Department of the Army Historical Summary: FY 1987

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Training

Training is the cornerstone of combat readiness and the means by which the Army prepares to fight and win in combat. Training is the process by which the Army melds its soldiers, doctrine, and equipment into combat-ready units capable of mobilizing, deploying, fighting, and sustaining combat operations in unified action with its sister services and allies. Demanding training under realistic circumstances is the Army's responsibility to its soldiers and leaders in preparation for future combat.

In recent years, the Army has complied with its obligation to thoroughly train forces in spite of current fiscal austerity. The continued success of the Army training program is the direct result of the Army's successful redesign and improvement of training programs to ensure individual and unit proficiency. The following describes the progress made during this fiscal year in this area.

Training is not only the rightful concern of leaders, it is their obligation. Thus, the Army sought to enhance leadership competency during the fiscal year by directing individual training efforts toward every level, from the junior noncommissioned officer (NCO) to the general officer. Central features of this effort were the upgrading of combat support and combat service support training, the standardization of leadership training offered under the Noncommissioned Officer Education System (NCOES), and the institution of a requirement to perform certain MOS tasks considered critical to a specified standard of proficiency for that particular military skill.

Efforts also got under way to develop the Total Warrant Officer System (TWOS) and to provide more effective use of warrant officer expertise through progressive career development programs and broader work experience. Under the proposed system, there would be a three-level skill hierarchy to code position requirements in authorization documents as warrant officer, senior warrant officer, and master warrant officer. The program's objective would be to measure technical and tactical skills at each career phase, allowing the

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individuals and commanders to gain a broader base of professional experience and develop relevant independent study programs.

Meanwhile, the Army continued to rely on its school systems in its quest to develop highly qualified soldiers and leaders with tactical and technical expertise in combat and combat support missions. To enhance its standard curricula, the Army is redesigning its formal school structure to allow for the progressive development of warfighting and technical skills necessary for today's modern battlefield environment. In general, school curricula are structured around a common core of warfighting skills that are appropriate to the grade or rank of the students. The common core of subject matter is supplemented with professional study of topics, such as the art of war and specialized instruction for the development of tactical and technical competence for future assignments. Recent innovations include Ranger 3000, restructure of the NCOES, and the Combined Arms Services Staff School (CAS3). The Posture of the United States Army for Fiscal Year 1987 (hereafter identified as the FY 1987 Posture Statement) describes these courses as follows:

1. Ranger 3000. The Ranger course is a mix of dynamic instruction and challenging experience. Instruction sets the stage for experiential learning of tactics, combat techniques, night training, leadership skills, physical endurance, and geographical indoctrination.
Recent initiatives increase the required Ranger positions in the Army from less than 1,000 to a projected total of almost 7,000 by FY 1987. These needs translate to an annual training requirement of over 3,000 soldiers. By FY 1987, the Army will increase the available training opportunities for Rangers from 2,300 to over 3,000 slots annually.

2. Restructure of the Noncommissioned Officer Education System. The NCOES is being restructured to provide sergeants in combat support and combat service support branches with the same type of leader development-oriented professional training afforded their counterparts in combat branches.
With the realignment of NCOES, noncommissioned officer training follows a common track. Training for NCOs focuses initially on leadership in the Primary Leadership Development Course. The next step is the Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course (BNCOC) that contains standard leader training required throughout the Army and skill training that addresses directly the requirements of soldiers serving in each branch of

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the Army. The principal purpose of BNCOC is to produce highly trained and motivated NCO section or squad leaders. The increased emphasis on soldier skills and common understanding' of tasks taught in these NCOES courses serves to bond the NCOs of all branches. The NCO will continue professional training in the Advanced Noncommissioned Officers Course. The capstone of the NCOES is the highly selective and challenging Sergeants Major Course taught at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy (USASMA).

3. Combined Arms and Services Staff School. Located at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the school provides an intense nine-week course, designed to provide captains with essential professional skills required to serve successfully as staff officers at battalion, brigade, and division levels. Studies of officer professional education and training recognized a critical need for training in unit staff skills. During FY 1987, the training load is expected to increase to approximately 4,500 students, providing all captains with the opportunity to gain this highly effective training experience.
Little progress marked the year regarding the establishment of a permanent home for the U.S. Army School of the Americas, temporarily located at Fort Benning, Georgia, or the consolidation of the Intelligence School at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. The new Army Management Staff College, located at present on the campus of the Maritime Institute of Technology, Linthicum Heights, Maryland, opened its doors on 6 July 1987 to the first of two pilot classes of students (forty-two civilians and eight officers). The college is designed to offer key civilians and their military counterparts training comparable to that offered by the military staff and senior service colleges.

