Gen. Dempsey discusses the Army profession

Posted by tradoclive in Uncategorized on July 9th, 2010

After almost a decade of war and in an era of persistent conflict, I think it’s important that we take some time to be introspective and think about what it means to be a part of a profession.  As someone reminded me recently, “you’re not a profession just because you say you are a profession.”

Some aspects to keep in mind as we think about what it means to be a profession include among other things — the special skills and expertise, the ethics that define our behaviors, a commitment to continued education and development, self-regulation, and in our particular case, subordination to civilian authority.

To serve as a initial catalyst for a discussion, I have posted an interview that I recently conducted with the Army Center of Excellence for the Professional Military Ethic who are profiling a number of Army leaders on “The Army Profession”.   By sharing this dialog with you, I hope to expand awareness and initiate a substantive dialogue on this important subject.  I welcome you to view my interview at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa425Q8zKiI and encourage you to provide comments.

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The Army’s Starfish Program and an emphasis on decentralization (Updated)

Posted by tradoclive in Leader Development on April 19th, 2010

The past eight-plus years of war has taught us many things as an Army. One particular lesson we’ve learned is that decentralized threats are best countered by also decentralizing our own capabilities.  To adapt to what we’ve learned, the Army is training its leaders to think, act, and operate more decentralized.  Now, through the promotion of mission orders, commander’s intent and a new pilot program titled “The Army’s Starfish Program”, we are taking additional steps to promote decentralization as yet another tool to counter decentralized and networked threats.

The Army’s Starfish Program evolved through an opportunistic collaboration between TRADOC and Ori Brafman, best-selling author of The Starfish and The Spider. A select group of leaders took part in the pilot program earlier this year and are now reaching out across the Army to share their insights from this unique experience.  On April 26 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., Brafman will be joined by select students at a Town Hall Meeting at the Fort Monroe Post Theater where they will discuss the tenets of the program, their experiences and the results.

The Town Hall Meeting is open to all servicemembers, their families, and garrison personnel. For those unable to attend due to geography, it will be simultaneously webcast at  For those unable to attend the town hall or watch the webcast, a recording will be hung on the TRADOC webpage in the days following the townhall.

We encourage you to join us to get a sense for how the Army is seeking to learn from its experiences after more than eight years of war.

Click here to view the Townhall flier

Update: For those planning on watching the webcast, the link has changed. Please go to http://www.vbricktvbeta.com/vbossdemo/usarmywm.html to watch the webcast today.

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Another step forward for the Army Learning Concept

Posted by tradoclive in Army Training Concept on March 24th, 2010

In my last blog entry, I introduced the Army Learning Concept 2015 being “championed” by the TRADOC G3. Following up on that post, I want to briefly highlight our discussions on this subject during last week’s TRADOC Senior Leader Conference.

What resonated most clearly was the shared agreement that in order to increase rigor, maintain relevancy, and prevail in the competitive learning environment we have to change. Our current models have not kept pace with the rapid pace of change, the demands of Soldiers rotating in and out of the fight, and a continuous influx of Soldiers with significant “digital literacy.”

We all recognize the challenge and are working to adapt our learning models. We’re changing our assumptions to look at the problem differently, because we know we can’t afford to come up with the same solutions. We’re reaching out to those both inside and outside the military to help in this effort. I’ve asked the TRADOC G3 to draft a white paper that we’ll circulate among the communities of interest in the next 90 days. I welcome views from across the force on ways to ensure we get this right.

GEN Martin E. Dempsey

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Re: Changing Army Basic Training

Posted by tradoclive in Initial Military Training on March 16th, 2010

A basic training alumni shares his thoughts on the changes being made to basic combat training, one of which involves bayonet training. Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, deputy commanding general for Initial Military Training, writes back:

Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 6:21 AM
To: MONR TRADOC PAO
Subject: Changing Army Basic Training

This is to whoever is responsible for changing the way we are training our troops these days. I read the article in the paper this morning (by Susanne Schaeffer, AP), and it sounds like you’re doing the right things.

It’s about damn time. I took basic at Ft Jackson almost 40 years ago at the bottom of tank hill across from the cs gas chambers. What I have been reading about the changes in training you folks made, makes me wish I were in this new modern army. I have always believed that our troops needed certain area’s of training : first, with whatever current war or situation we are in at the moment , second; train them in the heat, the cold , the muggy. All my training was jungle and cold for conditions such as Korea or Russian.

I didn’t know diddly about deserts. This hurt me a little as an NCO later on. As I trained troops, I also learned from them. I remember the 82nd back in 82 or 83, they didn’t know jack about deserts either, they assumed a lot though. They found out the hard way out in Ft Irwin. Anyway, enough about what you folks all ready know.

I just wanted to heap some praise on the folks that had some gumption to get things changed that needed to be changed and modernized. Most people assume one can never change anything in the Army. You folks just
proved everybody wrong.

