Maneuver Captains Career Course

Maneuver Captains Career Course by Lieutenant Colonel Patrick A. Clark and Major Edward Hayes Today’s operating environment places extraordinary demands on junior leaders. Company commanders in the current fight have more responsibility, more assets to employ, and are required to contend with more uncertainty to accomplish their mission than any other time in recent history. Preparing company grade officers to serve successfully as commanders and staff officers in this environment has led to substantial change in the professional military education of armor and infantry captains. The Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission’s (BRAC) recommendations went into effect on 9 November

2005. This report stipulates creating a Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia, effectively combining the Armor and Infantry Schools into one organization.1 This “merger” will create a combined infantry and armor captains career course — the Maneuver Captains Career Course (MC3). Initial entry training for armor and infantry lieutenants will remain under the respective chiefs of armor and infantry. However, MC3 will become a new organization focused exclusively on captain professional education, outside the umbrella of the armor and infantry branches. Its charter remains to execute training that meets “current and relevant” standards for training officers of an Army at war. The Maneuver Captains Career Course MC3 trains and develops infantry and armor captains collectively for company-level command and combined arms staff officer positions during full-spectrum operations in various environments against an adaptive enemy. Officers graduate from this course understanding the capabilities and employment of light infantry, Stryker brigade combat team (SBCT) infantry, reconnaissance, and tank/mechanized units. Under lifecycle management, students graduating from career courses may arrive at their brigade combat team (BCT) during its reset phase and immediately take command of a troop or company; other career course graduates will arrive and serve on the BCT, battalion, or squadron staff. This represents a significant shift from the former assignment model for career course graduates, where students could expect to spend significant time on staff prior to taking command. The new paradigm reflects the need to prepare students graduating from career courses to take a guidon immediately after arriving at their unit. The concept for MC3 divides the program of instruction into two phases. Phase I, company core training, combines all of ficers for the first half of the course. During this phase, all students receive the same training on company-level, full-spectrum operations for light infantry, SBCT infantry, and tank/mechanized companies. The Human Resources Command provides all students follow-on assignments based on the requirements of the Army Forces Generation (ARFORGEN) model. Phase II, the second half of the course, begins by dividing students into formation-based small groups to prepare officers to serve in an infantry, Stryker, or heavy BCT. Officers (including the other branches attending MC3) assigned to an HBCT will be assigned to a small group with all members pending assignment to an HBCT. Officers assigned to an infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) or SBCT will be assigned to a small group with all members pending assignment to an IBCT 18 — September-October 2006 or SBCT. Officers selected for Special Forces will be assigned to a small group with all members pending assignment to the Special Forces Qualification Course. These new small groups, focused on one particular BCT type, provide students the requisite technical and tactical skills for company- through brigade-level operations. Fort Benning and Fort Knox jointly developed the concept and training for MC3. Both the Infantry and Armor School contributed to redefining the expectations for the course. Each graduate of MC3 will have:

• Demonstrated the ability to think critically.

• Demonstrated adaptiveness and flexibility in problemsolving, including tactical problems.

• Demonstrated an ability to effectively communicate and inspire confidence in subordinates.

• Demonstrated mastery of the “science” of tactical planning at company through battalion/task force level, and have a thorough understanding of planning at the BCT level.

• Practiced in the “art” of tactical planning.

