Armor's Own Private Idaho

When Idaho National Guardsman CSM Larry Steele’s great-grandfather came by covered wagon to Idaho in 1896, elements of the U. S. Cavalry were gatekeepers of the Oregon Trail. Charged with protecting settlers from hostile Indians and their own unpreparedness, the cavalry inspected each wagon train to make sure the pioneers had enough provisions to last through the journey further west. Today, U. S. Army forces, in the form of the Idaho National Guard, m still serving as gatekeepers -only now at Gowen Field, an Air National Guard Base turned Armor Training Center, they are evaluating tankers to see if they’re ready to head into the 21st century.

Triggered by the failure of numerous Guard tankers to pass the Tank Crew Gunnery Skills Test, the gateway to the Master Gunner’s Course, the National Guard Bureau began a Reserve Component Tank Commanders Course (RCTCC) at Gowen Field, just outside Boise, Idaho, in 1984. Since that time, the facility has grown to be one of the premier armor training sites in the country. Expanding over the past eight years, the program now includes a Basic NCO Course, Advanced NCO Course, Battle Staff Course, New Equipment Training Teams, and a state-of-the-art Multipurpose Range Complex. The instructors at Gowen Field like to refer to themselves as “Fort Knox West,” and have requested the new offical title of National Guard Bumu, Armor Training Center.

The continued drawdown of active duty forces, the deactivation of some units, and the conversion of others to the Reserve Component makes the mission of these National Guard trainers more important than ever. Current projections call for some 53 percent of the heavy armor force to be housed in the Reserve Component by 1996, thus the quality of instruction and the cumculum at this remote Idaho site become critical to the future effectiveness of the combat arm of decision.

But the confidence and pride of the trainers here leaves little doubt that they are prepared for the mission. “Over eight years,” says LTC Richard L. Brown, commandant of the school, “when you see over 5,000 soldiers, you really get a feel for what they learn, how they operate, their capabilities.”

Brown describes the soldiers who come to Gowen Field as mature, motivated and well educated, averaging some 13 years of education. But he insists that Reserve Component trainers and leaders must continue to shoulder the lion’s share of the training burden for traditional Reserve Component soldiers.

“We know where their motivation is,... and a guy who hasn’t served in a National Guard or Reserve unit doesn’t really understand how a civilian makes that transition to a soldier... and back again.”

Resewe Component Tank Commanders Course The Tank Commanders Course, the heat of the Idaho program, is some 156 hours of training, Written by Guardsmen for Guardsmen: but the umbilical cord of doctrine with Fort Knox remains strong as the proof instruction (POI) is inspired by, and certified by, Armor Center staff. ARMOR - November-December 7992 39 - “We’ve had a great working relationship with Fort Knox since 1984,” Brown says, indicating that they mirror the Armor Center’s 19K program of instruction and adapt it to the 19Es they train.

Initially, the G u d had planned to export its TCC, but later decided to centralize the training at Gowen Field. The present focus is individual/crew training up to platoon level -capitalizing on the DESERT STORM lesson that maintaining training at platoon level is critical to successfully integrating Reserve Component forces. Using modest, yet effective, classroom facilities, together with the 138,OOO-acre Orchard Training Area, some 26 miles south of Boise, students undergoing NCOES training at the TCC “actually spread out to cover or maneuver a section of ground and see for themselves the expanse of terrain they must be prepared to control,” according to LTC Brown. Of the 17 instructors in the TCC, 14 are master gunners, trained at Fort Knox, most of whom began on M60A3s and transitioned to M1 Abrams. Approximately 38 states send soldiers to the Tank Commanders Course, including the Kentucky National Guard. When asked why the latter would not use the Fort Knox course, the school Sergeant Major, Larry Steele, explained that most National Guard soldiers cannot break free of their civilian jobs for the six weeks required of the Knox program. About the Photo on Page 39... LTC Diana Obenauer captured the spirit of mobile warfare, old and new, in this photo of an M1 A1 and a horse cavalryman taken at the Gowen Field Multipurpose Range Complex.

The trooper portraying “Old Bill’ is SFC Tom till of the 107th ACR. Ohio Army National Guard. He’s astride “Winsome,” LTC Obenauer’s 20-year-old registered quarter horse. The trooper‘s uniform was borrowed from the a116 Cav Regiment, Twin Falls, Idaho. It took five or six tries at full gallop to get the angle right, LTC Obenauer said. 40 The Gowen Field Course takes only two weeks, so a Guardsman can either attend during an annual mining (AT) period, or in a school status. With the TCC compressed into two weeks, students have little free time; but they also discover a challenging, highly functional course. Some active duty units, unable to spare a soldier for six weeks, have sent students to the National Guard course.

Course Organization -Diagnostic Test *Maintenance -25 hrs *Armament Controls/ Equipnent -25 hrs A one-to-four ratio of master gunners to students ensures that this portion of the curriculum, what LTC Brown calls “the meat of the program,” is solid.

“They look at every bit of that turret,” Brown declares, “and that’s what the National Guard soldier needs-confidence in his trigger-pulling skills.”

Conduct of Fire -28 hrs -Training Devioes -7 hrs *Auxiluary Fire Controls -8 hn *Prepare-to-Fire Checks -10 hrs *Firing Engagements -16 hrs *Course Review -4 hrs -Hands-on Performance Evaluation -10 hrs (A modified TCGST that the crewman gets three chances to pass) *Crew Drills -2 h n *Written Final Exam -1 hr Like most other soldiers, the cadre at Gowen Field are concerned about the effects of the drawdown and subsequent budget cuts.