Once again Job well done !!

Respectfully,

S. Stallard
Fresno, Ca
Basic training unit E-5-1 (1972)

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Mr. Stallard

Wanted you to know that your note reached me, and I sure appreciate you taking the time to send it.

As you might imagine, we get quite a few comments from folks who don’t like what we’re doing…they want to keep us fighting the last war. But we need to change, and the words of encouragement you sent give us increased motivation. Will continue to constantly improve the training our soldiers get as they fight this long conflict.

Thanks, also, for your service!

Mark Hertling
LTG, US Army
DCG-IMT

What do you think of the changes? What other skills should Soldiers know coming out of BCT?

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Army Learning Concept for 2015: Thinking Soldiers – Learning Army

Posted by tradoclive in Army Training Concept on March 9th, 2010

The operational environment is exceptionally complex with an expanding array of threats. Increased competitiveness is the norm. Recognizing that fact means that in order to prevail in future conflict we must first win in the competitive learning environment.

To that end, we are developing an Army Learning Concept to describe a 2015 learning environment that will be more effective in meeting the needs of our Soldiers and leaders. Derived from major themes of the Army Capstone Concept and the Army Leader Development Strategy, it will provide the basis for building and adapting our learning models and future information needs while ensuring we still deliver the high-quality content our Soldiers need and deserve.

The Army Learning Concept for 2015 will guide all Soldiers and leaders through a continuum of learning for the duration of their careers. We are going to cut the chaff and augment the most effective aspects of our current learning system while ensuring relevant and rigorous training and education is available and accessible, and not just on the institutional side of the Army. This is a shared responsibility between the operating and generating force as we lead the Army into a future characterized by its persistent learning environment.

What do you think of the Army Learning Concept? What can be done to provide our Soldiers with the best training?

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The Army Capstone Concept: The Way Ahead

Posted by tradoclive in Uncategorized on February 11th, 2010

Two months ago, TRADOC published a major revision to the Army’s capstone concept under the title, The Army Capstone Concept: Operational Adaptability: Operating under Conditions of Uncertainty and Complexity in an Era of Persistent Conflict 2016-2028. This landmark document describes the broad capabilities the Army will require in the operational environment to defend America and help secure our interests in the world.

The writing and publication of this concept was a significant undertaking, and it will have major implications and ramifications across our Army for years to come. I intend to use the capstone concept to provide the common language and conceptual foundation for an ongoing campaign of learning and analysis that will allow the Army to evaluate, refine, and improve all of its core competencies.

This is not a document that just gets put on a shelf to collect dust. Rather, the prioritized capabilities that emerge from it and other, more detailed subordinate concepts, will guide changes in doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, facilities, and policy. The Army of the future will learn differently, build leaders differently, train differently and redesign itself more quickly. And, the capstone concept serves as our “line of departure” for building that Army.

We held our Army Capstone Concept Summit at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. on Jan 21 to explore the document’s implications — on our warfighting challenges, our Army Concept Framework and the foundation it sets for ensuring sound modernization strategies and warfighting effectiveness. Our way forward is to continue to work within TRADOC and outside stakeholders to implement the real and positive change the Army Capstone Concept demands for the future — this will be a team effort.

- Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, commanding general of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command

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Digital Warfighter Exercise/Experiment 2010 explores human dimension in combat

Posted by tradoclive in Army Training Concept on January 27th, 2010

The theme for this year’s Digital Warfighting Exercise/Experiment is “Human Dimensions and Aspects of Battle Command given a 2018 Future Operational Environment.”  Hosted by the Battle Command Battle Laboratory – Leavenworth and the Army Command and General Staff College, the exercise will showcase CGSC students integrating the latest in digital technology into corps and division-level military operations.

This year’s exercise supports the Army’s initiatives in adaptation and transformation. The desired end state of DWE-10 is to develop leaders with critical thinking and adaptation skills as well as generate hard data with which military and civilian leaders can utilize to make required adaptations and changes to doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership, personnel, and facilities. These goals serve to place and keep our military ahead of our enemies and proactively address changes in the post 9-11 environment.

The Army measures its effects on the Operational Environment using Political, Military, Economic, Social, Information, and Infrastructure – Physical Environment and Time (PMESII-PT) Operational Variables. To that end, commanders must understand the Human Dimensions and Aspects of the Operational Environment. The support of and collaboration with local and indigenous populations is a principal determinant of success in all conflicts. In order for commanders to achieve this understanding, they must have staff officers who can identify, collect and understand the Human Aspects within the PMESII-PT construct and then integrate them into the Military Decision Making Process.

The Battle Command Battle Laboratory – Leavenworth is a thriving, premier experimentation facility that invites numerous scientists, scholars and subject matter experts to all of our experiments. If you have participated with our experiments previously, we thank you and invite you back. If you are interested in this year’s experiment or would like us to keep you informed on this or any of our other cutting edge experiments please contact Ms. Carol Markle, (913) 684-7769, carol.markle@us.army.mil, or visit http://usacac.army.mil/blog/blogs/bcbl/default.aspx.

