ARMY AVIATION MAGAZINE 32 JULY 31, 2013

Great moments are born from great opportunities. – Herb Brooks, 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Coach

W e, as an Army and a Nation, are at a cross-roads as we deal with continuously changing

conditions in terms of potential threats, fiscal reality, competing requirements, and numerous priorities. This, as we know, is nothing new. Throughout our 237-year history we have adapted to current conditions, adjusted to emerging threats, and trained our most precious resources – our people – for an uncertain future during challenging times. Our Army’s strength, has, and will continue to be leaders, at all levels, as we develop innovative ways to train our Soldiers, preparing to answer our Nation’s call wherever, and when-ever, needed. Thus, we continue to turn many challenges into great opportunities. At the National Training Center (NTC), these training opportuni-ties have been prevalent throughout the last 12 years of persistent con-flict, astutely focusing our leaders on conducting operations in a dynamic counter-insurgency (COIN) environ-ment, preparing for combat in Iraq or Afghanistan. Many brigade combat teams

(BCTs) and task organized multi-function aviation task forces, specifi-cally designed to support the ground force commander, have taken advan-tage of the realistic operational envi-ronment at the NTC to prepare for combat or future missions. Our Army has grown a tremendous amount of leaders during this time. Our leaders are forged in combat over the vast desert expanses and dense urban areas in Iraq and the incredibly inhos-pitable mountains and inaccessible val-leys of Afghanistan. They continue to fight a relentless enemy, while operat-ing simultaneously at the tactical, oper-ational, and strategic levels of war. The Environment We are aptly shifting our focus toward the Decisive Action Training Environment (DATE) in order to align with Army guidance outlined by GEN Raymond Odierno, the Army Chief of Staff, while leveraging our combat experience. We are now transitioning to the DATE as we draw down in Afghanistan, adapting into a “smaller, more versatile Army that will take on a broader range of missions in sup-port of national defense objectives.” BCTs are posturing as part of region-ally aligned forces, in order to sup-port FORSCOM and combatant com-mander requirements across the globe.

By doing so, we are incorporating complexities consistent with execut-ing regular and irregular warfare, in order to counter both conventional and hybrid threats. These missions stretch our BCTs as we conduct uni-fied land operations, focusing on two core competencies as outlined in Army Doctrine Publication (ADP) 3-0: combined arms maneuver (CAM) and wide area security (WAS). As BG(P) Terry Ferrell, the former commanding general of the NTC and Fort Irwin, CA, recently put it “Decisive action training is ‘old school’ without going back in time…preparing for the next fight.” So where does Army Aviation fit into this fight? How can we train to better prepare for this uncertain future in order to maximize limited resources (specifically money and time) and mitigate tactical and accidental risks to our most precious resource – our Soldiers? Here are three points, “a way” as we look to develop solutions and answer these difficult questions:nTrain on the fundamentals (core competencies) – shoot, move, com-municate, maintenance, medical, fieldcraft;nCapitalize on every training oppor-tunity – individual and collective/crew – home station, CTC, or elsewhere; and,

National Training Center Update – Transitioning to DATEBy LTC(P) Jeffrey W. White

A team of Bradley Fighting Vehicles con-ducts offensive operations as the sun rises at the NTC during a DA rotation. As we transition to DATE, an important aspect of Army Aviation remains constant – providing responsive and reliable Aviation support to ground forces.

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SIMULATION AND TRAINING

ARMY AVIATION MAGAZINE 33 JULY 31, 2013

nContinue to grow leaders on funda-mental aspects of our profession, espe-cially air/ground integration (AGI). As leaders, we understand that it is imperative that our Soldiers adopt the mindset that the next deployment will not be like the “last deployment.” Though there will be similarities and we can certainly leverage experi-ence, the next deployment will likely be to counter a “near-peer” threat (i.e. a large conventional force equipped with a wide array of lethal/techno-logically advanced ground combat systems and air defense weapons potentially incorporated as part of an Integrated Air Defense System).

Emerging Doctrine We can anticipate that we will be required to execute unified land oper-ations accomplished through simul-taneous and/or sequential offensive, defensive, and stability operations. This should sound familiar. Our emerging doctrine outlined in upcoming publications such as the Aviation Branch keystone manual, FM 3-04, as well as the five new Army Techniques Publications (ATPs) cur-rently in progress covering aviation tactical employment, will be familiar to those who have experience preced-ing our Global War On Terror. The majority of our Soldiers do not have this type of experience, coura-geously volunteering to serve in our Army after 9/11. Operating from an unimproved tac-tical assembly area (TAA) is as for-eign to our younger Soldiers as it was to us “older Soldiers” the first time we came out to the NTC, set up during a field training exercise (FTX), or exe-cuted operations in an austere envi-ronment in an immature theater (think Desert Storm/Desert Shield and early OIF/OEF). As we task organize into multi-function aviation task force elements and train for a Decisive Action (DA) fight – or remain in a “pure” organic MTO&E configuration depending on mission analysis – one of the principle tenants of Army Aviation must remain intact: to provide responsive and reli-able Aviation support to the ground force commander. By doing so, we affirm the sacred trust we share with our brothers and sisters on the ground. Providing responsive and reliable Aviation assets to the supported commander is easier said than done.

This principle encompasses many facets, none-the-least of which are maintenance and logistics, com-pounded by an often condensed/com-plicated ARFORGEN cycle as we continue to field the AH-64E, CH-47F, UH-60M, MQ-1C “Gray Eagle” unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and modify legacy platforms such as the OH-58D (R). We all understand we can only fly, whether training or executing combat operations, as much as we can main-tain. When factoring equipment short-ages, reset, fielding initiatives, person-nel turnover, competing requirements, combined with many other consider-ations, than training our Soldiers takes on a whole new dynamic.

Feedback / Recommendations The NTC Aviation Combat Trainers (Eagle Team) have, and will continue to provide recommendations based on the insight and data we collect from these DA rotations. We will also con-tinue to share this information through every available means, including our Eagle Team AKO website (https://www.us.army.mil/suite/page/665938). We currently brief our aviation battalion and brigade command-ers at both the Ft. Rucker, AL and Ft. Leavenworth, KS Pre-Command Courses. We also have a variety of outreach initiatives, staying tied into the Aviation Enterprise and the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence (USAACE), providing feedback and

observations as we modify and refine our doctrine and institutional training. We also remain linked with Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC), Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC), and other centers of excel-lence (CoE) including the Maneuver CoE at Ft. Benning, GA, as we col-laborate and share information. As always, your feedback is encour-aged and essential. GEN Eric Shinseki, the 34th Army Chief of Staff, used to say, “If you don’t like change – you’ll like irrele-vance even less.” We, as an Army, are going through many changes – tran-sitioning to DATE, drawing down in Afghanistan, consolidating and reor-ganizing while adapting to current conditions. These changes are necessary in order to remain a viable, versatile, and relevant Army. With change comes tur-bulence and also many opportunities. We will continue to capitalize on these great opportunities, including those here at the NTC, adding to our Army’s legacy – fighting and win-ning wherever our Nation calls, con-tinuously training Soldiers and grow-ing leaders capable of overcoming challenges and accomplishing any mission. Train the Force! Army Strong! LTC(P) Jeffrey W. White currently serves as the senior aviation trainer, Eagle 07, at the National Training Center, Ft. Irwin, CA.

A platoon of AH-64D Longbow Apaches maneuvers into an attack by fire position (ABF) while providing direct support to a BCT during a recent DA rotation.

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