Lessons-Learned and Organizational Improvements: Saber Squadron in Exercises Saber Strike 16 and 18

Sitting in the regiment’s manifesting area May 30, 2018, elements of 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment (Saber Squadron), made their final prepara tions for the first leg of their tactical roadmarch (TRM) from Vilseck, Germany, to Orzysz, Poland. For most of the troopers, Saber Strike 18 was their first major multinational exercise with the unit. For a handful of troopers and leaders, this was their second time participating in Saber Strike, an annual North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercise conduct ed across the Baltic countries. For those familiar with Saber Strike 16, the mindset of the leadership, the preparation and the eventual execu tion of Saber Strike 18 were different from its predecessor. The changes implemented in Saber Strike 18 con verted it from a demonstration of ca pabilities into a series of tactical operations to increase the unit’s readiness while still maintaining a focus on assur ing allies, deterring adversaries and, if necessary, defending NATO. Maintenance mindset For along TRM, maintenance is a key issue. For Saber Strike 16, Saber Squadron’s TRM timeline included several maintenance days. The squadron’sand regiment’s leader ship decided to integrate dedicated maintenance days into the TRM time line as mitigation based on their prior experiences with TRMs in 2015. As planned, there was about one maintenance day for every one or two days of roadmarching. To maximize the unit’s time and complete the commander’s intent, Saber Squadron conducted civil-military engagements with elements not ac tively involved in maintenance on the dedicated days. Between Vilseck and Orzysz, Saber Squadron conducted three dedicated maintenance days, with another two days in conjunction with a wet-gap crossing rehearsal, resulting in a total TRM timeline of 10 days for Saber Strike 16 to Orzysz. Over the next two years, 2nd Cavalry Regiment conducted three more major TRMs to northeast Poland to support our enhanced forward presence (eFP). With the data from Saber Strike 16 and eFP, the goal for the Saber Strike 18 TRM was to get from Vilseck to Orzysz in five days without maintenance stops. This meant the squadron need ed to validate its Soldiers’ and equip ment’s ability to conduct an extended-duration TRM before Saber Strike 18. Saber Squadron’s answer to this problem was an event called the “GTA 500.” Each troop conducted a roadmarch around Grafenwoehr Training Area (GTA) once a month, from March to May 2018, in preparation for the TRM. As they progressed, the roadmarches grew from 90 minutes to three hours. The roadmarches allowed the squadron to identify major issues with vehicles prior to the Saber Strike 18 TRM and conduct maintenance at home station. Also, the GTA 500 gave the squadron an opportunity to conduct a full-dress rehearsal of convoy and recovery operations. Troops conducted other training events concurrently such as weapons ranges, gas-mask training or command-post exercises. This allowed them to continue their unit training progressions in conjunction with Saber Strike 18 preparations. In addition to the roadmarches, Saber Squadron executed full vehicle-lubrica tion orders for all the vehicles execut ing the TRM. The lubrication orders in cluded all hub oil and differential fluids as well as the usual coolant, Figure 1. Soldiers assigned to Outlaw Troop, 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, conduct rural and urban reconnaissance in Saber Strike 18 in Skrunda, Latvia, June 7, 2018. Saber Strike 18 was the eighth iteration of the longstanding U. S. Army Europe-led cooperative training exercise designed to enhance interoperability among allies and regional partners. (U. S. Army Photo by SGT Timothy Hamlin, 4/2 Cavalry Regiment) transmission fluid and oil. For the Stryker fleet, this was a very common maintenance procedure. However, for many of the troopers, including senior leaders, replacing hub oil and differential fluid in humvees or any of the fam ily of medium tactical vehicles was anew experience since the maintenance focus has usually been on the Stryker fleet. Troopers and leaders both em braced the learning opportunity and were excited to execute the in-depth lubrication orders. The mechanics dis played equal excitement to train every one and decrease their workload on the TRM. Another common problem from Saber Strike 16 was lugnuts loosening and falling off during the TRM. To mitigate this, the operators tightened all lug nuts and used paint markers to place a visual indicator on each lugnut in the tighten position. The mark allowed op erators to identify loosening lugnuts easily at refueling stops or remain-overnight (RON) sites. During the dis patching process, the squadron’s me chanics inspected all the lugnuts and Figure 2. A Polish army Infantry Fighting Vehicle and U. S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopters with Battle Group Poland par ticipate in the culminating live-fire event of Saber Strike 18 at the Bemowo Piskie Training Area, Poland, June 15, 2018. Exercise Saber Strike 18 was held June 3-15 at training areas in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Participants from 19 countries participated in the eighth iteration of the exercise, including Canada, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom. The long-standing U. S. Army Europe-led cooperative training exercise is designed to enhance readiness and interoperability among allies and regional partners. (U. S. Army National Guard photo by SPC Robert Douglas) lubrication orders with the operators to doublecheck the vehicles. The preparation changes had an in credible effect. At the end of the five-day TRM, only three vehicles failed to reach Orzysz under their own power. Of those, only