National Training Center

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National Training Center

• Danny Nguyen
• Renuka Shringer
• Philip Helling
• Lakshmikanth Rao

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ARMY STRONG
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Introduction

• The US Military is by far the most powerful
  military in the history of the world
• In 2007, the U.S. military budget of 439.3
  Billion was larger than that of the next 168
  biggest military spending countries combined
  (this does not even include the Afghan/Iraq wars)
  

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• In fact, even though China has the largest army
  by number of people serving, Chinas army is
  sustained by a budget over eight times smaller
  than that of the US military
• This kind of spending by the last remaining world
  superpower leads to use of highly sophisticated
  technologies and operational processes, including
  the training environment provided for troops, as
  we will explore in this case

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US compared to biggest military spenders in the
world
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BACKGROUND ON THE 3RD ACR

• The ACR was put in place first in 1846 as the
  Regiment of Mounted Riflemen at Jefferson
  Barracks, Missouri. At the start of the civil
  war it was named the 3rd U.S. Cavalry Regiment.
• The word armored has since been added to indicate
  its being a heavy cavalry regiment, equipped with
  M1 Abrams tanks and M3 Bradley cavalry fighting
  vehicles.
• The 3rd ACR was just one of the two cavalry
  regiments that remained in existence but due to
  its slow deployment and expense structure its
  fate is uncertain.

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NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER

• Large contributor to American National readiness
• Every month, troops go to the NTC to fight OPFORs
  while they are under constant scrutiny of the
  observer controllers
• The trip begins with preparation and training and
  ends with a two week battle period which
  involves intense fighting exercises where the
  OPFORs do everything in their power to create a
  harsh fighting environment for the participating
  troops
• The NTC utilizes MILES which is a highly
  technical system which determines who lives and
  dies during the staged combat
• The OCs are a very integral part of the NTC
  where the officers are chosen for their
  excellence in tactics, teaching and communication
  skills

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THE PLAYERS

• Flip Finnegan (Cap.) the L troop commander,
  tries to embody all of the values that the Army
  is based on
• James Steckleson (Maj.) the primary
  Observer-controller for L troop and Cap.
  Finnegan will eventually lead discussion during
  the AAR
• Hank Smith (Sec. Lt.) Engineer Platoon Leader,
  the most junior officer in the Regiment with very
  little experience

• Tom Hack (Gen.) Training and Doctrine Commander
  responsible for all of the Armys training
  programs and centers
• Tom Hanson (Lt. Col.) Squadron Commander
  commands the 700 person org. at the NTC
• Jim Strait (Maj.) plans all of the tactical
  operations under Col. Hansons Command
• Troop Commanders I,K,L responsible for
  everything that their units do or even fail to
  do!!!

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DEFINITIONS/ABBREVIATIONS

• NCO Non-commissioned officer
• MILES Multiple integrated laser engagement
  system
• AAR After Action Review
• NCO Non
• commissioned
• Officer

• ACR Armored Cavalry Regiment
• NTC National Training Center
• OPFOR Opposing Force
• OC Observer controller
• CALL Center for Army Lessons Learned

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Preliminary Details

• Major James Steckleson was to observe the Armored
  Cavalry Regiment (ACR) while they defended the
  central corridor he was then to conduct an After
  Action Review (AAR)
• The AAR was designed to create open and honest
  dialogue in order for the ACR to learn from its
  mistakes and what could be done to help the
  cavalry
• The showmanship of the 3rd ACR would prove
  whether or not the Army would continue and live
  up to its rich history and reputation
• Stecklesons job was to evaluate the units
  performance and either applaud them for their
  accomplishments or remediate them for their
  mistakes

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SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

• Dec 2nd ( 6 7am) Hanson and Straight received
  the squadrons mission .The 3rd ACR was also
  given some mine assets so that they could have
  some sort of advantage and strengthen its
  positioning
• Dec 2nd ( 10 a 6p) preparation of defensive
  measures which included engineers placing
  fratricide fences so that friendly forces would
  not step onto the deadly land mines
• Dec 2nd (6- 8p) Rehearsals were executed so
  that minor refinements were made. The decision
  to attack the OPFOR in the
  morning also came about the
  Squadron was officially prepared for battle

