in a Bcr company is well prepared for the challenge of training for today's batLlefield, whether the batLle is fought at JRTC or in the streets of Mogadishu. An additional benefit for armor and cavalry soldiers assigned to Bcr at Fort Knox is the mounted warfare training offered at that post. Under the stewardship of Generals Funk and Jordan, Fort. Knox has emerged as the premier mounted combat simulation center in the United Slates Army. Home of the "Virtual Brigade" concept, the Armor School boasts a complete battalion-size set of Bradley and Abrams SIMNET vehicles in its Co-bined Anns Tactical Training Center (CA TIC). SIMNET supports platoon-through battalion-level combined arms operations against up to a regimenlal-sized OPFOR, across a variety of terrain including the maneuver corridors at the NTC. Training opportunities on post also include Bradley and Abrams Unit Conduct of Fire Trainers (UCOFT) and the newly opened M 1 Tank Driver Trainer. The MIA2 tank, at the forefront of batLlefield "digitization" with its high-tech on-board computer and Inter-Vehicular Infonnation System (IVIS), rounds out a unique set of training resources that are readily available to armor and cavalry soldiers serving in Bcr units. Colonel Hank Hodge, commander of the 1st Annor Training Brigade, places a high priority on getting his Bcr cadre "back in the turret" to suslain their key warlighting skills. The facilities, people, and leadership climate at Fort Knox combine to create in its Bcr battalions one of the finest training environments the Army has to offer. It is an environment that is lailor-made for armor branch captains and senior lieutenants, honing their skills in preparation for returning 10 MTOE units. It is also an intensely satisfying environment in personal and professional terms. Two hundred confident young graduates, standing tall at the successful completion of their initial training, provide tangible examples of the personal and professional rewards that accompany the Bcr mission. 1be pride and gratitude displayed by the young soldiers and their families are poignant reminders of what leadership in the United Slates Army is all about. Lieutenant Colonel Tom Dempsey was commissioned in the infantry in 1975. He has served as a rifle platoon leader and company XO with the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii, and commanded a psychological 0p- erations company at Fort Bragg, N.C. During Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM, he served as S3 of 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry. 101st Airbome Division (Air Assault), and later as battalion executive officer. He is currently commanding 2d Battalion, 46th Infantry (Basic Combat Training) at Fort Knox. He is a graduate of the Command and General Staff College and the School for Advanced Military Studies. 41