Regional Alignment of a Brigade Combat Team to U.S. Northern Command

The following articles authored by members of 3rd Armored Brigade Com bat Team (ABCT), 3rd Infantry Division, are intended to share observations, experiences and lessons-learned while supporting U. S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) as the regionally aligned Force (RAF). As NORTHCOM RAF, 3/3 Infantry Division executed theater-security cooperation (TSC) missions in Canada and Mexico and as the quick-reaction force/rapid-reaction force. The authors, ranging from are connaissance-platoon leader to a squadron commander, bring a variety of perspectives to bear on several missions and topics. Of note, at the macro level are discussions on 3/3 Infantry Di vision’s experience in assuming the NORTHCOM RAF mission and the importance of capitalizing on opportuni ties to maintain interoperability with our allies. Other articles provide in sights into preparation for and participation in a joint training exercise and competition in Canada. It is my hope that other units can leverage our experiences as the Army continues to exe cute missions as the RAF.

Commander, 3rd ABCT, 3rd Infantry Division by MAJ Chris Manglicmot, LTC Alexis Rivera and CPT Joseph M. Koennecke The Department of Defense Strategic Guidance for 2012 provided direction for the joint force of the future to be come “smaller and leaner, but … agile, flexible, ready and technologically advanced.”1 With the imperative of a budget decrease and an uncertain international security environment, the U. S. Army implemented the regionally aligned forces (RAF) concept that balances efforts to prevent conflicts while maintaining readiness to defeat adver saries. The Army mans, trains and employs RAF to provide combatant commanders (COCOMs) with versatile, responsive and available Army forces. Regional alignment enables COCOMs with forces that provide capabilities to prevent, shape and win in today’s op erational environment. The 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, led by COL Charles Costanza, was regionally aligned to Northern Command (NORTHCOM) March 1, 2014, to provide general-purpose forces supporting NORTHCOM through the Army North (ARNORTH) commander, LTG Perry Wiggins, as the quick-reaction force (QRF)/rapid-response force (RRF) and theater-security cooperation (TSC) mission sets. The brigade combat team (BCT)’s align ment to NORTHCOM marks the first time since the COCOMs’ inception that this mission was assigned to a single organization with parallel and common echelons of higher headquarters and reporting. The brigade faced a unique set of new challenges while providing unprecedented levels of staff refinement and capability to the COCOM in execution of the assigned mission sets. Within each mission set, several lessons emerged to man, train and equip the brigade to fully meet the intent as the NORTHCOM RAF. These lessons included developing a shared understanding among multiple higher headquarters, balancing the requirements and prior ities of multiple commands, and devel oping a system-based approach to han dle emerging and no-notice missions. Shared under standing The most critical element of assuming the RAF mission focused on developing a shared understanding of the mission with multiple headquarters. The brigade maintained routine operational-control relationships to U. S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) until Army North (ARNORTH) requested forces to support NORTHCOM in an RAF capacity while maintaining traditional division Figure 1. The 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, was re gionally aligned to NORTHCOM to provide general-purpose forces supporting NORTHCOM through ARNORTH as the QRF/RRF and TSC mission sets.

