VICENZA, Italy -- Twenty U.S. Army service members assigned to the U.S. Army NATO Brigade's Allied Forces South Battalion participated in staff ride on and around Mount Grappa in Veneto, Italy, Aug. 24 to build team spirit and gain an on-site understanding of Italian mountain warfare during World War I.
The staff ride was the highlight of a four-day leaders summit that brought four company command teams, one from Norfolk, Virginia; one from Izmir, Turkey; and two from Naples, Italy, along with the battalion staff to Caserma Ederle in Vicenza.
"The purpose of today's battle staff ride is to study the (WWI) campaign of the Italian army fighting against Austria and Germany," said Lt. Col. John G. Misenheimer Jr., the Allied Forces South Battalion commander.
"There are a lot of lessons learned that we can take from the first world war, especially on how mission command, communications and logistics play an important role on the front line," he said. "We can take those back and better support our NATO population while building the mission of the battalion."
The ride featured a 12-mile hike around the Grappa massif north of Vicenza, to the sites of three of the bloodiest battles of the Italian front, fought between the November 1917 and October 1918, with mountain troops enduring harsh combat conditions.
"Without (Mount) Grappa, the Italy we know today would cease to exist," said Capt. Jermaine A. Athill, a battalion operations officer. The terrain walk helped the Soldiers understand why, after Italian troops were defeated at Caporetto, the massif became one the central points of the Italian lines of defense and brought the Austrian offensive to a halt.
"The experience provided an opportunity to learn about the host nation's history and therefore gain a deeper respect for our key ally and NATO partner," Athill said.
Underlining the strategic position of Grappa, Italian military history experts guided the participants along the terrain walk and shared their knowledge on significant battlefields, memorial sites, trench lines, tunnels and artillery positions dug into solid rock.
Professor Paolo Pozzato, a military historian and author, provided a detailed analysis of Italy's involvement in WWI. He engaged the team explaining how Italy entered the conflict in May 1915, turning on its ex-ally Austria-Hungary.
The Italian-Austrian border became the Italian Front, a theater where a series of battles were fought until November 1918, when the Allied victory at Vittorio Veneto sealed Italy's victory against the Austro-Hungarian army.
Pozzato highlighted how the front stretched over 400 miles across the Dolomites and Julian Alps from Lake Garda to the Isonzo River in Slovenia. Although Italy had hoped to defeat the enemy with a surprise offensive, the front soon became involved in trench warfare, often at high altitudes and facing harsh combat conditions.
Recognizing the sacrifices the Italians made in defending their country, Staff Sgt. Jason Tafoya, a battalion senior non-commissioned officer, said, "As I was walking those trails, I was thinking, how did they do it back then, carrying hundreds of pounds of stuff and being shot at? When you put on the uniform it means something because the people before you have made sacrifices. It doesn't matter what military you are part of, you put on that uniform so that future generations can wear the same uniform and serve their country. This ride helped me put things in perspective."
Retired Italian Army Col. Edoardo Maggian, a former Italian base commander at Caserma Ederle and an Alpine troops officer also took part in the ride. He provided important context on key strategic and operational aspects of the war, primarily from the Italian, but also from the Austro-Hungarian perspective, which informed subsequent discussion.
Along the ride, participants engaged in an informal dialogue sharing the preliminary information, and lessons learned on the various aspects of the campaign, including warfare concepts, battle leadership, decision-making processes and command and control.
"Communication, team work and commitment are paramount in exercising effective mission command," said battalion Command Sgt. Maj. John B. Gutierrez, when asked what he learned from his experience on the ride. "I learned of the importance of effective communication in both receiving and sending a message. Soldiers will gain trust, and therefore, commitment, if they know their leaders have respect to at least listen to their concerns."
"Soldiers perform best when provided with good leadership, direction and motivation," added Maj. Michael A. Klobnak, battalion executive officer. "Knowing your leaders care about your well-being can help you endure the hardship and horror of war. Also, defense of the homeland played a significant role for both sides as a motivating factor."
Reflecting on how AFSOUTH can draw any meaningful lessons from a conflict that took place 100 years ago, Misenheimer pointed out that, given the complexities of equipping and training many Soldiers assigned to sixteen NATO units dispersed across seven countries, these same mission command principles directly apply to how effective they are at enabling the alliance.
"We must first see ourselves at every level and location, understand both national support elements and NATO mission requirements, and strike the right balance of empowering and developing leaders with the insight to recognize and implement change when necessary," he said. "By maintaining clear communication and prioritization, discipline and a common operating picture and understanding at every level, we can further improve morale, teamwork and Soldier and unit resiliency," he said.
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