European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 16, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday August 16, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 9 self analysis helps troops act not react Badavi Tarrant staff writer Hohenfels West Germany As the indigo Blue sky began softening in the East three dozen armoured personnel carriers and m1a1 tanks rumbled through a Field. Somewhere in the soft Early morning Light enemy tanks and soldiers waited for them. Dug in. Ready. Suddenly a six Inch Green cannister tossed on the ground spews Clouds of greyish White smoke. The muffled chatter of gunfire came from several directions. Soon an acrid odor spread across the entire Field. It s Good smoke said 2nd it. Kevin Meadows observing the obscured Battlefield from an armoured personnel Carrier. Dodging weapons fire and attack helicopters the meals bolted through the smoke intent on conquer ing the enemy s position. The Battle raged for several hours but in the end they were successful. The enemy was overcome. The end of the Battle meant the beginning of the hard part of the Day at the Hohenfels combat a never training Center recently. Shortly after the Battle about a dozen tank and infantry platoon Lead ers from the 2nd in 70th army regt 1st army div participating in the Ironstar exercise gathered in the Field for a unique form of group analysis. The aim was to coolly Analyse decisions made in the heat of Battle to encourage the soldiers to Eval uate themselves and each other. A Leader often is forced to make Battle decisions quickly and without the Benefit of Complete information said maj. Gen. Frederick m. Franks jr., com Mander of the 1st army div during one of the Ironstar review sessions. But those decisions if Analysed properly can help a Soldier become More comfortable with making decisions with acting rather than reacting to situations Franks said. Go Back Over your operation and look at your key decisions and ask if you made the right Deci Sion he said. Normally action rather than inac Tion is the Best the socratic method As Trainer controllers Call the question and answer sessions was honed at the army s National training Center at fort Irwin calif., and exported to the 40,017-acre mountainous army sgt. William Mcmichael it. Col. Lory Johnson chief Trainer controller says critiques Are not nearly As effective As area of Hohenfels 40 Miles Southeast of Niernberg West Germany. It turns out they did Well this morning. Recon Nai Sance was excellent Irwin said. The mine Clearing operation went Well. Except for an Early ambush by one enemy tank the Friendly forces were Able to per form their task with few problems. So the session instead of being critical turned toward familiar suggestions. Rely on maps. Follow plans. Use smoke for cover. If i just stood up there and spoke to them they would t have to think about the situation As much As they do when you re asking questions Irwin said later. Later in the Day a More formal detailed session called an after action review is held in a briefing room at the combat Center. Senior personnel of the task Force involved in the Battle the battalion commander executive officer and battalion staff including combat support personnel and company commanders gather for a question and answer session led by senior Trainer controller it. Col. Lory Mac Johnson. Johnson has spent the better part of the Day culling through snapshots and videotapes of the Battle and analysing the Trainer controller reports and other data gathered on the Battle. As with the informal session earlier in the Day Johnson peppered the soldiers with a series of questions. It makes this Type of session much better than a critique Johnson said during an interview. Critiques Are not nearly As effective As the controllers fully trained in military doctrine help the soldiers think through each phase of the Battle Johnson said. The goal is to get the soldiers used to the idea of making decisions in the face of fast changing enemy tactics unfamiliar terrain sur prise air and ground attacks and numerous other factors that can influence the outcome of a Battle. Here during these sessions we can Only talk about one thing at a time Johnson said. But at any Given moment during a Battle a platoon Leader or company commander May have to make Many More decisions All at once he said. If these soldiers Don t take anything away from Here other than an appreciation for the difficulty of the task they will have made enormous army War College revamping curriculum by Richard Halloran Carlisle a. Not the army War College Here has begun a five year plan intended to strengthen the Educa Tion of the army s future leaders in the Art and science of military strategy. The plan devised by the commandant of the College maj. Gen. Howard d. Graves Calls for sharpening the focus on strategy in the Core curriculum by cutting some Seg ments such As detailed discussion of arms control and doubling electives so that the student can tailor the 10-month course at the War College to his or her needs. We re going to truncate the Core curriculum by taking things out the Gener Al said not by teaching the students most of whom Are lieu tenant colonels with an average of 19 years of service will take eight electives instead of the present four. The plan also places More emphasis on military ethics. Before coming Here Many students commanded battalions of 700 soldiers assignments in which responsibilities were Clear Cut and tactical decisions straightforward. They leave Here for the Pentagon or High level staffs where decisions will be influenced by ambiguities of politics diplomacy economics and Public opinion. The reasons for the new emphasis on strategy Are Many. The military services have come under fire by Congress by academics and to some extent by offi cers themselves As failing to produce strategists. The critics claim military education put too much emphasis on Man aging funds and Materiel. Graves a Rhodes scholar after graduating from West Point in 1961, has emphasized ethics by helping to teach the course himself. I believe the College president ought to teach something he said and i think there s nothing More important than last october the army chief of staff Gen. Carl e. Vuono issued a six Page letter of guidance to Graves instructing him to make a comprehensive review of the War College and then to fashion a plan for revisions. Vuono said the War College must clarify the strategic context in which the army its sister services and coalition partners must operate in peace transition to War conflict and conflict he added ethics and military history Cornerstones of the profession of arms must be Woven throughout the Graves and the faculty completed the review this Spring finding a Lack of Clear focus in the curriculum. From the review came the changes being initiated now in the teaching of strategy. Strategy in the american system is the realm of the president and his advisers on the National Security Council including the secretaries of defense and state. The role of military officers has been to devise operations to carry out the strategy of civilian leaders. Graves acknowledges this but says senior military officers need to under stand the concepts of strategy if they Are to advise the nation s leaders on the uses and the limitations of military officers must also understand strategy for the skilled application of military Power he said. Of special importance to american offi cers Graves said is the need to understand the role of the military officer in a democratic thus he said the emphasis on ethics because graduates of the War College will be operating in a less forgiving environment at higher Levels. In that curriculum officers who have spent their professional lives with their feet in the mud and their eyes on the next Hill Are exposed to the vagaries of Domestic politics economic decision making diplomatic mane vering an social trends even the vagaries of dealing with the news want them to wrestle with those ambiguities Graves said. Vuono told the House armed services committee s panel on military Educa Tion that a critical element would be improving the civilian and military faculty. A Quality faculty he said is the key to Quality of civilian academicians Are being hired and military officers with advanced degrees Are being brought in from other assignments. Seminars for teachers now at the War College in South Central Pennsylvania were begun in july to pre pare them for new teaching tasks in the coming academic year. Another innovation will be More emphasis on preparing students for joint operations with other services by initiating new courses and exchanging students and faculty with the Navy War College in Newport r.i., and the air War col lege at Montgomery 200 army officers selected for the War College Are considered potential generals. They have been joined by 18 Navy and Marine corps officers 18 officers from the air Force 18 civilian officials from agencies like the state department and the Central intelligence Agency and 33 foreign officers. Each class is divided into 18 seminars of 16 students apiece. A few students Are women both Mili tary and civilian. And More military women now concentrated in the Junior officer ranks will become students in the future As they gain seniority
