The Combat Service Support Situational Training Exercise

It seems the infantry can always go another mile, or so many of its commanders seem to believe. However, a tank without fuel or ammunition is a useless hulk of metal, and the lack of spare parts for a machine gun can turn a death-dealing combat weapon into a mere unwieldy encumbrance. The supplies required to keep men and machines going neither grow on trees nor appear magically. Out of the struggle to sustain victory or deny defeat comes the combat service support “order of business:” ‘Be there with what I need, wlteri I need it!“ Commanders usually give hold orders, such as these, to combat service support element leaders. But to the specialty platoon leaders and maintenance supervisors, these questions surface: How do 1 make that work? My men know their job, but all too often the unforeseen takes these elements and seems to swallow them up for hours. How do I train my crew to react, survive, and possibly operate alone at times? Combat service support elements regularly deploy and train with their organic task force, but rarely train in the techniques of action and reaction. Often, the need for independent thought and action can make the difference between a company/team receiving its scheduled LOGPAC, or losing momentum, or a soldier surviving or dying from a critical wound as precious moments tick away. If CSS elements cannot guarantee their proficiency in sustaining combat forces, then the success of any operation is questionable. The key to insuring that CSS elements can complete their mission despite adversity is to train individual crews to achieve proficiency in independent, reaction skills. A situational training exercise, tailored to the potential hazards that a recovery vehicle (or any other support element) may encounter, can do this. One can develop many situations or exercises, but they should train soldiers in the context of a CSS crew’s battlefield mission. We tested the following tasks (Figure 1) during our battalion’s last two CSS STXs,

Defend against air attack. 0 Process prisoners and/or captured 0 Evaluate a casualty. 0 Apply dressing to wounded soldier. 0 React to indirect fire. 0 React to direct fire. 0 Locate friendly units. 0 MOPP gear exchange. 0 Cross contaminated area. 0 Identify and bypass minefields or documents. obstacles.

0MOSspeciflc under timed or adverse conditions. Fig. 1 I ARMOR - The battalion-level STX has three purposes. First, it provides challenging, standardized training to CSS crews. Second, it evaluates crews on their reactions to selected day and night situations. Third, it provides specialty platoon leaders and supervisors an opportunity to observe and gain feedback on a crew’s abilities. A course road (Figure 2) replicates the distance a crew may have to travel to accomplish its mission @e., battlefield recovery of a forward element under fire, a 25- km. round trip). We give crews mission-type orders and supporting graphics, and they move along a predetermined course. They encounter several stations or situations (See Fig. 1) during movement, each providing an appropriate stimulus for reaction. Crew evaluators (CEs) follow each crew along the course, assessing its response and the effect on complct-ing the crew’s overall assigned task. The CEs, usually line company XOs and operations officers, tape radio transmissions (if appropriate) and comment during debriefing and in their after-action review. You can develop many other scenarios with different tasks. Standards for evaluations are from ARTEP 71-2, FC 17- 16-2 (Cornparty Mairtfertartce Tear71 ARTEP Mission Trairting Plan), and FC 71-7 (LOG S7X). We adopted standards listed in FC 17-16-2 to other evaluated elements (Figure 3). It is important that situation test sites look like the real situation, not like a CIT or old MIL STAKES site where participants received an initial briefing on the task, condition, and standard. Crews negotiate the course under a initial predetermined scenario (mission briefing) 39 I I

Negotiate Obstacle/Minefield Friendly Location Pre-Brief and AAR Air Attack Treat Casualty,

React to Indirect Fire Fig. 2 Sample Course Road CSS Situational Training Exercise such as "Moipe forward to (gid location), viciriih, BP l to ([ask) evacuate a casualty. HIND helicopters have been operating in the task force sector. Forward eleriicnts repolt sriiall eneriiv patrols pertetratirip the FLOT. llie erieriiy is eriiplovirig clieriiical weapons arid is erpected to coritiniie

Commo Section - Trans Section (Support Plt) 0 Company Supply - Fuel Section (Support Plt) 0 Company Maintenance Sections 0 Battalion Recovery Section 0 Medical Platoon 0 Mess Teams Fig. 3 their irse. SOPS are in effect. Here are vow graphics arid callsign infoniia-tiori. Yoii itiiist rcacli \)oirr destiria-tion before EENT. '' With that, the crews (or combination of support vehicles) move out along the designated MSRfASR. We use low-cost training support aids, such as HIND silhouettes mounted on a SAAB device, with hostile fire devices, actual and simulated enemy troops (targets), decontamination markers, obstaclebarrier material, as well as pyrotechnics and blanks for simulating artillery, signals, and direct-fire weapons. The end result of this process is an assessment of a CSS crew'straining proficiency in battlefield survival and mission accomplishment. The crew and its platoon leaderlsuper-visor can use results to schedule future training activities, strengthen marginal areas, and correct weaknesses before task force operations resume, and CSS elements disperse across the sector. With proper training, CSS crews can meet the constant challenge to provide daily support, regardless of adversity. They alone cannot win battles, but they can prevent dcfeat. Major Glenn W. Davis, an Infantry officer, is 52, 4th Battalion, 64th Armor at Ft. Stewart, GA, where he also served as a headquarters company commander. He has also served with the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii and the 2d Infantry Division in Korea. He graduated in 1974 from Northeast Missouri State University. 40 ARMOR -