The Battle Command Battle Laboratory – Leavenworth: Experimenting with future concepts and technology to build a stronger military today and tomorrow!

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About IMT

Posted by tradoclive in Initial Military Training on October 29th, 2009

TRADOC News! Congress approved the standup of Deputy Commanding General for Initial Military Training (IMT) on 29 SEP 2009 with Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling in this new position. This organization will standardize some areas of training, reinvigorate others, and evolve the way that initial entry Soldiers and recently commissioned junior officers prepare for their first unit of assignment. One of the goals of IMT is to support more efficient and effective Army Force Generation, while shaping Soldiers and recently-commissioned leaders with the skills ready to contribute in a constantly changing operational environment. Lt. Gen. Hertling and his expanding team are working on several initiatives that will evolve training to meet the demands our Soldiers face, incorporating new methods, methodologies and training techniques that are geared on addressing the evolving nature of conflict and changing human and societal dynamics.

Read more about IMT’s set up here and view photos from Lt. Gen. Hertling’s promotion here

What are your thoughts on IMT? What questions do you have for Lt. Gen. Hertling and his team?

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IN THEIR WORDS – (07 OCT) AUSA Panel: Operationalizing LandWarNet through the Global Network Enterprise Construct (LandWarNet, Cyberwarfare)

Posted by tradoclive in Uncategorized on October 13th, 2009

A top-level overview for transition of the Army Network through the GNEC strategy, panelists focused on requirements and initiatives and current situation in their organizations.

BG Jeffrey Foley, Commanding General – Army Signal Center & Fort Gordon, represented TRADOC. In his words:

“We are collecting and disseminating more information [voice, data, video] than ever, to and from lower echelons, including an individual soldier, which means increased probability of mission accomplishment with less risk of losing soldiers.”

“Last May the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff signed our Aerial Layer Network Transport Initial Capabilities Document. This document lays the foundation for further development of network extension capabilities via high-, medium- and low-altitude air platforms. The Army recently fielded communications relay packages on several unmanned aircraft systems, with additional capabilities planned for this summer. In short, we’re in hot pursuit of improved aerial layer capability.”

“WIN-T is the Army’s flagship communications program; it is already bringing unprecedented capability to the force. It is paramount that we get it right to ensure it provides the necessary capability that we need on the battlefield.”

“The Global Network Enterprise Construct [GNEC] is a new term developed over the past year that captures an Army-wide strategy to transition LandWarNet-the Army’s portion of the Global Information Grid-from many loosely affiliated independent networks into a true global capability that is designed, deployed and managed as a single integrated enterprise. Through globally available Network Service Centers, GNEC provides warfighters a global plug-and-play capability through all phases of joint operations.”

“Simply stated, GNEC will operationalize LandWarNet, dramatically improve network defense posture, realize economies and efficiencies while improving effectiveness, and ensure joint interoperability across DoD.”

“Available spectrum has become one of the most critical battlefield resources. Proliferation of emitters continues to be an issue in GWOT as we add network and weapons systems capability on the battlefield. To this end the Signal Center developed and pursued initiatives for electromagnetic spectrum operations [EMSO] to include writing new doctrine, developing a career field for spectrum managers, and collaborating with the electronic warfare community joint forces engaged in current operations. To be clear, we are the
subject-matter experts on spectrum.”

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IN THEIR WORDS – (06 OCT) AUSA Panel: Army of the 21st Century Army

Posted by tradoclive in Leader Development on October 8th, 2009

The Army is building a versatile mix of ‘tailorable’ and networked organizations, operating on a rotational cycle, to provide a sustained flow of trained and ready forces for current commitments and to hedge against unexpected contingencies at a tempo that is predictable and sustainable for our all-volunteer force.

BG Dana Pittard, Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, and COL Bob Johnson, Chief – Joint and Army Concepts Division in the CD&E–ARCIC, represented TRADOC. In their words:

Institutional Adaptation
“The TRADOC Campaign Plan is driving transformation and institutional adaptation to achieve measurable outcomes in support of ARFORGEN and the Army Future Force.” (BG Pittard)

“[TRADOC is] adapting in new ways, for example reducing the length of the BNCOC [Advanced Leader Course], deploying mobile training teams, and using ‘Wikis’ to involve Soldiers in the development of field manuals.” (BG Pittard)

Army Capstone Concept (ACC)
“The emerging Army Capstone Concept was well received, in particular its grounded projections of future armed conflict, and ideas of operational adaptation and developing the situation, and how these ideas provide the intellectual underpinnings for operationalizing GEN Casey’s vision of how the Army of the 21st Century will operate.”  (COL Johnson)

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