Introduction: The Infantry faces many different challenges when it comes to making the training realistic and valuable to keep our infantrymen ready to fight in today’s complex operating environment. The term “train as you fight” is not necessarily true when training in a garrison atmosphere. The doctrine or methods of training used by the conventional infantry are outdated and paralyzed with range limitations and unrealistic guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The infantryman is a master of his assigned weapon system, and the Army needs to do better at preparing our Soldiers for the battlefield. Marksmanship skills are essential for any unit conveyed to a wartime theater. This paper will examine the four significant army marksmanship …show more content…
A rifle or machine gun are key enablers to every infantryman. After 15 years of ground combat, some of our infantry formations have lost those essential core competencies to train and shoot effectively. As soon as the unit returns from deployment, it falls into that same old training doctrine, and the unit does not apply the lessons learned from overseas. The range limitations, funding, time, and lack of marksmen programs that are desperately needed to educate the senior leaders on new methods and techniques, moreover because basic rifle marksmanship is a skill you do not forget if you learn it right. Most of the ranges are outdated and do not provide the infantryman with practical training value. These are a few of the issues that the infantry leader faces in a garrison environment. Finally, the conventional infantry force must adapt its training and gather resources at home station to prepare the Soldier for future combat …show more content…
Again, this does not provide the combat realism that our Soldiers accurately need to sustain or survive during combat operations. The Soldiers need to be able to use their area-fire skills to suppress, scan, and eliminate the enemy threat, and it does not help that the record fire ranges are all on level terrain. During combat operations, the Soldier will find himself engage with targets from different elevated positions. The range does not provide the combination of distance to target and angle necessary to challenge infantrymen with scanning and adjusting their sights and sight picture. The United States Army owns the night so the qualification range should provide added realism when the Soldier utilizes his night vision and IR capabilities. Why is the day fire the same as the night fire? The two requirements should not be the same. The range also provides no stress and needs to get the Soldiers heart elevated to replicate the adrenaline rush associated with
...D.INFO. (1993, June 1). US Army Manuals (Field/Training Manuals). Retrieved March 25, 2012, from http://www.enlisted.info/field-manuals/fm-100-5-operations.shtml
The SPCC is targeted to commissioned officers in grades 0-5 (Lieutenant Colonel) or 0-6 (Colonel) who have been centrally selected to command TO&E (Troops, Organization & Equipment) Sustainment Units. This course provides training in modular force operations for newly selected command designees, enabling them to function effectively throughout their command tour. The focus is current and emerging sustainment doctrine and leadership topics for commanders. Training received during the SPCC at Fort Lee is intended to complement the Pre-Command Course (PCC) program of instruction (POI) at Fort Leavenworth, KS; making training consistent at both locations.
As the incoming brigade commander, LTC (P) Owens, I see the critical leadership problem facing the 4th Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) is the inability or unwillingness of Colonel Cutler to lead and manage change effectively. In initial talks with Col Cutler and in reviewing the brigade’s historical unit status reports, the 4th ABCT performed as well as can be expected in Afghanistan, but as the onion was peeled back there are numerous organizational issues that were brought to the surface while I walked around and listened to the soldiers of the 4th ABCT, in addition to reviewing the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) report. One of the most formidable tasks of a leader is to improve the organization while simultaneously accomplishing
The United States Army, in its current state, is a profession of arms. In order to be considered a profession, the organization must have an ethical code rooted in values, strong trust with its clients, and be comprised of experts within the trade. These experts are constantly developing the trade for the present and the future and hold the same shared view of their trade culture.
Devine, A.M. “A Study in Tactical Terminology.” Phoenix 37 (1983): 201-217. jstor.org. Web 15 May 2014.
Company E, Berdans 1st Regiment United States Sharpshooters. (n.d.). Retrieved July 2009, from US Sharpshooters: http://www.ussharpshooters.co.uk/index_files/Page2772.htm
We can identify three major cultural dimensions that help us to understand what leaders must focus on as they guide the transition of the Army. First, professional Identity, which is guided by Soldiers at all levels who are striving for excellence in their functional specialty, i.e., HR Sergeants. Soldiers who have goals and ideals of the Army to ethically put service and duty first. HR Sergeants are trained and well educated in their field. They are taught to put Soldiers first and have great customer support skills. Second, community, the sense in which Soldiers stop thinking about “I” and start thinking “we”. The bond among units who not only believe in cohesion with Soldiers, but their families too. The HR Sergeants are there to take care of Soldiers when financial issues arise with them or their families and don’t back down until the situation is solved. Last, hierarchy, which leads to order and control and provides Soldiers with moral reference and a sense of direction. The HR Sergeant has the mentality of mission first, knowing who to contact at the next level for assistance helps get the mission
War has been a recurring part of America’s history for the past hundreds of years. From the 1700s to the present, America has gotten into numerous situations and turmoil, which eventually lead to the wars we currently study and know about today. Technological advancements in warfare were necessary and a great obligation during times of war. This was pursued with drastic improvement. From the transformation of the use of smoothbore muskets during the Civil War to the industrial revolution leading to weaponry innovations post civil war, the nature of warfare dramatically changed. These developments proved to be proficient in battle. In the midst of these hundreds of years, while many technological advances demonstrated to be efficient in battle, the machine gun was one of the most significant advancements in technology that changed the face of warfare through its transformation of operations and strategy.
The best Army leaders will effortlessly find some way to get others to do exactly what they need them to do. They do this by giving soldiers a
This book substantially explains the vigorous training platoon 3086 went through in order to earn the title of being a Marine.
Since the Army puts everything down on paper, from how to perform maintenance on an M4 weapon (“Rifle…”, 2003, para. 1.4) to how to write a letter to your commander (“Preparing…”, 2001, p. 30), a good NCO must know and follow the rules and instructions that apply to him or her on a regular basis. For example, a good NCO must be able to correct a soldier’s uniform to the exact standard. In order to order a soldier to tuck in his or he...
CF02,Full Range Leadership Development. (2012). Maxwell Gunter AFB. Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education (AETC)
An Army White Paper, The Profession of Arms (2010), defines Army Ethic as, “The moral values, principles, and martial virtues embedded in its culture that inspire and regulate behavior by both Soldiers and the U.S. Army in the application of land combat in defense of and service to the Nation” (p.12). Army Values and ethos in the Soldiers Creed, and Creed of the Non Commissioned Officer provide the foundation of Army Ethic. The Army creates and establishes regulations, policies, standards, and guidelines that serve as the basis for controlling the behavior, and administration of the institution. When a standard that contradicts an established policy or regulation occurs, Soldiers and leaders must take appropriate action to address the issue. The action taken by a Soldier is living the Army value of duty. Out of respect, leaders will confer with their superior(s) for guidance, as well as keeping him or her abreast of a situation. Unfortunately, the guidance and command influence provided by that superior will contradict what a Soldier and l...
DOD is determined to educate and train soldiers with the most current top-notch methodologies for their DL c...
Samuel B. Griffith’s translation of “Sun Tzu: The Art of War” is an inside look at military practices of today. I did not find one technique that is not or would not be utilized in modern military maneuver, leadership, or training. The most astounding fact is that the Art of War was written well over two thousand years ago, even at the most conservative date. Although most of the techniques in this text are already in practice today, the value of “The Art of War” is a never-ending treasure chest of knowledge, and it deserves a place as a required reading for anyone seeking knowledge about war fighting or the history of war.