FORT BENNING, Ga., (May 6, 2015) -- The commanding general of the Maneuver Center of Excellence, Maj. Gen. Scott Miller, hosted the MCoE quarterly "Azimuth Check" April 24 at the Benning Club to assess several initiatives at the Maneuver Center.
"What we're going to focus on in this particular 'Azimuth Check' is results," Miller said.
The "Azimuth Check" covered five broad categories with in-depth discussions on training, lethality, physical performance, needs of the operational force, and care of Soldiers, Families and community outreach. Every three months, the leaders of the Maneuver Center gather for this event and the next will be July 2015.
Leaders from across Fort Benning shared insights on initiatives. Sgt. 1st Class Ken Rose of the Army Marksmanship Unit provided best practices and effective techniques from his first-hand observation of the newly designed Master Marksmanship Trainer Course. This particular course focuses on a common approach to marksmanship, and will transition from the Army Marksmanship Unit to the 316th Cavalry Brigade this fall.
Col. William Thigpen, 316th Cavalry Brigade commander, described his organization's efforts to establish the Lethality Battalion. This battalion will focus on marksmanship and lethality of all weapons systems from the M4 rifle all the way up to the M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank. Efforts are well underway to establish the Master Gunner Common Core curriculum with plans to validate the updated course in May 2015, Thigpen said.
Optimizing Physical Performance is a significant effort across the Army, and the Maneuver Center is leading the way in this regard.
Lt. Col. Greg Burbelo, Human Dimension expert with the Maneuver Center's Directorate of Training and Doctrine, described a common approach to enhancing physical performance for implementation across Fort Benning.
Col. Rich Timmons, 198th Infantry Brigade commander, highlighted recent success in implementing functional fitness in his 11B Infantry one station unit training courses.
Col. Scott King, 194th Armored Brigade commander, said he is seeing marked improvements in physical performance indicators such as push-ups, sit-ups and run times with the Initial Entry Training Physical Readiness Enhancement Program. IPREP screens new Soldiers using functional movement screening techniques to identify physical problems before a Soldier enters a training course.
Early results indicate as much as a 30 percent increase in graduation rates with participating Soldiers.
The Maneuver Center is focused on developing Soldiers, leaders, and formations that are smart, fast, lethal and precise. Smart means routinely generating situational understanding; fast means physically and cognitively faster than the Army's adversaries; lethal means the Soldier can take their weapon system and destroy the enemy with as few rounds as possible - "preferably one," said Miller; and precise means sufficient understanding, speed and skillsets to actually be precise in the application of power.
"We must train and educate our Soldiers to be smart, fast, lethal and precise from the time they enter the force," Miller said. "This azimuth check ensured leaders are leading in the right direction and sharing lessons with each other across Fort Benning to unlimitedly ensure Maneuver Center does its part to achieve the Army's imperative of 'Winning in a complex world.'"
Editor's note: The Bayonet and Saber's Noelle Wiehe contributed to this article.
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