one vehicle required a recovery asset to move it. During the five days, the only dedicated mainte nance times were the 30-minute refu el stops and overnight stops. For com parison, in Saber Strike 16, six of nine recovery assets towed or carried a dis abled vehicle upon arrival at Orzysz, despite five days of dedicated mainte nance time. The changes to its homestation preparations enabled Saber Squadron to conduct a rapid TRM across Poland without the need for ex tended maintenance periods. Managing assets In addition to the preparation changes, the regiment wanted to use internal assets as much as possible during Saber Strike 18 to test its internal-sustainment capabilities. A few of the con straints were using military water containers, using organic recovery as sets and having no bulk-to-bulk fuel re supply for the forward-support troop (FST) until Orzysz. This was a stark contrast to Saber Strike 16 sustainment considerations. For Saber Strike 16, multiple regiment external assets supported the squadron during the TRM. Within the squadron task force, there were three low boys task-organized from 21st Theater Sustainment Command (TSC) for the roadmarch. Prior to Orzysz, the squad ron received two resupplies through the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). DLA contracted civilian fuel trucks and conducted bulk-to-bulk resupplies with the four M978s (military fuel trucks) assigned to the task force. Class Ire supply also came through DLA con tracts direct to the squadron. Quarter ing parties in rental cars received Class I drops 24 hours in advance of the main body at the next templated RON. In ad dition to the food, the unit received 1.5-liter bottles of water for personnel as their primary water source – not bulk water or military containers.

For Saber Strike 18, the only enablers assigned to Saber Squadron were com bat enablers from the Air Force and regimental engineer squadron, and a small sustainment package from the regimental support squadron (RSS). RSS provided an additional M978 and one Medical Evacuation Vehicle for the operation. For recovery assets, the squadron only had its three organic wreckers and one Modular Catastroph ic Recovery System for the roadmarch. One wrecker, one M978 and one tank-rack module specifically supported one subordinate unit, Outlaw Troop, which moved 24 hours in advance of the main body for the entire TRM to Orzysz. To increase organic fuel capacity, the FST received two 2,500-gallon tank-rack modules after Saber Strike 16. This doubled the FST’s organic fuel ca pacity from 5,000 to 10,000 gallons to assist with future operations. Also, all vehicles carried eight fuel cans during Saber Strike 18, doubling what vehicles carried during Saber Strike 16. During predetermined short halts for mainte nance and driver swaps, all vehicles re fueled using only fuel cans in Saber Strike 18. Support elements only is sued retail fuel at RON sites or for un planned requests during the Saber Strike 18 TRM. By contrast, in Saber Strike 16, quartering parties estab lished retail fuel at the short halts, and the fuel cans were for emergencies only. Saber Squadron largely depended on like-vehicle recovery to ensure recovery assets remained open for cata strophic vehicle issues during Saber Strike 18. With five fewer recovery as sets available to the squadron than during Saber Strike 16, this was necessary to ensure mobility without losing tempo. Also, a major concern during Saber Strike 16 was the potential for damage to the towing vehicle during the long-duration movements. With the in-depth home-station mainte nance and multiple GTA 500s, Saber Squadron was confident in its ability to execute like-vehicle recovery for the TRM without damaging the towing ve hicles. To mitigate strain on one vehi cle, convoy commanders swapped tow ing vehicles at short halts and held RONs as necessary. The focus on cutting the movement time to Orzysz, instead of conducting maintenance days and engagements, decreased the need for resupply dur ing the TRM. Increasing internal capa bilities such as fuel capacity, and en couraging recovery and sustainment at the lowest level, enabled the squadron to carry the necessary supplies and maximize the use of its equipment to self-sustain during the TRM without re supply. The result of the TRM was a validation of the squadron’s ability to self-sustain for an extended-duration road march using only regimental internal assets. ‘Get there, do something, tell the world’ At a tactical level, the focus for Saber Strike 16 was not on enhancing Saber Squadron’s tactical proficiency in terms of key collective tasks (KCTs) or mis sion-essential tasks (METs); it was demonstrating interoperability and ca pabilities in support of NATO opera tions. This is readily apparent from the commander’s intent in the Saber Strike 16 operations order: “The comprehen sive purpose of this operation is to set favorable conditions for the NATO Summit in Warsaw. We will accomplish this through the conduct of a series of tactical tasks that demonstrate our op erational mobility and freedom of ma neuver that create the strategic effect of enhancing the [a]lliance.”1 The regi mental commander summarized the intent into a simple phrase for all 2nd Cavalry Regiment troopers to remem ber: “Get there, do something and tell the world.”2 With this mindset, Saber Squadron moved forward to execute Saber Strike 16. Throughout Saber Strike 16, the squad ron conducted 12 engagements and one live-fire exercise. Of the 12 engagements, three were tactical en gagements: a wet-gap crossing in Wei den, Germany; a wet-gap crossing at Chelmno, Poland; and a forward-pas sage-of-lines (FPoL) at Torun, Poland. The importance of the civilian-military engagements was very high. On more than one occasion, Saber Squadron el ements missed their templated movement times due