Center for Army Lessons Learned launches interactive-learning tool

By Randi Stenson, MCCoE Public AffairsOctober 28, 2020

Army 21: Brigade Combat Teams
Army 21: Brigade Combat Teams opening screenshot (Photo Credit: U.S. Army CALL) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. -- The Center for Army Lessons Learned debuted its newest offering for Soldiers, “Army-21: Brigade Combat Teams,” during the virtual Association of the United States Army annual meeting, Oct. 13-16, 2020.

Army 21 is a multimedia, interactive-learning tool designed to give leaders and Soldiers an immersive environment in which to gain a basic understanding of the BCT organization, key tasks, and combined arms team integration. Currently designed at the BCT level, the CALL development team is now moving forward with expanding the tool to incorporate division and corps formations.

“Army 21 addresses what we see as a knowledge gap for our junior leaders,” said CALL Director Col. Chris Keller. “Many Soldiers don’t understand how the Army mans, equips, and fights. This product delivers a one-stop resource to quickly learn and understand current Army organization and about the unique capabilities of our BCTs across the force.”

Key components of Army-21 include an interface to each Army BCT and an overview of the different types of BCTs (Armored, Infantry, Stryker) with information on task organization, composition of supporting battalions and squadrons, personnel template, and primary platforms and weapon systems. The tool further provides an operational environment page to provide the user with a foundational understanding of the battlefield frameworks of offense and defense, echeloned forces, boundaries, and how warfighting functions frame the operational environment. Each page is underpinned with doctrinal and lessons learned resources, as well as other useful references for the user to access.

At AUSA, CALL provided an abbreviated video demonstration of the product and conducted a webinar question and answer session about the tool. The full Army 21 product can be found on the Army Training Network (Common Access Card login required).

“We are eager for Soldiers in the field and in the schoolhouse to use Army 21 and tell us about their experience,” said Keller. “That feedback will be crucial to us improving the user experience and making the tool better as we move forward.” A21_Flyer_Finalsm.pdf [PDF - 903.5 KB]