and installation tenant-unit relationships. The multiple headquarters, with occasional divergent priorities, required the brigade leadership to achieve shared understanding through consistent messaging and unity of priorities, enabling pre-emptive mitigation of potential friction points over different equities. Establishing direct-liaison authority (DIRLAUTH) allowed constant collaboration between 3/3 Infantry Division and ARNORTH to expand and identify opportunities on TSC efforts critical to shaping NORTHCOM’s area of opera tion and the implementation of QRF/ RRF elements into joint exercises. Be fore mission assumption, the 3rd Infantry Division commander supported the RAF concept and the importance of the brigade, coordinating directly with AR NORTH by authorizing DIRLAUTH. The quick establishment of defining this command relationship promoted col laboration between the COCOM and FORSCOM to effectively man, train and equip forces seamlessly to maintain momentum with their theater partners. The brigade achieved unity of effort through messaging based on a strong and consistent theme of priorities. To achieve consistent messaging, a level of transparency was required to share the message with all stakeholders. The brigade held a series of mission-assumption briefs to the ARNORTH com mander, with participation from the di vision commander as well as representatives from FORSCOM. Brigade and subordinate leaders participated in RAF events by traveling to TSC loca tions and training events. Also, visits from ARNORTH leaders and staff and division support to emergency-deploy ment-readiness exercises (EDRE) and TSC events demonstrated the highest level of commitment to and involvement in the mission. Concurrent to RAF operations, the bri gade started an early knowledge trans fer with the relieving unit anticipated to assume the mission from the brigade. Staff-visit exchanges occurred at several points during the mission and facilitated direct-counterpart communication, product-sharing and information exchange. Furthermore, the brigade maintained the intent to ensure that the following unit would be equipped with lessons-learned and advanced-planning timelines to ensure mission success. The aim behind devel oping an early dialogue and a shared understanding of the mission-set con ditions was to maintain momentum of the progress the RAF had gained. Ultimately, the cultivation of a compre hensive shared understanding among multiple head quarters enabled the brigade to manage compet ing requirements, maximize accom plishment of train ing objectives and maintain momentum that fully sup p o r t e d t h e NORTHCOM com mander. Manage priorities The brigade faced several challenges balancing compet ing requirements from multiple headquarters. The brigade’s assigned mission was the focused on providing three QRF/ RRFs to rapidly de ploy within the NORTHCOM area of operation and support security-cooperation missions with Mexico and Canada. How ever, while as signed, FORSCOM expected the bri gade to maintain proficiency in de cisive action (DA), including opportu nities to participate in DA Nation al Training Center rotations and for the brigade to re organize to the Army 2020 force structure while executing the RAF mis sion. The RAF concept, by design, requires a balance of training priorities between DA and mission-specific training. The ongoing reprioritization of DA focus creates the potential for a force to de grade or forget the lessons of counter insurgency from recent conflicts. The RAF mission provides an opportunity Figure 2. U. S. Marine Corps CPT Adam J. Birchenough (squatting), RRF company commander with the Chemical-Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF), II Marine Expeditionary Force, explains points of entrance into Guardian City, a simulated contaminated urban area, during Exercise Scarlet Response July 23, 2014. Soldiers from 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, assisted Marines and Sailors with the CBIRF as part of the exercise, which 3rd Brigade took part in to ensure it was trained to operate in a joint environment in support of NORTHCOM QRF/RFF missions. “The 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers did a fantastic job or cordoning the sensitive environment,” said Birchenough. “They took the initiative to not just secure the buildings but, once secured, [helped] bring people out of those buildings and [supplemented] the forces we already had on ground. They were a huge force multiplier for this exercise.”

to manage both to meet a shared end state and an adaptable force. Both TSC and RRF/QRF missions require tactical ly and technically proficient formations to be trained and ready with respect to executing DA mission-essential task list (METL) tasks and training. Beyond DA training, these operations require the ability to interact with populations, demonstrate cultural respect and un derstanding, and maintain the ability to conduct non-lethal/non-kinetic tar geting – key tenants of counterinsur gency doctrine. An effective RAF must manage both elements to achieve mis sion success. The 3/3 Infantry Division established platoon-level proficiency as the qualification standard with respect to DA METL. Beyond platoon-level DA train ing, the brigade prioritized mission-specific individual training for key lead ers and collective-training events focused on supporting NORTHCOM RAF requirements (Defense Support of Civil Authorities II, Mexico cultural/language training, EDREs, Vibrant Response/Vigilant Shield). The brigade’s mindset on training events became one of identifying and maximizing the overlap of DA-skills training within AR NORTH and RAF training events to maintain leader proficiency in essential tasks supporting unified land operations. The level of balance required is ultimately determined by the type and scope of the assigned mission. Achiev ing that balance of priorities in the correct proportions results in “retention of tactical competence and technical proficiency while cultivating strategic perspective and leadership … educat ing and developing all Soldiers to grow the intellectual capacity to understand the complex contemporary security en vironment,” as the Army’s Chief of Staff envisioned with adaptive Army leaders and a globally responsive and region ally engaged force.2 The importance of managing priorities and projecting emerging tasks is critical to ensure a unit’straining readiness and effective ness meet the RAF concept. Systems approach The rapid-response nature of the QRF/ RRF and emerging TSC missions re quired a planning approach that was adaptable to different situations and readily employable on a reoccurring basis. The brigade developed a mile stone-based systems approach focused on leveraging brigade and installation resources to support small-unit de ployments and exercises.

• Develop the plan. The brigade developed simple and flexible D- Day/N-Hour models to ensure critical synchronization of administra tive and logistical requirements with RAF missions. The develop ment of modular-force packages to provide a menu of options to AR NORTH provided NORTHCOM a tai lored capability while maintaining simplicity for unit readiness. More over, the brigade established a pos itive relationship with the installation that allowed the brigade to be come more adaptable to the broad range of potential missions and es sential tasks.