to planned engagements running over allocated times or an impromptu engagement occurring at a refuel site.3 To prepare for the engagements, troopers cleaned vehicles with on-hand supplies and applied a “special sauce,” internally produced by the unit, on all display vehicles to give them a freshly cleaned appearance. Troopers at the displays wore clean uniforms, Stetsons and spurs, and Figure 3. The fires team from Outlaw Troop, 4/2 Cavalry Regiment, conducts a combined-fires brief with members of the Latvian army in Skrunda, Latvia, June 7, 2018. (U. S. Army Photo by SGT Timothy Hamlin, 4/2 Cavalry Regiment) carried display boards for the vehicles translated to the local language. Mes saging their presence and demonstrat ing their capabilities was the squadron’s priority. For the tactical events, including the live-fire, elements from the squadron rehearsed for two days before execu tion to ensure the exercise and key events occurred on time to facilitate observation by distinguished visitors and onlookers. Outside of the FPoL and live-fire exercise, no Saber trooper wore body armor or personal camou flage. Also, at the river crossings, very-important persons rode across the bridges in tactical vehicles, flags representing participating nations flew at key points on the crossings, and only combat ele ments, not support elements, conduct ed the wet-gap crossings. The events focused on messaging the capabilities and solidarity of NATO ac cording to the commander’s intent. However, the events did very little to increase Saber Squadron’s proficiency on their METs. As a former troop com mander noted, outside of the six days rehearsing and executing the wet-gap crossings and the FPoL, most of the training benefits were at the individual and crew level. Those individual and crew tasks “[did] not necessarily trans late into one or two clear KCTs or METs, but rather influence[d] nearly all of them.”4 For most, the deployment MET was the only MET that significantly increased because of Saber Strike 16. As such, the 20 days spent executing Saber Strike 16 did little to increase Saber Squadron’s readiness outside of achieving proficiency at some of the supporting individual and crew-level tasks. Recognizing the potential training op portunities, the regiment focused heavily on using Saber Strike 18 as an opportunity to increase unit readiness. The mindset shifted from demonstrat ing capabilities to conducting tactical training events to increase MET profi ciency. The changes to the command er’s intent for Saber Strike 18 echoed this change: “The purpose of this operation is to demonstrate 4/2 [Cavalry Regiment]’s readiness and rapid-de ployment capability with [operational plan] informed reconnaissance-and-security operations that stress squadron and troop mis s i o n - co m m a n d systems and en ables the regiment to execute offen sive and defensive operations while building readiness and interoperabil ity.”5 This contrasts with the Saber Strike 16 intent of demonstrating capabilities and mes saging presence. For Saber Strike 18, validating internal systems and increasing lethality was the method of assurance and de terrence. Improving METs, KCTs Saber Squadron participated in four key events during Saber Strike 18 to improve on its METs and KCTs. The squadron’s main-body elements – consisting of Palehorse Troop, Quickstrike Troop (-), Headquarters and Headquarters Troop (HHT) and FST – participat ed in the seizure of Rulka Airfield, a contested wet-gap crossing near Kaunas and the defense of Siauliai Air field in Lithuania. Simultaneously, Out law Troop participated in Latvia’s Saber Strike 18 exercise, involving a delaying action from the Baltic coastline to a de fensive perimeter around Skrunda Training Area. Each of these events had an unscripted force-on-force element and presented each unit an opportunity to test its sys tems against alive opposing force. Also, outside of necessary site surveys during joint-event lifecycle planning events, the squadron conducted no onsite rehearsals (terrain walks) before the execution of these events. During the major training events in Saber Strike 18, all the squadron’s subor dinate units participated. For the wet-gap crossing in Lithuania, all main-body elements crossed and the site re mained tactical, minus the local civilian onlookers. At Rukla and Siauliai, all the squadron command nodes tested their systems to receive and synthesize realworld reports while simultaneously planning future operations in a con tested environment, which trained the unit according to multiple KCTs and METs. Rukla added an additional challenge for the combat trains and field trains as they coordinated the move ment of small logistical-package con voys from Kazlu Ruda to Rukla, a 90-ki lometer movement. For Palehorse and Outlaw, the live enemy during the force-on-force enabled them to use Saber Strike 18 as away to validate their own standard operating procedures and increase their unit’s proficiency ac cording to their specific unit KCTs and METs. During these events, and for most of the TRM, all equipment and Soldiers used camouflage and body armor. The mindset was tactical. Saber Squadron only used military-issued water con tainers, and troopers and leaders Figure 4. LTC Gregory Campion, commander, 4/2 Cavalry Regiment, welcomes the arrival of his Soldiers to the Bemowo Piskie Training Area, Poland, during Saber Strike 18, June 5, 2018. (U. S. Army Photo by SGT Timothy Hamlin, 4/2 Cavalry Regiment) conducted their engagements with muddy boots and camouflaged faces – and wore their Stetsons only as re quired for special events. The squadron did not want to simply message or show its capabilities during Saber Strike 18 – it wanted to validate its capabilities and demonstrate its unit’s readiness to assure allies, deter adversaries and, if necessary, defend

NATO.