• Demonstrated understanding of critical training and leader functions of a company commander. The classroom environment will continue to focus on a small group of up to 16 students trained by a small-group instructor. This environment encourages experiential learning in the classroom and during constructive, virtual, and live exercises. Students will have multiple opportunities to practice and demonstrate their abilities, as well as receive continuous verbal and written feedback from instructors and peers based on performance. Phase I: Company Core Phase I of the MC3 provides all students the same foundation in fundamentals and company-level, full-spectrum operations for light infantry, SBCT infantry, and tank/mechanized companies. The objective for this phase is to produce captains who are proficient with the three basic company-level formations. All maneuver captains must understand the capabilities, limitations, and employment of the three basic company types. Recent operations have shown that captains must have the knowledge and capability to employ a full range of units and assets in a wide variety of operations. For example, tank company commanders in Iraq plan and execute air assault missions throughout their tour. Future MC3 graduates will have these required skills because they have actually planned operations during the course. At the beginning of MC3, all branches intermix equally. Each small group is made up of a mixture of captains based on experiences and prior duty assignments. This diversity sustains the strengths of small-group instruction and capitalizes on the combined benefits of the armor and infantry career courses. Each student brings a different skill set to the group, which leads to greater training results for all officers. During the company core phase of MC3 instruction, all students receive the same training on different company organizations for full-spectrum operations in various environments against a variety of threats (see Figure 1). Phase I training includes: A0 – Company Fundamentals. This module provides officers a foundation in doctrine and in the art and science of company-level operations. Students train on warfighting functions (intelligence, movement and maneuver, fire support, protection, sustainment, and command and control) and their application at company level. The module also includes training on the contemporary operating environment (COE), weapons and systems capabilities, close combat attack and combat air support, and receiving and analyzing the mission as part of troop leading procedures. A1 – IBCT Company Attack and Defend. This module prepares officers to develop company-level offensive and defensive plans for a light infantry company. Students train on light infantry tactics, troop leading procedures, direct fire planning, and engagement area development. This module is conducted in the local area so officers can conduct a terrain walk to analyze the terrain and apply that knowledge to their planning. A2 – HBCT Company Team Defense. This module prepares officers to develop a tank/mechanized company team defensive plan in a high-intensity fight at the National Training Center. Students train on tank/mechanized defensive tactics, troop leading procedures, direct fire planning, engagement area development, and the warfighting functions of a combined arms battalion. In addition, students execute their defensive mission in the close combat tactical trainer (CCTT). A3 – HBCT Company Team Offense. This module prepares officers to develop a plan for a tank/mechanized company team attack in an Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) I scenario. Students train on offensive tactics, direct fire planning, Small group-centric, current and relevant learning focused on enabling captains to develop company-level, full-spectrum plans Inprocessing and Common Core (3 Days) Company Fundamentals and TLPs (A0 - 7 days) IBCT Company Off/Def operations (A1 - 10 Days) HBCT Company Defensive Operations (A2 - 5 Days) Maneuver Captains Career Course Phase I: Company Core 9 weeks in length HBCT Company Offensive Operations (A3 - 5 Days) SBCT Company Urban Defense (A4 – 5 days)

HRC

Provides Follow-on Assignment SBCT Company SRO/COIN Operations (A5 - 5 Days) Battle Forge, Company Exam, Counseling (A6 – 5 days) Full-Spectrum: Offense, Defense, Stability and Reconstruction Operations  Leading and Planning for Combined Arms Units: Light Infantry Company, SBCT Infantry Company, Tank/Mechanized Company Team  Operating in Multiple Environments: Urban, Desert, Woodland/Temperate  Figure 1 September-October 2006 — 19 breaching operations, and mechanized urban operations. A4 – SBCT Company Urban Defense. This module prepares officers to develop an urban defensive plan for an SBCT infantry company in an OIF I scenario. Students train on SBCT infantry company tactics, urban population and terrain considerations, urban direct fire planning and engagement area development, securing a forward operating base (FOB), and interaction with the media. A5 – Urban Stability and Reconstruction Operations (SRO)/Counterinsurgency Operations (COIN). This module prepares officers to execute SRO/COIN operations as a company commander with a task organized SBCT infantry company team. Students train on SRO operations, cordon and search, raid, and urban equipment. Additional training includes an introduction to insurgency, the infrastructure of an insurgency, counter-guerrilla operations, and COIN operations. A6 – Battle Forge Exams. This module is the comprehensive exam week for the first phase of MC3. It consists of a hands-on performance exam, a comprehensive knowledge exam, and individual counseling. Students receive a task force order for an attack. Students must then prepare a company order for a maneuver company in their future BCT. In other words, an armor officer heading to an HBCT following MC3 will develop an order for a tank company team. An infantry officer heading to an IBCT will develop an order for a light infantry company. This exam is the gate evaluation all students must pass prior to entering assignment-based training. Assignment-Oriented Training This phase of MC3 provides students with specialized tactical and technical training for the brigade formation of their follow-on assignments. While the company core phase provides all captains a solid foundation for company-level operations, considering different organizations, operations, and environments, it does not provide details that company “The HBCT company team defense module prepares officers to develop a tank/mechanized company team defensive plan in a high-intensity fight at the National Training Center. Students train on tank/mechanized defensive tactics, troop leading procedures, direct fire planning, engagement area development, and the warfighting functions of a combined arms battalion.” Figure 2 20 — September-October 2006 HBCT Track

