FORT LEE, Va. (Aug. 27, 2009) -- In order to meet the training needs of an evolving force, the Lessons Learned Integration Team never stops looking for ways to collect better data from the operational Army.
One of their more successful collection methods is the Reverse Collection and Analysis Team, said Stephen Ball, Combined Arms Support Command L2I team leader.
The R-CAAT is the reverse process of a Collection and Analysis Team, which was a pre-existing process developed by the Army Center for Lessons Learned, or CALL, at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
The CALL would assemble a team of subject matter experts across the fields of doctrine, organization, materiel, training, leadership and facilities and send them to the units after a deployment.
This team would collect observations, insights and lessons, called OILs, said Ball. They would return to CALL and prepare a lengthy document called the Initial Impressions Report and share it with the Army.
The system worked well, but CASCOM would find a better way. In 2006, a group of commanders who had recently deployed overseas were invited to talk to students at the Army Logistics Management College, said Ball, to share lessons learned and insights from the field.
"After that event, it was a 'light bulb moment' for us," said Ball. "We thought 'everyone at CASCOM needs that information' - that recent, relevant information from the theater."
A briefing was set up with the commander from the 101st Sustainment Brigade from Fort Campbell, Ky., and it drew a large crowd.
"The timely, relevant feedback we were able to give to the staff made the program successful," said Ball. "It just snowballed from there."
At the time, the Army was dealing simultaneously with two major milestones. The Army was at war on two fronts, with Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. The other was the switch from a legacy force to a modular force, designed around a brigade combat team, said Ball.
"It was all uncharted territory for the staff, so they were struggling with doctrine changes and many questions," he said. "'How are we going to train these forces'' 'How are we going to equip them''"
The R-CAAT process came at just the right time for the CASCOM staff, said Ball.
"It gave them information on the best way to train the quartermasters, transporters, ordnance and other specialties that fall under the realm of CASCOM," he said.
The R-CAAT is a two-day event, with the focus on a large session where the commander briefs attendees on the OILs during the deployment. As required by the Army Lessons Learned Program, each commander must provide an after-action report after a deployment, rotation to combat training center, or any type of collective training event or mission. The R-CAAT serves as their after-action report, said Ball.
Throughout the two days, the commander and his staff (usually the executive officer and support operations officer) meets with the different directorates at CASCOM for face-to-face discussions on every aspect of their deployment. They also spend sessions with various classes at the Army Logistics University, such as the Captain's Career Course, to provide feedback from the field.
The R-CAATs paid off almost immediately after its inception, said Ball. The CASCOM staff learned of a concept developed by a unit at the third R-CAAT, the Centralized Receiving and Shipping Point, or CRSP.
When the Army first went into theater, all of the equipment was stored in large overseas shipping containers, said Ball. However, the Army didn't own these containers and rented them at approximately $12 million each month.
"Containers ended up all over the battlefield," said Ball. "This one unit came up with the CRSP concept, and set up CRSP yards to track all of the containers that entered their area of responsibility. They inventoried the containers and tracked where each container went. Once it was returned and empty, they shipped the container back to the company who owned it."
Ball said the CRSP saved money and helped the overall war effort.
"If I'm a Soldier, I'm at the end of the supply chain," he said. "I need a certain part to fix my Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected vehicle, the MRAP. That vehicle is going to save Soldiers' lives, but I can't use that vehicle because I'm waiting for that part. As part of the CRSP system, it's all tracked now, and it facilitates the whole process to get it to the Soldier faster."
The R-CAAT process has been so beneficial for CASCOM, now other Army organizations are taking heed and following in their footsteps, said Ball.
"The R-CAAT program has been formally recognized by CALL," said Ball. "The CASCOM L2I team has developed a 'how-to' briefing on how to do R-CAATs which we have provided to CALL and the Maneuver Support Center at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., is going to attempt to do an R-CAAT soon.
We're all about sharing the process, as it's been very successful at CASCOM."
While the R-CAAT is not the only method the L2I directorate has for gathering OILs, it is one of the better methods from a collection standpoint, said Ball.
Approximately 30 R-CAATs have been conducted since its inception in 2006, and more are scheduled in upcoming months. An Expeditionary Support Command is scheduled for the R-CAAT process in October. Only one ESC R-CAAT occurs each year because there's only one deployed at a time, said Ball.
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