According to the information contained in the Armor Functional Area Assessment Briefing, to field an armor force today equivalent to that of DESERT STORM, says LTC Brown, six battalions would have to come from the reserve components. With the majority of future Reserve Component NCOES and tank crew sustainment of training being done at Gowen Field, the real challenge is “how to best utilize our assets. Qual- ity must remain. Content and quantity, based on need, is the task at hand. One thing is certain, constrained resources will mean a limited number of slots in a limited number of courses. A 20-percent cut in staff would just about close the doors,” Brown argues. Combat Vehicle Transltion Training Team As more of the Reserve Component moves from the M60 series to the M1 Abrams, Gowen Field also supports that training requirement. The Combat Vehicle Transition Training Team (CV‘ITT) is a National Guard Bureau/ Department of the Army-sponsored program that transitions tankers from the M48A5 and M60-series to the M1. But, rather than an individual training effort, the CVTlT is more akin to the National Training Center’s approach, in that whole units come to Gowen Field.

“We’re a unit training activity. We train battalions,” explains LTC Rick Hoverson, commandant of CV’IlT. When a battalion arrives at Gowen Field for Hoverson’s course, it can be garrisoned and begin training within four hours, an important point since time is critical to Reserve Component soldiers. The battalion training cycle consists of 63 days, with 21 days per company, including some overlap in instruction time. There are no days off. Every minute is filled. Tank commanders and gunners must test-out in all four crew positions, and there is a pmllel maintenance instruction program as well.

“We try to show them that what an M1 can do in an ambush, or at night, because of its speed and agility, it’s the difference between night and day [over an M601,” says Hoverson.

Seeking crew integrity, the course tries to avoid what Hoverson calls a “schoolhouse syndrome” of just cooperate and graduate. Each soldier maintains a job book that allows the unit to retrain or retest, as required. With video cameras mounted in the turret, transmitting images to the tower and ARMOR - A spotless maintenance faal-ity supports the students in Gowen Fields Tank Commander Course. recording both actions and voice commands, the CVTIT can offer both specific, timely critiques during the after-action review, and ensure safety on the range.

The 116th Cavalry Brigade Headquartered in Boise, and with units throughout Idaho and Oregon, the 116th Cavalry Brigade (HSB) is an integral part of the activities at Gowen Field. As a RoundOut brigade to the 4th Infantry Division (Mech) at Fort Carson, Colorado, the “Snake River Brigade” (so called as it historically included units along the Snake River in Idaho and Oregon) relies heavily upon the staff and facilities at Gowen Field to maintain its training edge. Brigadier General Kane, commander of the brigade, is proud of the progress of the Idaho National Guard training center.

“Mobilization of Reserve Component forces during DESERT STORM was better for having been apart of Gowen Field’s program,” Kane suggests. “They’re proud of the title ‘Fort Knox West,’ and they work to keep close ties with the Armor Center. Nothing is trained here that Fort Knox isn’t aware of, or doesn’t monitor for standards.”

Kane ties the growth of his own brigade training program to the expansion of Gowen Field. With the RCTCC, the C V ”, the NCO education courses, and the multimillion-dollar Multipurpose Range Complex nearby, the 116th Cavalry Brigade is reaching beyond traditional levels of preparedness for National Guard units.

“In the past, it wasn’t the mission of a National Guard mor unit to progress beyond Tank Table VI11 in crew capability,” Kane explains, “but [with these facilities] the mission is evolutionary. It’s get as much training as you can and go as far as you can.” When asked where he sees his brigade two years from now, Kane suggests a continuing relationship with the 4th Infantry Division (Mech), company-level training using the MPRC to its maximum potential, compwy-team CALFEXs, and progress up to Tank Table XII.

In describing the program at Gowen Field, BG Kane says, “It’s the first time ever that National Guard units were able to train without running ranges themselves. They simply make sure their soldiers arrive on time for training and they function as the leaders of their own soldiers. They finally get to be leaders at their own AT.” Kane is referring to not only the user-friendly setup at Gowen Field, but the BOLD SHIFT tmining philosophy and intiatives that sent some 1,OOO active duty Fort Carson soldiers to support training this past summer at Gowen Field.

While remaining doctrinally tied to Fort Knox, Gowen Field is beginning to roll up some impressive statistics of its own. The base goes through more gun tubes and tank track than any one post in the Army. Last year alone, Gowen Field trained over 3,500 mor ‘ soldiers, all the while stewarding the environmentally sensitive Orchard Training Area well enough to receive accolades from environmental groups and government officals dike. The staff and faculty at Gowen Field want to promote more of a “leveling” attitude about part-time and full-time soldiering, but they recognize that old notions are hard to change. Since volunteers marched up to fight alongside the regulars at First Manassas in 1862, some have believed that Guard and Reserve training is a step down from active duty training. But the efforts ongoing in Idaho will make an observer think twice about such a notion.

“It doesn’t matter what status we’re in,” says CSM Steele. “Whether you’re active duty, AGR [active Guard & Reserve], or traditional Guard, we’re all soldiers.” There is a local legend that the word “Idaho” is taken from a Shoshone Indian term, “Eeda-How,” which means “sun shining on the mountain.“ But a visit to this growing training center -this natural tank country where the high desert meets the mountains -will convince you that the sun is shining on the Idaho National Guard and the total mor force as well. Major James Brewer was recently assigned as editor-in-chief of ARMOR.

ARMOR - 41