• Build the team. QRF/RRF elements required task-organization changes to meet force-package require ments. Multinational TSC missions represent a commitment by unit commanders to assume risk in routine operations to employ their best Soldiers in partnership. The QRF/RRF force packages are prescribed in ARNORTH Pamphlet 380-1, but with respect to mission command, the brigade was able to offer the COCOM mission-command packages scaled to fit the diversity of missions facing the RAF at the battalion and brigade level.

• Train the team. Each unit was re quired to execute platoon-level DA proficiency qualifications in addi tion to training RAF-specific skills. To train TSC missions, the brigade established Sledgehammer Academy to train all TSC personnel on critical skills (use of an interpreter, Mexican culture, Spanish-language training, etc.) by leveraging internal and external assets – specifical ly 162nd Infantry and the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. Subordinate units within the brigade conducted trained QRF/RRF collective training at the company level, focusing on RAF mission sets as a means to val idate mission readiness and Soldier-level understanding of the mission. Leader-specific training events were conducted to maxi mize small-unit leader and staff-planner understanding of the NORTHCOM mission through Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region IV defense-coordinating-officer visits and Defense Support of Civil Authorities Phase I and II training, as well as the required FEMA distance-learn ing course.

• Equip the team. QRF/RRF missions required equipment consolidation and contingency-stock manage ment of materials, as well as trans fers from external agencies to as semble mission-essential equip ment lists (MEEL) to support the force packages. The brigade provided bottom-up refinement of the MEEL and identified shortfalls in requirements. The largest identified shortages outside of modified table of organization and equip ment authorizations required sourcing from ARNORTH for TSC missions and external requests to division headquarters for commu nications systems. Situational awareness within NORTHCOM and the small team/company elements deployed away from battalion and brigade required vastly different communication systems from traditional tactical systems available to these small units.