HBCT

AR: -CO/TRP CDRs -BCT/BN/SQDN Staff IN: -CO CDRs -BCT/BN/SQDN Staff 03A: -HHC CDRs -BCT/BN Staff Assignment Oriented Training Armor and Infantry Officers Infantry Officers Armor Officers IBCT/SBCT Track

SBCT:

IN: -CO CDRs -BCT/BN Staff AR: -TRP CDRs -SQDN/BCT Staff

IBCT:

AR: -TRP CDRs -BCT/SQDN Staff IN: -CO CDRs -BCT/BN/SQDN Staff 03A: -HHC CDRs -BCT/BN Staff com manders and staff officers require for future units of assignment. Dividing the course into specific tracks, based on future assignments, enables students to receive more unit-specific technical and tactical training to be successful as commanders and staff officers in future BCTs. Prior to executing Phase II of MC3, the Human Resources Command provides all captains follow-on assignments during the first half of the course. The ARFORGEN model determines the requirements for captain assignments based on unit lifecycle management. As the system matures, there will be more predictability to manning requirements, which provides more certainty to structuring MC3 assignment-based training tracks. As shown in Figure 2, all officers assigned to an HBCT attend the HBCT track; officers assigned to an IBCT or SBCT attend the IBCT/SBCT track. Officers from different branches attend their track based on future assignments and foreign officers attend the track that resembles their own particular unit or branch. Officers assigned to tables of distribution and allowance (TDAs), Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), and echelons above brigade attend the track reflecting either their branch or most probable follow-on BCT assignment. For example, an infantry student, assigned to III Corps G3 at Fort Hood, will attend the HBCT track because there are no Fort Hood-based IBCT/SBCTs. After he receives his follow-on assignment and completes the battle forge exams, he will begin training with a new small group that corresponds with the assignment-based training track. Phase II: HBCT and IBCT/SBCT Track This 12-week phase of MC3 provides the force with captains who are well versed in technical and tactical aspects of BCTs. This phase includes company, battalion, and brigade training (see Figure 3). For battalion and brigade training, students will train on the same staff tasks; however, they will be part of a small group staff and prepare orders for their future-assignment organizations. For example, an armor student, on orders to Fort Campbell, prepares an IBCT reconnaissance squadron order with his infantry brothers on the IBCT track, while another armor officer, on orders to Fort Hood, prepares a similar order for an HBCT reconnaissance squadron. With the exception of the reconnaissance module, all battalion and brigade training uses a common higher headquarters order for a unit that is task organized with the three different BCT-type organizations. For example, the battalion defense module has an HBCT conducting an area defense. The HBCT’s task organization includes a combined arms battalion, light infantry battalion, and a Stryker infantry battalion. Each small group uses the common higher order to prepare specific battalion plans. This common scenario and higher order ensures students receive the same standard training with focus on future units, and it allows cross-talk and planning coordination between different small groups. Phase II training includes: A7 – Company Specialized Tasks. This two-week module provides students with additional detailed company-level training for their future organizations. Students receive more instruction on certain tasks, such as movement to contact for tank/mechanized companies, that they did not previously receive. They also have more opportunities to plan and execute operations in a virtual or live environment. Students on orders to an IBCT develop plans for light infantry company op-Small group Small group-centric, current and relevant learning centric, current and relevant learning focused on technical and tactical training for future focused on technical and tactical training for future assignment assignment Company Specialized Tactical tasks and execution (A7 - 5 Days)