Begun in 1982, the Army Range Modernization Program has matured into an effective management system of field range systems in support of modernized weapons and training requirements. The Multipurpose Range Complex is the keystone facility, which provides challenging live fire qualification and sustainment training for tank and mechanized infantry units up to battalion level. Eleven of the fourteen planned ranges will be under construction or completed by FY 1987. This fiscal year, the Army Range Modernization Program registered gains when a Multipurpose Range Complex opened at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and another at Gowen Field, Idaho,

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neared completion. Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT) facilities are under construction at Fort Drum, New York; Fort Ord, California; and Hohenfels, West Germany; but funding for range modernization has declined appreciably since its peak in FY 1984, and several important projects have not been funded. These include the upgrade of Range 201 at Grafenwoehr to meet critical gunnery requirements in BFV training.

The MOUT facilities provide individual and collective training for combat operations in built-up and congested urban centers. Twelve MOUT complexes are planned; two additional facilities will be completed or under construction during FY 1987. The Army's investment in range construction is as follows: $107 million in FY 1984; $76 million in FY 1985; $112 million in FY 1986; and $63 million in FY 1987.

Three important training facility programs for the reverse components (RC) are: Regional Training Center (RTC), Regional Maintenance Training Site (RMTS), and Regional Training Site-Medical (RTS-MED). The RTC, planned for Fort Dix, New Jersey, will be a test bed facility for developing combat arms, combat support, and combat service support soldier and leader skills through a device based training strategy. The RMTSs will be located in areas with a high density of nondivisional maintenance units. Pilot RMTSs are scheduled for Camp Shelby, Mississippi, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina, during FY 1986. Twenty-one RMTSs will become operational between FY 1986 and FY 1990. The RMTS will be the keystone in transition and sustainment training for the RC nondivisional light and heavy equipment maintenance personnel on the repair of current and force modernization equipment. For many units, the RMTS will provide the only opportunity they will have to train on modern equipment before deployment to the theater of operations. The RTS-MED will provide ARNG medical units with complete sets of deployable medical systems hospital equipment for training.

Also during this fiscal year, the first class to enter the Army's Chemical Decontamination Training Facility at Fort McClellan, Alabama-30 students enrolled in the Chemical Officer Advanced Course-began training on 2 March 1987. About 5,000 soldiers will be trained at the facility each year in chemical decontamination operations using actual chemical warfare agents.

The National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California, the first of the Army's three Advanced Collective Training Facilities to become operational, has the mission of training mechanized and armor battalion task forces. Currently NTC is operating as planned, with twenty-eight battalions receiving training each year. In 1987

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two more ARNG round-out battalions trained at the NTC, continuing the pattern of the previous four years. A Five-Year Plan was inaugurated to improve the high quality training offered at NTC. The brigade headquarters and support elements of battalions trained at the center will be more fully integrated into NTC exercises and evaluations. Air Force close air support will be augmented through the development of a laser engagement system for tactical aircraft, and follow on systems will enable forces on the ground to conduct active instrumented air defense against opposing air forces.

Long-term development of the second component of the Army's Advanced Collective Training Facility strategy, the Combat Maneuver Training Complex at Hohenfels Training Area, West Germany, began this year. Completion of the instrumented maneuver training complex is expected in 1991 and will provide the same training opportunities for U.S. Army, Europe, maneuver battalion task forces that their counterparts in the CONUS experience at the NTC.

The Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) is the third of the Army's Advanced Collective Training Facilities. JRTC will provide Army and Air Force active and reserve component contingency forces with the opportunity to conduct simulated combat under conditions of low- to mid-intensity conflict similar to those they might expect to face on the battlefield. The center will be located at Fort Chaffee and Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. The first battalion to be trained is scheduled for rotation to Fort Chaffee in October 1987. An additional six battalions will be trained during the remainder of FY 1988, and the center should be performing at planned levels of thirteen battalions trained per year by FY 1989.

The FY 1987 Posture Statement described device-based training. The Army has developed and fielded technology-based training devices, simulators, and simulations which are revolutionizing the way soldiers and units train. These tools permit commanders to sustain higher levels of unit proficiency at less cost and provide training feedback previously not available. These devices are increasingly integrated into initial entry and unit sustainment training programs, with special emphasis on providing simulations to the RC.

