Military Review English Edition July-August 2014 | Page 41

SUSTAINING THE ARNG

Second, commanders and staffs must plan and
prepare unit training that simulates real-world
operations as closely as possible. Commanders must
incorporate experiences and challenges faced in the
counterinsurgency fight of the past 13 years into present-day unit training. This calls for innovative training events that use organic resources aimed at platoon
and staff proficiency.
Besides developing proficiency in mission-essential
tasks, a National Guard commander’s responsibility
includes ensuring each unit is prepared to conduct
domestic operations. At any given time an ARNG unit
may be tasked to provide support to civil authorities.
Therefore, the commander’s training emphasis must be
balanced between the unit’s mission-essential task list
and domestic operational requirements.
Unit leaders and trainers must learn to use modeling and simulations so they can reduce costs, train
faster, and increase proficiency.12 The use of live,
virtual, constructive, and gaming training enables
commanders to conduct low-cost, multi-echelon
events in complex operational environments while
at home station.13 Digital training through modeling and simulations allows commanders to train on
exercising mission command while integrating all of
the warfighting tactical systems in realistic combat
situations. National Guard leaders at all levels must
be able to employ training models and simulations
that support decision making, course-of-action
development, mission planning, rehearsals, and
operations.
In addition, National Guard commanders must
embrace distance learning (DL) as a cost-saving measure. Currently, access to DL is a significant challenge
for many ARNG soldiers; the National Guard Bureau
must continue to expand access to DL opportunities.
Soldiers must realize that advancement opportunities
depend on personal initiative that includes DL, and
commanders must seek out ways to accommodate
soldiers who are pursuing DL requirements.
Structured self-development is part of the Army’s
strategy to reinforce the Noncommissioned Officer
Education System, but inadequate funding for individual qualification training will continue to limit
opportunities. Regardless, commanders must remain
committed to making MOS qualification and required
professional military education a high priority. Soldiers
MILITARY REVIEW  July-August 2014

who attend a qualification school will not always receive funding to attend annual training during the same
training year. Commanders must consider this when
planning training, but they should allow soldiers to
attend school programs to advance their careers.
In conjunction with the unit status report, the
ARNG also should measure the readiness of a brigade’s digital systems. The unit status report should
provide senior commanders a snapshot of a unit’s
digital capability.
Commanders can assess capabilities using the
standard man, equip, and train model. For manning,
does the unit have 90 percent of the required MOSs
for that section? For equipping, does the unit have all
necessary equipment and is it functional? Finally, the
unit commander can estimate how proficient the unit
is with the equipment and how well it can support
mission command. The figure (Status Chart Example)
provides an example of one way an infantry brigade
combat team could use a simple chart to represent an
overview of the status of its digital systems.
Tracking the status of each brigade combat team’s
digital systems is crucial to maintaining the ARNG
as an operational force. Individual commanders and
the force as a whole need a standard approach to
monitoring and reporting on digital capabilities. The
ARNG has no standard quantitative or qualitative
method for brigade commanders to track the status
of all their digital systems in relation to overall readiness. The ARNG should host a planning conference
with brigade-level commanders to determine the
components that require measurement and tracking. Each brigade-level commander should brief the
ARNG commander—or the aligned-for-training
division commander—annually on the overall status
of the brigade’s digital systems. This practice will help
ensure there is enough time to rectify readiness issues
before they become critical.
True readiness can only be achieved through
training that replicates real-world problems, stresses
the mastery of mission command, exercises the expert
application of lethal force, and reinforces standards
and discipline. Innovative, resolute commanders who
anticipate needs and become experts in training management—from planning training to writing unit status
report comments—will help their units thrive in an era
of fiscal austerity.
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