GAUNTLET CO/TM OPS

(A7- 5 Days) Digital Training, BN Fundamentals (B0 – 7 days) Maneuver Captains Career Course Phase II: BCT Based Training (12 weeks in length) BCT Track BN Defense and MDMP (B1 - 8 days) Recon Sqdn ISR and Security Operations (B2 - 4 Days) BN Offense, BTL CPT, and

BN CPX

(B3 – 6 days) BN Urban Attack (B4 - 5 Days) BCT Full-Spectrum Operations MDMP and CPX (B5 - 10 days) Taking Command (A8- 10 days) Full-Spectrum: Offense, Defense, Stability and Reconstruction Operations  Specialized Technical and Tactical Training -Company Team Commander -Reconnaissance Troop Commander -Battalion Staff Officer -BCT Recon Squadron Staff Officer -BCT Staff Officer  Figure 3 September-October 2006 — 21 “The SBCT company urban defense module prepares officers to develop an urban defensive plan for an SBCT infantry company in an OIF I scenario. Students train on SBCT infantry company tactics, urban population and terrain considerations, urban direct fire planning and engagement area development, securing a forward operating base (FOB), and interaction with the media.”

erations for execution in a networked, off-the-shelf virtual simulation in the classroom. Select IBCT-track individuals will train with infantry second lieutenants. Students on the HBCT track initially execute more company operations in CCTT. They also execute five days of the tank company gauntlet field training exercise (FTX) with second lieutenants from the Armor Basic Officer Leader Course III. Each HBCT small group provides company commanders, executive officers, fire support officers, and company observer/ controllers for two different company teams for force-on-force exercises. This leadership and training opportunity with lieutenants in the field at the current Armor Captains Career Course generates positive responses from students, and it will continue with MC3. B0 – Battalion Fundamentals. This module provides students with a foundation in the science of battalion-level operations. Students train staff operations, warfighting functions and their application at battalion level, and how to operate Force XXI battle command, brigade and below (FBCB2) and maneuver control system-light (MCS-L). B1 – Battalion Defense. This module trains students on the military decisionmaking process (MDMP) by using a battalion defensive scenario as the mechanism. Students plan a battalion defense as a combined arms, light infantry, or Stryker infantry battalion staff during a high-intensity fight in a Korean scenario. B2 – Reconnaissance Squadron ISR and Security. This module provides students a foundation in planning intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and security operations for the reconnaissance squadron of their future BCT. This training ensures all students develop and understand the capabilities and employment of reconnaissance squad rons and troops, which allows them to execute the capstone BCT exercise at the end of the course. Students develop a squad ron area reconnaissance plan against a full-spectrum threat, in addition to a screen and area security operation, along a border with a hostile nation. More detailed reconnaissance and security training for officers heading to a reconnaissance unit is provided by the Cavalry Leaders Course following graduation. B3 – Battalion Offense. This module reinforces training on MDMP through planning a battalion offensive operation against a full-spectrum threat. Students train on battalion offensive tactics and fundamentals, command post operations, air as sault planning, and continuous, time-constrained MDMP. For the practical exercise, a small-group staff arrives at 0300 hours to receive a BCT order; and 18 hours later, brief their battalion operations order (OPORD). The next training day, students execute a command post exercise, fighting their battalion OPORD as staff and company commanders in joint conflict and tactical simulators (JCATS). B4 – Urban Offense. This module reinforces training on MDMP through planning a battalion attack against a full-spectrum threat in an urban environment. Students train urban fundamentals, information operations, and targeting and pattern analysis. B5 – BCT Full-Spectrum Operations. This module provides students with a foundation for BCT-level operations. Students receive training in their future BCT organization and capabilities, plus how the warfighting functions operate at the BCT level. Additionally, students train on joint, interagency, and multinational (JIM) operations. Each small group then prepares a BCT order against a full-spectrum threat using the Iraq common teach scenario developed by the Combined Arms Center. Once this order is complete, the capstone exercise for the course occurs with the pre-command course gauntlet (multiechelon exercise). Students become the battalion or brigade staff officers and company commanders for future battalion/squadron and brigade commanders attending pre-command courses. The students develop BCT and subordinate battalion/squadron orders, which are then executed in a command post exercise in