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SEQUENCE

• Dec 3rd (1 am) Finnegan was woken by Straight
  as he ordered him to find him a place to put the
  Volcano! A new plan was being enacted suddenly
• Dec 3rd (1- 3 am) The duty for finding an area
  to place the mines now rested on Finnegan
• Dec 3rd (130 230 am) Finnegan knew that a
  fence was supposed to be installed so
  that troops would know not to stray into the
  deadly area. But in his haste, Finnegan decided
  not to put up the fence
• Dec 3rd By the end of the day, 11 people had
  been killed because
• of the mine

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Information on the AAR

• Formal Definition is a professional discussion
  of an event, focused on performance standards,
  that enables soldiers to discover for themselves
  what happened, why it happened, and how to
  sustain strengths and improve on weaknesses. It
  is a tool leaders and units can use to get
  maximum benefit from every mission or task.

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THE AAR (After Action Review)

• Steckleson was ready to conduct the AAR ready
  to address the Fratricides that needlessly
  occurred
• Steckleson had many questions
• -Why did Hanson decide to place the Volcano
  minefield at the 11th hour?
• -Why didnt Finnegan install the fratricide
  fences?
• -Why didnt Smith tell his engineering team to
  wait
• until he arrived to place the Volcanic
  landmines?

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Discussion

• What conditions are need for learning to occur
  during the AAR?

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Discussion

• Learning Theories What learning theories are
  reflected by the AAR and apply to the case?

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Discussion

• What type of learning style is the AAR
  conducive to? See Table 4.4 (p 137)

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Discussion

• How is feedback an essential element of the
  Stecklesons case?

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Discussion

• Which seating arrangement would be the most
  effect for the AAR?
• 1. Fan-Type Seating
• 2. Classroom-Type
• 3. Conference-Type
• 4. Horseshoe Arrangement

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Discussion

• While training employees, is it okay for them to
  make mistakes?

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HANK SMITH

• Smith knew that he was wrong and anticipated the
  disappointment that Steckleson would voice in
  addition, the disappointment that his colleagues
  and his troop held for him
• Smith was very surprised that Steckleson
  addressed Finnegan first and asked him about the
  fratricides instead of asking Smith in the
  beginning as Finnegan recounted the events, it
  became more and more clear that Smith would have
  to speak up he was ready to face the music

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FLIP FINNEGAN

• Finnegan walked into the AAR with a feeling of
  intense pressure, this had not subsided from the
  pressure he felt from the events that had taken
  place from before
• Finnegan felt that the fratricides were not his
  fault and that he was just executing orders that
  he had received
• He knew that his soldiers were going to look to
  him for answers about why this sort of thing
  (casualties ) had happened but he was determined
  that he was not going to take the blame for what
  went wrong
• After all, he was just DOING HIS JOB
• Steckleson asked questions surrounding the
  situation and he answered to the best of his
  ability without trying to sell anyone
• out or placing blame on one particular person
• He did his part, now it was up to everyone else
  to do theirs and figure out
  how to learn from the events

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HANSON

• Hanson had already decided that he was not going
  to vocalize too much during the AAR because he
  did want to be overpowering and inhibit others
  comments
• As the recounts played out, Hanson began to
  wonder if he and his men could have done a better
  job when it came to risk aversion
• Hanson was particularly surprised with Finnegan
  and the way he answered during AAR discussions
  Hanson wondered in Finnegan had trouble admitting
  his mistakes???
• Hanson also questioned Smiths role in the whole
  chain of mistakes. Was Smith to take full blame,
  because in all actuality, he was just at the end
  of a line of mistakes. But it was crucial that
  Smith learned from these particular mistakes so
  that he could lead much better in the future.
  Hanson was ready to address the forum himself.

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• The army likes to conduct a lot of reenactments
  so today we are going to reenact the AAR.

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AARs Outside Uses

• Currently used by several corporations because of
  wide success within the army
• "The Army's After Action Review (AAR) is arguably
  one of the most successful organizational
  learning methods yet devised most every
  corporate effort to graft this truly innovative
  practices into their culture has failed because,
  people reduce the living practice of AAR's to a
  sterile technique." -- Peter Senge (Professor at
  the MITs
• Sloan School of Management) and author of
  several works surrounding Learning Theory

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Conclusion Future of AAR

• The future of AARs is expansive. More and more
  companies are picking up on the value of using
  AARs as a wonderful learning tool and
  incorporating them into their training programs.
  But as Senge pointed out, there still needs to be
  a lot of research surrounding the method, so
  that it can be a genuinely effective learning
  tool.