• Maintain the team. No-notice/ prepare-to-deploy orders and emerging TSC events required con sistent monitoring and mainte nance of deployment and training readiness; quarterly Soldier-readiness processing and EDRE events were critical to sustaining a viable force. By participating in ARNORTH training events and conducting quarterly EDRE exercises to off-site locations, the brigade was able to consistently refine and revalidate the state of readiness at the QRF level. To prepare for emerging and future TSC missions, the brigade maintained routine Sledgeham mer Academy training to build capacity for future TSC missions as well as to maintain and improve critical skills. The brigade received the NORTHCOM RAF mission a few months before mission assumption. This required the staff to develop a flexible plan promot ing continued bottom-up refinement and improvement through coordina tion with higher headquarters. By es tablishing the plan early, subordinate units continued to refine the NORTH COM RAF plan with each execution of a QRF/RRF or TSC mission over the course of a year. The comprehensive but generic approach allowed the plan ning and execution systems to be applied to most situations as well as passed on to the relieving organization for easy implementation and further refinement. Conclusion As the first BCT to be regionally aligned to NORTHCOM, 3/3 Infantry Division was faced with the problem of deter mining how a single unit should apply its efforts to best support the COCOM and achieve the endstate envisioned for an RAF. The 3/3 Infantry Division achieved that endstate by generating Soldiers and organizations that are better trained for specific regions and providing the CO COM agile, adaptable and regionally focused general-purpose forces. The force alignment allowed strengthened relationships with other nations through partnered initiatives such as humanitarian, peacekeeping, border security, counternarcotics and counter terrorism efforts. The brigade achieved this endstate by developing a shared understanding and clearly defined priorities at all levels. The culture of training within the Sledgehammer Brigade was one of developing true understanding of the requirements to conduct operations in the homeland, to the individual Soldier and small-unit leader level. This level of mission readiness was achieved by implementing a deliberate and system atic approach to executing every mis sion. Applying brigade- and battalion-level staff analysis and mission com mand to small-unit operations enabled these small-unit leaders to focus on the mission, knowing every echelon above was supporting their daily mission. The 3/3 Infantry Division ultimately provided the ARNORTH and NORTH COM staff with an unprecedented level of participation during their as signed year as the NORTHCOM RAF. As future BCTs assume the mission, provide refinement and conduct leader and unit training, the entire Army will develop into a more versatile and responsive force capable of preventing, shaping and winning in today’s opera tional environment. MAJ Chris Manglicmot is squadron operations officer with 3rd BCT, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Benning. Previous duty assignments include brigade planner, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Armored Brigade Com bat Team (ABCT), 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning; national programs director, Soldier for Life Program, Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army, Washington, DC; national programs director, Warrior and Family Support Program, Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, DC; troop commander, 1st Brigade, 7th Cavalry Di vision, Fort Benning; and squadron operations officer, 1st Brigade, 7th Cavalry Division, Fort Benning. His military schooling includes Command and General Staff College, Cavalry Leader’s Course, Armor Maneuver Captain’s Career Course, Armor Basic Leader’s Course, Master Fitness Trainer Course and Air Assault Course. MAJ Manglic mot holds a bachelor’s of science de gree in engineering management from U. S. Military Academy and a master’s of science degree in policy management from Georgetown University. He is the recipient of the three Bronze Star Medals and two Meritorious Service Medals. He was also a Joint Chiefs of Staff/Army Staff intern. LTC Alexis Rivera Espada is the Armor adviser to the Royal Saudi Land Forces at the U. S. Military Training Mission-Saudi, Land Forces Division, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His past duty assign ments include brigade S-3, 3rd ABCT, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, GA; battalion executive officer, 2-69 Armored Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning; instructor, Maneuver Captain’s Career Course, Directorate of Training, Fort Benning; and command er of both Headquarters and Head quarters Company and a tank company, 1-12 Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, TX. His military schooling includes Air Command and Staff College, Combined Arms and Services Staff School, Armor Maneuver Captain’s Career Course, Basic Officer Leader’s Course and Ranger, Air Assault and Air borne schools. LTC Rivera holds a bach elor’s of arts degree in history from Columbus State University, a master’s of arts degree in public administration (government) from Columbus State University and a master’s of arts de gree in military operational art and science from Air Command and General Staff College. In addition to the Com bat Infantry Badge and Combat Action Badge, he is a recipient of the orders of Saint Michael and Saint George. He de ployed with 1-75 Ranger Battalion in Operation Just Cause and with 1-12 Cavalry in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II and during the “surge” in Iraq. CPT Joseph Koennecke is the brigade medical-operations officer with 3rd ABCT, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Ben ning. He previously served as company executive officer, 25th Brigade Support Battalion, 1-25 Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), Fort Wainwright, AK; lo gistics-support team leader, 1-24 Infantry, 1-25 SBCT, Fort Wainwright / Regional Command-South, Afghanistan; and evacuation-platoon leader, 25th As future BCTs as sume the RAF mis sion, provide re finement and con duct leader and unit training, the entire Army will develop into a more versatile and responsive force capable of pre venting, shaping and winning in to day’s operational environment.

Acronym Quick-Scan Brigade Support Battalion, 1-25 SBCT, Fort Wainwright. His military education includes Combined Logistics Captain’s Career Course and Army Medical Officer’s Basic Leader Course. CPT Koen necke holds a bachelor’s of science de gree in biology and a bachelor’s of arts degree in religious studies, both from Mercyhurst College. Notes 1 Sustaining U. S. Global Leadership: Pri orities for 21st-Century Defense, Washing ton, DC: Department of Defense, January 2012. 2 Waypoint #2: Follow-up to CSA’s March ing Orders, Washington, DC: Headquarters Department of the Army, February 2014. ABCT – armored brigade combat team ARNORTH – Army North BCT – brigade combat team CBIRF – Chemical-Biological Incident Response Force COCOM – combatant commander DA – decisive action DIRLAUTH – direct-liaison authority EDRE – emergency deployment readiness exercise FEMA – Federal Emergency Management Agency FORSCOM – (U. S. Army) Forces command MEEL – mission-essential equipment list METL – mission-essential task list NORTHCOM – (U. S.) Northern Command QRF – quick-reaction force RAF – regionally aligned forces RRF – rapid-response force SBCT – Stryker brigade combat team TSC – theater-security cooperation Figure 3. SSG Matthew Doty’screw prepares to execute a partnered gunnery run with Canadian LAV IIIs after the conclusion of Exercise Worthington Challenge Oct. 2, 2014. The gunnery run demonstrated the interoperability of American and Canadian crews, equipment and procedures as part of TSC train ing. Also manning the Bradley are SGT Brian Fales as gunner and SPC Ismael Silva as driver. The event was hosted by 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown in New Brunswick, Canada. (Photo by CPL Nick Alonso, Canadian Public Affairs)