In the last Commandant’s Hatch article, I wrote about how the Armor Force’s current situation demands that we invest in our training standards. We face a challenging combination of conditions:high operational tempo, personnel turbulence, and a lethal future battlefield. I suggested that we should see this as an opportunity to reinforce and adapt our training standards. Today, we can report that the Armor Force is moving out quickly on our training standards, in part through the Army Training Standardization Initiative.

The Army Training Standardization Initiative (ATSI) is a partnership between the III Corps and the United States Army Armor School (USAARMS) that is driving action on Armor Force training standards. Over the next six months, this initiative is focusing on the following priorities of work:

Army Training Standardization Initiative Priorities of Work

To show how ATSI is driving toward concrete outcomes for the Armor Force, let’s look at our work on ATSI Priority Work #3: Armor Force Fundamentals. We define “fundamentals” as a defined list of tasks/actions that allow formations to fight effectively. While we may often talk about mastering the fundamentals, we might not always have shared understanding of what these fundamentals are.ATSI has leveraged the judgment and experience of commanders at echelon to reach consensus on Armor Force Fundamentals that are organized by three categories:

  • Common Fundamentals – The Daily Dozen. These are twelve actions that units do every day during operations. The Daily Dozen is common to all unit types and all echelons.
  • Common Fundamentals – Critical Tactical Tasks. These twelve tasks enable formations to fight effectively. Critical Tactical Tasks are common to all unit types and are applicable to the company, platoon, section, squad echelons.
  • Formation-Specific Fundamentals. These are the tasks – tailored to specific formation types – that enable good fighting.Formation types include the Tank Platoon, the Scout Platoon, the Tank Company, and the Cavalry Troop.

Here are the Armor Force fundamentals:

So, what might we do with the Armor Force Fundamentals? They should assist commanders in prioritizing training. Commanders might also feature them in their training guidance. Leaders would do well to anchor their training strategies and design on these fundamentals. And for sure, we will publish them in our doctrine. For example, the Armor Force Fundamentals will have a prominent place in the soon-to-be published update of ATP 3-20.15 (Tank Platoon).

Still, and as we discussed in the last Hatch Article, it is what you choose to do that matters most here. As you drive readiness in an environment of high operational tempo and personnel turbulence – with a future lethal battlefield in mind – you can focus on the Armor Force Fundamentals. We challenge you to use your initiative, creativity, and all available time to make your formations better every day. We hope you find the Armor Force fundamentals to be valuable to your efforts.

And as always, the Armor School is available to assist you in all that you do. If there is anything that we can do to help you, just holler!