Many of the recent investments in training technology do not provide an absolute tradeoff in OPTEMPO, i.e., the established number of training miles for a unit's major equipment systems, or their allocated operating tempo. This technology serves to improve training effectiveness and to compensate for increased operating costs of modernized systems. For instance, the MILES and the instrumentation at the NTC allow objective evaluation of opposing

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units and permit critique of individual and collective tasks-areas of increasing importance and technical complexity.

OPTEMPO was decreased from a level of 1,000 miles per tank per year in FY 1984 and earlier to approximately 850 miles since FY 1985. This reduction is based on a number of factors, including investing in simulators, budget constraints, and refining modeling techniques; however, assets for simulators have concentrated more on procurement accounts such as ammunition than on operating and support costs. Simulators that offer potential as OPTEMPO surrogates are now beginning to be fielded. These include Unit Conduct of Fire Trainer (UCOFT) and Army Training Battle Simulation System (ARTBASS). The UCOFT, a computer-driven visual scene simulator for training gunnery skills, provides the best example of OPTEMPO saving through the use of simulators. Two years after UCOFT is fielded to an Ml tank battalion, each tank's annual ammunition allotment is expected to be reduced by thirty-four main-gun rounds. Table 5 shows the savings from firing fewer rounds per tank.

TABLE 5 - UCOFT COST AVOIDANCE
(In thousands)

i FY 1986 projected costs as more 120-mm. rounds are produced. Production will become more economical and unit costs will decline.

Annual savings in fuel and maintenance outlays through the use of UCOFT are estimated at approximately $320,000 per battalion. Furthermore, the use of simulators provides firsthand training that was not previously in the field. Savings gained from the use of simulators will pay for the soldiers' use of live ammunition during field training exercises.

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The family of flight simulators illustrates the savings possible through the intelligent integration of this technology in aviation training. A comparison of potential savings by using simulators versus the cost of using traditional aircraft is reflected in Table 6.

TABLE 6 - COST COMPARISON: AVIATION SIMULATORS vs. AIRCRAFT

1 FY 1985 rates.

Other training devices that conserve scarce resources are the Remote Target System, which is the target mechanism component of the Army Range Modernization Program; the Air Ground Engagement System, MILES for aircraft and air defense weapon systems; and MILES for MI/M2/M3 tanks. Several emerging training simulators appear to have tremendous potential for more efficiently enhancing unit proficiency. As an example, the TWGSS is a precision laser device used with tanks and BFVs. It will allow tankers and infantrymen to practice gunnery by firing a precision laser beam at targets rather than expending live ammunition.

MILES has been a success in training tactics. While MILES has provided unparalleled opportunities for realistic, two-sided, tactical training worldwide, true combined arms tactical engagement training is being sought. The Army is planning to simulate the effects of nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) warfare incorporated with field artillery indirect fire and mines into MILES exercises. The completed exercise is expected to enhance tactical training.

Simulation Networking (SIMNET) is strongly supported by the Army in an effort to make up training shortfalls caused by reductions in the OPTEMPO of maneuver forces. SIMNET will interconnect large numbers (up to battalions) of low-cost combat vehicle simulators in two-sided, free-play, tactical engagement simulation.

Battle simulations provide an efficient method of training soldiers, unit commanders, and staffs. At present simulations available to commanders are either manually driven or labor-intensive automated systems. There are no standard, computer-driven simulations

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at corps or division level. Brigade through crew simulations are inefficient and often do not operate as rapidly as some require. Improvements in battle simulation are under way. Fielding has begun of ARTBASS, a computer-driven simulation which provides a highly realistic environment to train battalion commanders and their staffs in the control and coordination of combined arms operations.

The FY 1987 Posture Statement detailed the Army Exercise Program including joint, combined, and unilateral exercises. Major joint and combined exercises maybe scheduled for either the joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) or unified commands and are centrally sponsored and coordinated through the JCS Exercise Program. Unilateral Army exercises are conducted at corps level or below.

The JCS Exercise Program provides Army units with valuable total force training in wartime missions. To the extent possible, the program integrates active Army and reserve component units into joint exercises according to CAPSTONE alignments. (A procedure aligning reserve component units scheduled for Europe with their wartime chain of command.) During FY 1987, the Army participated in forty-nine exercises that were either directed or coordinated by the JCS. Of that number, reserve component units or staffs participated in thirty-four.

