Fielding the Armor Force of Tomorrow: Soldierization in the 1st Armor Training Brigade at Fort Knox

Implementation Strategy Soldierization is designed to help the soldier in training understand the Army way of life and willingly adhere to the rules and regulations which govern behavior. The “soldierization design” is also geared toward helping individuals develop values and beliefs consistent with those expected of the military professional. Moreover, the design instills loyalty and commitment to the unit and to the Army.

There are several interrelated components which comprise the underlying soldierization implementation strategy. These components form pillars which support the entire process.

• The IET cadre employ an insist/assist philosophy to develop soldiers in training. The cadre “insist” that the trainees achieve established standards in the areas of training, physical fitness, and personal conduct. Yet, simultaneously, the cadre employ effective coaching, mentoring, and reinforcement training to “assist” the trainees in achieving the standards. Assisting trainees with goal-setting, and providing performance counseling are fundamental requirements to successfully implement the philosophy.

• A positive leadership climate is essential throughout the IET arena. The practice of “tearing a trainee down and building him back up again” has long been abandoned. Instead, the goal is to inspire the soldiers in training through competency and leadership by example. All trainees are treated with respect and dignity. Moreover, the cadre recognizes the different backgrounds and learning abilities of the trainees, and is willing and able to communicate at different levels during the training process for a given subject.

• Management of stress is a fundamental concern throughout the duration of IET. Stress should occur between the trainee and the task, not between the trainee and drill sergeant. In this way, stress provides the motivation to learn, and therefore serves as a positive influence. Every private is assigned a “battle-buddy” to facilitate teamwork, to enhance learning, and to assist each other in handling stress. Drill sergeants must look out for each other in a similar fashion. They must continually keep an eye out for fatigue, frustration, and anger among their colleagues, and provide reinforcement or relief as necessary. Specific “stressors” identified during internal after-action reviews enable cadre members to anticipate these leadership challenges.

• After-Action Reviews (AARs) occur at each cycle’send. Because each training cycle has a different personality, frequent, informal AARs are important throughout the cycle, “adjusting fire” as necessary. AARs must focus not only on the soldiers in training, but on the cadre. In fact, the end-of-cycle formal AAR should focus largely on the cadre in order to capture and subsequently apply the lessons learned, thereby improving the training’s overall quality.

• Phased training is the formal structure applied in the IET arena to organize and facilitate soldierization. There are five phases of IET; a soldier progresses through phases I through III in BCT, and through phases IV and V in AIT. OSUT includes all five phases, but in some OSUT courses, phases III and IV may be combined. Additionally, the authorization to determine actual phase lengths rests with the installation commander. No matter which route the trainee proceeds along, BCT/AIT or OSUT, drill sergeants have total control over the soldiers during phase I. From First Call until Taps, trainees are under constant supervision and scrutiny. Control gradually lessens during phase II, and continues decreasing until the amount of control near the end of phase Vis equal to the amount of control the soldier will experience in his first unit.

Phase Objectives (Soldierization Milestones) TRADOC Reg 350-6 outlines specific objectives for each of the five phases (Fig. 1). Movement between phases is viewed as a “gate,” or rite of passage, for the soldiers in training. Specific phase objectives serve as “soldierization milestones” and enable the unit to focus efforts and to gauge the progress of every trainee at any point in the cycle.

Phase I objectives include enabling the trainee to pay attention to detail, conform to platoon standards, master basic skills, maintain self and platoon areas, and develop physical fitness. Trainees feel the greatest impact of the soldierization process during phase I because of the drastic change in lifestyle and environment. The emphasis during phase I is on gaining the soldier’s attention, getting the soldier to conform, and developing teamwork. The trainee’s focus is on his immediate platoon.

Training events during phase I provide a solid foundation for all soldiers, regardless of MOS. Classes on soldier responsibilities, customs and courtesies, equal opportunity, military justice, and the Code of Conduct are reinforced by extensive counseling. The intent is to educate trainees and inspire them to adopt the Army’score values. Other blocks of time are for communications and first aid training, which include several of the basic skills that all soldiers must master. The warrior ethos is also developed during phase I via hand-to-hand combat, rifle bayonet and pugil stick training, foot marches, the conditioning obstacle course, and PT. Phase II objectives challenge the soldier to conform to company standards, display self-discipline, qualify (or familiarize in OSUT) with the M16A2, and develop physical fitness. Whereas discipline was imposed during phase I, the cadre begin to orient on developing the trainees’ self-discipline during phase II. The soldiers’ perspectives ARMOR — 45 broaden as they look beyond their platoons and begin to conform to company standards.