JCATS.

A8 – Taking Command. The final module of MC3 provides students technical tools to prepare for company command, which includes instruction on training management, planning gunnery/live fire exercises, maintenance, Uniform Code of Military Justice, supply, and other leadership and administrative requirements. Agile Leader Training in MC3 Equally important to MC3’s current and relevant course material is preparing students to become agile leaders. Training students to adapt to changing circumstances requires a comprehensive approach from the first day of the course. Captains need to develop a thinking problemsolving process that supports making adjustments in an unfolding plan under the dynamic conditions of military operations. This adaptive thinking is a behavior and stems from specific knowledge and practical experience. It is not a personality trait, but rather a trainable skill. Agile leader training in MC3 seeks to instill automatic decisionmaking, or the ability to perform a thinking process so thoroughly that the action is automatic and does not require much cognitive effort.2 In addition to the programmed OPORD and fragmentary order (FRAGO) exercises throughout the course, the follow-Continued on Page 47 22 — September-October 2006 “The company fundamentals module provides officers a foundation in doctrine and in the art and science of company-level operations. Students train on warfighting functions (intelligence, movement and maneuver, fire support, protection, sustainment, and command and control) and their application at company level.”

Maneuver Captains Career Course by integrating newly developed MC3 course material into their current classes. Beginning in September 2006, complete MC3 instruction will begin at both locations as the career course expands to 21 weeks. Fort Knox will train the HBCT track for Phase II, while Fort Benning will focus on the IBCT/SBCT track. The Human Resources Command has already programmed more infantry and armor officers to attend MC3 at Knox and Fort Benning, respectively, during 1st Quarter, FY07, based on anticipated BCT requirements. This trend will continue until all MC3 instruction consolidates at the Maneuver Center of Excellence some time in the future. Notes 1Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission Report, 13 May 2005, p. 17. 2Think Like a Commander Training Program, Army Research Institute, Fort Knox, KY, March 2003, pp. 4-12. Lieutenant Colonel Patrick A. Clark is serving as commander, 3d Squadron, 16th Cavalry Regiment, Fort Knox, KY. He received a B.S. from the U.S. Military Academy and an M.B.A. from the University of Phoenix. His military education includes the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the Armor Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, and Combined Arms and Services Staff School. He has served in various command and staff positions, to include observer/controller, Combat Maneuver Training Center, Hohenfels, Germany; S3, 1st Battalion, 35th Armor, 1st Armor Division, Baumholder, Germany; and XO, 2d Battalion, 6th Infantry, 1st Armor Division, Baumholder. Major Edward B. Hayes is serving as the course manager, Armor Captains Career Course, Fort Knox, KY. He received a B.S. from the U.S. Military Academy. His military education includes the Armor Officer Basic Course, Armor Officer Advanced Course, Combined Arms and Services Staff School, and Joint Firepower Course. He has served in various command and staff positions, to include small-group instructor, Armor Captains Career Course, Fort Knox; commander, K Troop, 2d Squadron, 16th Cavalry, Fort Knox; commander, A Troop, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry, 3d Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 2d Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, WA; and commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3d BCT, 2d Infantry Division, Fort Lewis. Maneuver Captains Career Course from Page 22 September-October 2006 — 47