The changes implemented by Saber Squadron between Saber Strike 16 and Saber Strike 18 enabled it to use the training event to build on unit readiness while simultaneously sup porting NATO. While Saber Strike 16 provided some training benefits, it was largely a capabilities display heavily focused on messaging rather than unit readiness. What Saber Strike 16 provided was many lessons-learned for the squadron and the regiment that enabled them to maximize the training value of Saber Strike 18. The focus on unit readiness during Saber Strike 18 came with one major downside: a lowered integration of allies into squadron operations. Outlaw Troop had the most exposure in terms of allied integration during its mission in Latvia while working direct ly for a Latvian headquarters as a sub ordinate maneuver unit. Outside the few hours at the wet-gap crossing and the 24-hour mission at Siauliai, there was little integration of allied elements into Saber Squadron’s main-body operations during the 23- day exercise. As comparison, in Saber Strike 16, there was a Bundeswehr Company from 8th Aufklaerungs Battalion at tached to the squadron for the entire exercise, and every tactical operation integrated some multinational element. Overall, Saber Strike 18 achieved the commander’s intent to test Saber Squadron’s capabilities, improve unit readiness and demonstrate its ability to assure allies, deter adversaries and, if necessary, defend NATO. With im provements on integrating allied units, Saber’s experience in Saber Strike 18 serves as a great model for future U. S. units participating in NATO training events to increase unit readiness and demonstrate the alliance’s readiness. CPT J. D. Moore is a graduate student at the University of Kansas in social and cultural studies as part of the university’s master’s of science in education program. Previous assignments include task-force sustainment observer/ coach/trainer, Operations Group, Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Ho henfels, Germany; commander, HHT, 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany; commander, Troop O, 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck; squadron S-4, 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck; and execu tive officer, HHT, 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, CO. During Saber Strike 16, he was 4th Squadron’s S-4, and during Saber Strike 18, he commanded HHT, 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment. CPT Moore’s mil itary schooling includes Cavalry Lead er’s Course, Maneuver Captain’s Career Course, Army Reconnaissance Course, Armor Basic Officer Leader’s Course and Airborne School. In addition to pur suing his master’s degree, he holds a bachelor’s of science degree in U. S. his tory from the U. S. Military Academy. Figure 5. Saber Strike 18 training locations in northeastern Europe showing the Baltic States in color (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), as well as Poland – all NATO members – with the Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia), the Russian Federation and Be larus also shown. (Based on Wikipedia map by Blomsterhagens)

Notes 1 Operations Order 16-13: Saber Strike 16; Headquarters, 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment; Vilseck, Germany; May 6, 2016. 2 Operations Order 16-13. 3 CPT Ryan Stone, FST commander for Saber Strike 16; interview by author via email correspondence; Nov. 11, 2018. 4 CPT Noah Scribner, Palehorse Troop commander for Saber Strike 16; interview by author via email correspondence; Nov. 15, 2018. 5 Operations Order 18-17: Saber Strike 18; Headquarters, 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment; Vilseck, Germany; May 7, 2018. DLA – Defense Logistics Agency eFP – enhanced forward presence FPoL – forward-passage-of-lines FST – forward-support troop GTA – Grafenwoehr Training Area HHT – headquarters and headquarters troop KCT – key collective task MET – mission-essential task NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization RON – remain overnight (site) RSS – regimental support squadron TRM – tactical roadmarch TSC – theater sustainment command Acronym Quick-Scan Donovan Research Library (Maneuver Center of Excellence headquarters) hours of operation:

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