Phase II training looks toward basic warrior skills while supporting specific phase objectives. Basic rifle marksmanship is the focus of phase II training. BCT soldiers qualify with the M16A2, whereas 19K and 19D OSUT trainees familiarize with the rifle and qualify with the 9mm pistol. Other warfighter training includes: hand grenades, foot marches, NBC equipment, individual tactical training (fire and maneuver), the bayonet assault course, and familiarization with a variety of U. S. weapons, including the M60 machine gun, the M203 grenade launcher, the AT-4, and the claymore mine.

During phase III, soldiers must conform to Army standards, by passing the APFT (meet BCT standards), passing the End of Cycle Test (EOCT), completing all BCT POI requirements, and thinking, looking, and acting like soldiers without detailed supervision. By the end of phase III, soldiers begin to notice an increase in privileges. The phase III graduate is trained in the basic skills, has passed the basic training PT test and qualified with his rifle or pistol, and has participated in several capstone exercises which effectively integrate the individual tasks taught earlier in the cycle.

Specific training highlights for BCT units during phase III include a number of live-fire exercises at the buddy team and squad level, an end-of-cycle test comprised of twenty “hands-on” tasks, afield training exercise, the confidence course, and additional foot marches. Phase III during 19D OSUT is eight weeks long and contains the majority of the MOS-specific training. Training highlights include driving, demolitions, mine training, Bradley gunnery, an FTX, a scout skills test, MK19 training, HMMWV familiarization, and a cavalry focus exercise.

Phase III for 19K OSUT is three weeks long, the same as for BCT, but the training is MOS-intensive. Training consists of advanced communications, inspecting and stowing ammunition, the.50 caliber machine gun, mines, an armor crewman test, and maintaining the 120mm main gun.

Phase IV objectives are to conform to Army standards, master common skills learned in BCT (or phases I-III in OSUT) and continue to develop physical fitness. Phase IV represents the first exposure to MOS training if the soldier has progressed along the BCT/AIT track. Along the OSUT route, the soldier may have already encountered MOS training, but it becomes the focus in phase IV.

Training highlights which occur in phase IV of 19K OSUT include tank maintenance, driving, the M1 tank gunner’s station, stowing ammo on an M1, and maintaining the main gun. Tank gunnery, an armor crewman test, and a situational training exercise are the capstone exercises.

Phase V requires the soldier to pass the APFT (meet DA standards), pass the EOCT, complete all POI requirements, and think, look, and act like a soldier. The difference between the last objective in phase V, versus phase III, is that the soldier is now expected to personally take full responsibility for his actions at all times. Ethics, Army core values, self-discipline, maturity, and a concept of duty are expected to guide the soldier, rather than an overwatching cadre member.

Throughout each of the five phases, soldiers in training are evaluated against standards. Failure to meet the standards may warrant remedial training, anew start, a rehabilitative transfer, or, in the worst case, an entry level separation (ELS). The key to producing quality soldiers while combating attrition rests with the drill sergeants. They place emphasis on the trainee completing every task to standard, and they provide motivation, clearly defined objectives, and constant feedback. The training events contained within the respective POIs provide the necessary grounding in basic soldier skills for all trainees during phases I through III, and produce specific MOS-qualifying skills in AIT or OSUT battalions during phases IV and V. Competent leaders, however, must also employ the training events as vehicles to help develop the trainee’s mental fitness and character, in addition to the tactical, technical, and basic soldier skills. Soldier Evolution in 1ATB Civilian recruits who arrive at Fort Knox for IET evolve along two basic routes (Fig. 2). All receptees initially report to the reception battalion and begin the soldierization process. After 3 or 4 days of intense soldier indoctrination and in-processing, trainees move along one of the two routes. They either proceed to basic combat training with the 1-46th or 2-46th Infantry, and subsequently to AIT with 1-81 AR, or to other installations for AIT; or, they proceed along the OSUT route, with 19D trainees proceeding to 5-15 CAV, and 19K soldiers reporting to 2-81 AR. From the Fort Knox perspective, the soldierization process start point commences upon arrival at the reception station. Graduation from either AIT or OSUT completes the formal soldierization. When the graduate arrives at his first unit, the process is subsequently validated. We submit, however, that soldierization is not complete until the soldier retires or leaves the Army. There can be no doubt that professional military schooling, progressive duty positions, and reassignments contribute immensely to any soldier’s personal and professional growth.

Soldierization amounts to much more than skills training. Whereas the civilian job may provide a “way of work,” 46 ARMOR —