Deployment training for Army units based in CONUS is provided through the JCS program. Under this program troops and equipment are deployed and exercised in Europe, Southwest and Southeast Asia, Korea, the Pacific, and Central America. Among the more important CONUS training exercises conducted this fiscal year were BRIM FROST, LOGEX, TEAM SPIRIT, ULCHI FOCUS LENS, RENDEZVOUS, BRIGHT STAR, BLAZING TRAILS, and REFORGER. The following is a synopsis of these exercises:

Exercise BRIM FROST was a large-scale JCS-directed Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Readiness Command (USCINCRED)-sponsored command post and field training exercise that was conducted in Alaska from 18 to 29 January 1987. The October 1987 edition of Army magazine reports that approximately 24,000 Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard personnel of both active and reserve components from all services participated in this exercise that included a contingent of the Special Operations Forces. The major FORSCOM unit participating was the 6th Infantry Division (Light). The objectives of the activity were to exercise joint Task Force Alaska and supporting forces in command, control, commu-

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nications, and sustainment operations and to provide joint training for participating active and reserve component forces in an arctic environment.

Exercise LOGEX 87 was a JCS-coordinated command post exercise that was sponsored by the U.S. Army Logistics Center at Fort Pickett, Virginia, from 12-24 July 1987. Simulating a Korean scenario, LOGEX 87 was designed to teach command and staff procedures by emphasizing interdependence among the joint service components. The exercise was also intended to teach early deploying reserve component units about the principles of wartime Modification Table of Organization and Equipment and to demonstrate the importance of logistics. Participants in this exercise were the I Corps and its affiliates, as well as the 311th Corps Support Command, the 388th Civil Affairs Brigade, and its major elements.

Exercise TEAM SPIRIT 87 was conducted in the Republic of Korea to improve the combat readiness of the Republic of Korea and U.S. forces through joint and combined training exercises. Specific objectives included execution of deployment and redeployment plans, employment of combined air-land-sea doctrine by Combined Forces Command (CFC), and execution of the applicable reception and staging plans. The field training portion of the exercise was conducted from 28 March to 9 April 1987 and included a fully equipped division, in addition to elements of the Eighth Army and Korean forces. Major FORSCOM participants included I Corps, the 7th Infantry Division (Light), the 311th Support Command, the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, and the 1st Special Forces Group.

Exercise ULCHI Focus LENS 87 was a JCS-coordinated U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) and CFC-sponsored exercise that was held in conjunction with the annual Korean national mobilization exercise in the Republic of Korea from 17-28 August 1987. The purpose of the exercise was to test and evaluate plans, procedures, and communications systems for the combined and joint defense of the Republic of Korea. Specific objectives included practicing for an anticipated transition from peace to war; integrating U.N. Command and CFC components, subordinate, and supporting command war plans; augmenting CFC with U.S. and mobilized Korean forces; integrating combined unconventional warfare operations into CFC strategy; and deterring chemical warfare and exercising chemical retaliatory operations.

Exercise RENDEZVOUS was a JCS/U.S. Readiness Command-sponsored combined training exercise for the defense of Canada and the United States that convened at Camp Wainwright, Canada,

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from 20 April through 12 May 1987. The purpose of this division-size joint and combined field training exercise was to emphasize all-arms training in a general scenario; to practice and improve U.S./Canadian interoperability and readiness; and to practice deploying CONUS-based joint forces. The exercise consisted of four separate training phases, with U.S. forces participating in two: PRAIRIE VIPER at Canadian Force Base Suffield and BOLD WARRIOR at Camp Wainwright and associated ranges. During the field training exercise, a U.S. Army battalion task force was attached to the Canadian Forces Mobile Command's Special Service Force.

Exercise BRIGHT STAR was a JCS-directed, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM)-sponsored joint and combined training exercise that was conducted at various USCENTCOM locations from 8 July to 15 September 1987. The purpose of the exercise was to demonstrate U.S. ability to deploy and mobilize rapidly. Specific objectives included practicing to protect air and sea lines of communication; testing the relationship between joint and combined communications; examining U.S. mapping and charting procedures; evaluating Army and Navy port operations procedures; examining all-source intelligence support to the joint command; and exercising realistic logistical support in the USCENTCOM area of responsibility. Participants included the Third U.S. Army, which deployed a cross-section of the Southwest Asia CAPSTONE force and conducted combined and joint operations within the territories and adjacent waters of Egypt, Jordan, and Somalia. FORSCOM participation consisted of 216 active and reserve component units headed by the Third U.S. Army.

