New Course at Fort Knox Trains Dismounted Scouts

Wet. dirty. and exhausted. 45 heavily laden soldiers collapse into a loose perimeter after emerging from the dark Vaultonian forest. While the platoon leader makes final coordination for their rearward passage of lines, the platoon sergeant begins his duties: cross-leveling ammunition, checking weapons and equipment, and dropping an encouraging word when needed. These men have spent the last I5 hours tracking Vaultonian guerrillas along the border between the tiny Caribbean island countries of Vaulton and Corsica. The Vaultonian guerrillas are tough, resourceful fighters. but the squad’s raid was successjkl. One destroyed weapons cache later, the men are ready to rest and rearm. Tomorrow night’s mission is an ambush on a known guerrilla patrol route... This little story sounds realistic. Indeed, it is realistic to the men on the patrol. This is not a scene from a pulpy war novel; however, it is a description of how some Armor/Cavalry soldiers are training right now at Fort b o x. Known as the Dismounted Armor Scout Course, it is quickly changing the training landscape at the home of Armor. A New Course To Fix an Old Problem Dismounted Armor Scout Course (DASC) is most likely anew term for most tankers and cavalrymen. It is a course that we run in the 2d Squadron, 12th Cavalry, and it is specifically designed to train Armor soldiers in leadership using dismounted tactics. Originally conceived as away to boost the graduation rate of Armor lieutenants attending Ranger School, it has since evolved into an excellent training medium for all Armor soldiers from the ranks of specialist to captain. DASC did not exist until January 1992. It is the brainchild of Colonel Joseph Sutton, then commander of 12th Cavalry Regiment, and was fully supported by Major General Foley, then Chief of Armor. In August 1991, the Ranger School graduation rate for Armor lieutenants had fallen below 45 percent. This low rate was the result of a number of factors, the most important the haphazard training these lieutenants were receiving prior to their departure for Fort Benning. At that time, lieutenants in the Amor Officer Basic Course (AOBC) were trained in small groups by Ranger-qualified captains attending the Armor Officer Advanced Course (AOAC). This system had worked fairly well for many years, but by last August, the increasing difficulty of AOAC was putting a strain on the captain instructors. Quite simply, they no longer had the time to provide quality instruction, and preparing the lieutenants for Ranger School took the back burner. After identifying the problem, it was decided to centralize the pre-Ranger training. Colonel Sutton directed me to craft and orchestrate a training event that would bring the lieutenants up to speed and boost their Ranger School graduation nte. I selected Sergeant First Class Aaron Speakman, a Ranger-qualified 11B then working in the Fort Knox Land Navigation Department, as my NCOIC for this task. A few weeks later, Sergeant First... Into the Vaultonian Forest... Class Speakman and I unveiled what we called the “100-Hour FIX.” This intensive four-day field problem would not only instruct the Ranger candidates on small unit tactics and planning, but it would give them an all importad insight as to what Ranger School is all about - before they got there. All lieutenants that desired to attend Ranger School were required to participate in the 100-Hour FIX. The fact that we conducted the FTX during the AOBC Christmas break earned me more than a few Despite the acrimony, the 100-Hour FTX went off as planned in early January 1992. The training was everything FM 25-100 requires - challenging, realistic and stressful. The Ranger candidates were rotated through leadership positions as their squads and platoons executed every mission they would see at Ranger School, from the reconnaissance patrol to the raid and the ambush. The regimental commander reviewed the training and ordered me to build a course around it. curses. 14 ARMOR -

The Program of Instruction - Short But Intense DASC consists of three distinct phases:. the Preparation Phase, City Week, and Field Week (the 100-Hour FTX). The Preparation Phase is three days of intensive physical training and testing that not only cuts out those with little desire but, more importantly, it constitutes the first part of each candidate's overall score in DASC. Actually, the candidates will have been working and training long before this first phase. Lieutenants in AOBC must still participate in a special RangedAirbome PT program (now called DASC Phase I), and enlisted men who attend DASC are given two days of specialized instruction in patrol planning immediately before the first phase of the course. The Preparation Phase is the equalizer that brings everyone to the same level before the real training begins. The City Week is six days long. It consists of 18-hour days of classroom instruction followed by an l8-hour, cadre-led patrol. During the City Week, the candidates lean how to o p erate and employ small arms and crew-served weapons, as well as how to plan and execute the standard dismounted patrolling missions. Planning is stressed, and the candidates use the same Bay Planning concept that is used by the Ranger School. The cadre-led FIX shows the candidates what a patrol looks like in operation, and prepares them for the final phase of DASC, in which they will have to assume the leadership role. DASC is concluded by the now famous 100-Hour FTX. This field problem is entirely dismounted, and ties all the lessons learned in the preceding two phases into one package. The candidates must plan, coordinate, and execute patrols in a simulated combat environment, using the fictional Caribbean island of Capronia as a scenario. The stress level is kept high by an unending series of problems, as well as the standard hurdles of limited sleep and food. Most importantly, each candidate is given the opportunity to perform in a leadenhip role at least twice. He is evaluated and counseled after each mission, and weak performers receive extra opportunities to learn. This phase is the most important link in each candidate's overall DASC score, which is the deciding factor in who will receive the coveted slots at Ranger School. Qulte Simply - It Works Originally developed to reform the once haphazard instruction given to Ranger candidates, DASC has grown into a separate and distinct course of instruction. DASC students no longer must plan to attend Ranger School, but merely have a desire to improve their abilities in dismounted tactics and small unit leadership. In the best traditions of FM 25-100, DASC is safe, controlled, highly stressful training that is probably the finest school today, outside of Ranger School, for teaching our scouts the lost art of dismounted reconnaissance. Through DASC, we are providing units with motivated soldiers, well-trained in dismounted patrolling. Further, DASC has proven that dismounted training is good training, even for tankers and cavalrymen. Besides being inexpensive in terms of resources and training areas, it is realistic and stressful. It provides an arena where leaders can be built at the most basic level. Whatever the reason, though, it seems to be working. So far, every graduate of DASC who wanted to go to Ranger School has been able to go, and I hope to be able to maintain that standard. Graduates from DASC and the original 100- Hour F"X have been earning Ranger tabs at a rate of 88 percent - almost twice the rate when the program began last October. At the bottom line, you can't argue with success. A few hours have passed. Anew squad leader and assistant squad leader have taken their place and planned the ambush patrol. The men ARMOR - Tentative FY93 DASC Schedule 001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 01 0 Dates 4-21 N0v92 2-19 Dec 92 13-30 Jan 93 3-20 Feb 93 3-20 Mar 93 7-24 Apr 93 12-29 May 93 9-26 Jun 93 8-25 Sep 93 7-24 JuI 93 have had time to clean their weapons, draw more ammunition, and maybe eat an MRE or grab some sleep. As night falls again, the patrol slips through the friendly lines to lock horns with the Vaultonian guem'llas again. One more mission done, one more step toward the tab. Captain Harold L. Meyer Jr. was commissioned in 1984 from Iowa State University. He has sewed in a number of Cavalry and Armor positions, including tank platoon leader, scout platoon leader, assistant battalion S3 and armor observer controller at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Chaffee, Ark. He commanded B Troop, 2/12 Cavalry at Fort Knox before taking his present command at D Troop, 5/12 Cavalry. Sergeant First Class Aaron Speakman enlisted and attended basic training at Fort Knox in 1976. Originally a mortarman, he changed his MOS to 1 l Bin 1983. He has held oositions as squad leader, platoon sergeant, platoon leader, drill sergeant, and operations sergeant. He is presently assigned to B Troop, 2/12 Cavalry as the NCOIC of DASC. 15