FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. -- By establishing a relationship between units and Soldiers and carrying that relationship from the start of the Army's Force Generation readiness process to the final war fighting exercise, First Army Division East hopes to develop teams that epitomize the Secretary of the Army's Total Army Force concept.
According to Maj. Gen. Jeffrey L. Bailey, First Army Division East commanding general, the goal is to build partnerships and establish relationships between the elements of his multi-component Division and Reserve component units. This concept was validated during the 42nd Infantry Division's recent command post exercise at Fort Drum N.Y. First Army Division East and the 42nd started planning the CPX months ago.
"The biggest thing is that partnerships and relationships are built and established early," Bailey said. "Now, three months down the road, a rapport is built which opens up the lines of communication. Everyone knows expectations and responsibilities. When guidance comes down, you already have the understanding of what that other person wants/expects."
This multi-composition training concept was successful, said the 42nd ID's commander, Maj. Gen. Harry E. Miller.
"It has been a perfect match so far, mainly because it's the same thing we have been doing for the last 10 -- 12 years in overseas operations," said Miller.
A National Guard unit headquartered out of New York, the 42nd ID began working with First Army Division East's 157th Infantry Brigade in late 2013 to develop objectives, scenarios and define resources for several exercises in 2014. They conducted the first training event during the 42nd's two-day battle assembly in January with the 157th Inf. Bde's active and mobilized guardsmen and reserve Soldiers provided observer-coach/trainer support to the 42nd ID. Over a two-day period, the unit completed the first of two command post exercises in preparation of their upcoming war fighting exercise later this year at the Mission Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth, Ks.
The O-C/Ts supporting the CPX belonged to First Army Division East's 157th Infantry Brigade, Camp Atterbury Ind. According to Col. Brandt Deck, the 157th Inf. Bde. commander, active, National Guard, and Army Reserve forces must partner with each other to ensure we can meet the requirements the Army has to support to combatant commanders.
"It takes the total Army force to provide trained and ready Army forces to the combatant commanders," said Deck. "We will continue to operate side-by-side during Unified Land Operations so it is important that we train together and build strong relationships with each other. As the active component reduces in size we will really even more heavily on our Reserve Component units."
As part of the overall First Army Division East mission, the eight brigades regularly work with Reserve component units to ensure readiness requirements.
"The main thing we bring as observer-coach/trainers is an outside look at a unit," explained Deck. "We apply OC/Ts who have are experienced in the areas and tasks that they will observe who in turn help the training unit get a better view of themselves. This helps the training unit sustain the things they are doing well and gives them the opportunity to discover some areas they may need to make stronger."
They also discuss with units how doctrine applies to the tasks they are training and discuss their experiences with similar tasks, Deck continued. The give and take during the exercises benefits everyone involved.
"We learn a tremendous amount as O-C/Ts," Deck said. "We take things from each unit that they do well and share those TTPs with the next units we work with."
This sharing of information to strengthen both units made the CPX an extremely positive experience, said Miller.
"They have been with us from the first part of our operation back in November," Miller explained. "I told them back then that our house is their house, meaning they can participate in anything and everything we are doing. This is all about being transparent and the sharing of information. All documents and products we have produced had been passed onto First Army Division East for their visibility and awareness, as well as for their input for lessons learned."
The 42nd ID benefited greatly from the collaboration, said Col. Phillip Pugliese, the 42nd ID's chief of staff.
"First Army represents an organization that assists the Reserve component units in tackling their mission, provides information, mentoring, supervision, evaluation and, from my standpoint, they're a part of the team," said Pugliese.
"By establishing a baseline, where you have someone who's with you from start to finish, you don't have breaks in communication," Pugliese explained. "We have someone who watches us go through from the beginning, and they will be able to articulate improvements to us. We'll already have an established relationship with them, a rapport that's honest and open. Through that whole process people become better Soldiers. It means a lot to have that kind of effort from First Army, by design, for the entirety of the training."
It's a relationship Deck hopes to build with other Reserve component units.
"We want all Reserve Component units to know that if they need training assistance of any type, First Army is a resource for them to use," he said. "We exist to support Reserve Component units achieve their readiness requirements in the ARFORGEN cycle. We are successful if the units we partner with are successful."
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