Exercise BLAZING TRAILS was a JCS-directed, U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM)-sponsored combined field training exercise that was conducted in Honduras and Ecuador in two task forces designated 364 and 1169, respectively. Task Force 364 went to Honduras with engineer, logistical, signal, medical, security, and aviation units from the Fourth U.S. Army area during the period 12 December 1986 through 31 May 1987. Their mission was to rebuild and construct roads between the towns of Puentecita and Jocon. Task Force 1169 went to Ecuador with similar units from the Second U.S. Army area and conducted similar road-building and bridge construction missions in the Napo Province from 3 April to 3 October 1987.

Exercise REFORGER 87 was the nineteenth strategic mobility exercise conducted under the 1967 London Tripartite Agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Federal Republic of Germany. The agreement, which was concluded at the peak of the Vietnam War, allowed for the annual redeployment of

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the division base and two of three brigades of the 24th Infantry Division. It further stipulated that the division would draw its equipment from pre-positioned materiel configured to unit sets (POMCUS) stock, rejoin its third brigade (which had remained in Germany), and participate in a European field training exercise. In 1970, during REFORGER II, the lst Infantry Division replaced the 24th Division, making the former the designated REFORCER division. As POMCUS materiel increased, the annual REFORGER strategic deployment increased to include a mixture of combat and combat support units as well as reserve components from CONUS.

REFORGER 87 introduced several innovations to the exercise. These included the deployment of the III Corps from Fort Hood, Texas, and the use of air and seaports in the Netherlands. In addition, this year's REFORGER was the first such exercise to be conducted by an American unit (III Corps Group) under the operational command of NATO's (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Northern Army Group (NORTHAG). Finally, REFORGER 87 introduced a number of new weapon and support systems, including the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.

As in previous years, the purpose of REFORGER has remained constant: to demonstrate U.S. willingness and ability to reinforce NATO during an emergency. Specific objectives of III Corps included demonstrating the deployment and war-fighting capabilities of a mobile armored corps; assessing the plans and procedures which enable the mobile armored corps to reinforce Europe; training individuals, crews, units, and staff organizations for war under the most realistic conditions; and challenging the affected organizations and installations to support the deployment of corps units.

The use of ARNG troops on training missions in Central America, close to the fighting in Nicaragua between the Sandinistas and Contra rebels, was opposed by a number of state governors. On 14 November 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed into law a measure that prohibited governors from withholding consent to training assignments for ARNG units outside the U.S. unless the units were needed for local emergencies. Led by Governor Rudy Perpich of Minnesota, the opposed governors initiated a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law. The lawsuit was still in the courts at the close of the fiscal year.

Within CONUS, in early November 1986, the 82d Airborne Division completed its most extensive large-scale maneuver in fifteen years. The division's 14,000 paratroopers spent two weeks in parachute jumps, airdrops of heavy weapons, helicopter movements, and tactical drills that included live fire in a training exer-

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cise to prepare for combat in Central America. Because of the increasing importance of the reserve component to the Army, the USAR concentrates on training both the organization and the individual. Organizational training is conducted under a unit configuration in which troop program units (TPUs) are part of the Total Army force structure inventory. These units usually perform inactive duty training (IDT) one weekend each month and annual training (AT) two weeks each year. The second form of training is under an individual soldier configuration in programs designated individual mobilization augmentation (IMA) and IRR. Participants in the IMA program are ARNG soldiers who perform two weeks of annual training, usually in association with an active component (AC) organization with whom they would serve upon mobilization. While IRR soldiers are not regularly affiliated with a single AC organization, the group usually receives two weeks of active duty training (ADT) where appropriate training opportunities exist to enable them to sustain their military skills. All ARNG soldiers are required to complete appropriate professional development education in addition to participating in other training.

The CAPSTONE Program orients RC commanders with their wartime organization and provides them the opportunity to train with active counterparts. The overseas deployment training (ODT) program enables high-priority RC units to train in their contingency areas with their wartime gaining command. The ODT program has increased from 26 units and cells in 1976, the first year of the program, to over 1,900 units and cells for FY 1985. Selected units trained up to 26 days in JCS exercises working alongside their AC counterparts. In FY 1987 approximately 55,000 RC soldiers participated in ODT, representing approximately 2,200 RC units and unit cells, in 25 major exercises in over 50 countries and territories.

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