{"id":268330,"date":"2024-08-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=268330"},"modified":"2024-08-29T09:52:39","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T09:52:39","slug":"multi-state-army-national-guard-and-1st-inf-div-soldiers-build-readiness-during-combined-exercise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=268330","title":{"rendered":"Multi-state Army National Guard and 1st. Inf. Div. Soldiers build readiness during combined exercise"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Maj. Mike Anderson, operations officer for 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division (left), discusses the ongoing exercise simulation with 35th Infantry Division operations officer, Col. Darren Koberlein (right) and Capt. Lukas Esterle, observer, coach, trainer with 177th Armored Brigade, 1st Army Division East (center) during the combined command post exercise held with the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas, August 9-23. The CPX included participants not only from two division headquarters from both the active and National Guard components, but also from four of the 35th Infantry Division\u2019s seven aligned brigades from the Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee National Guards.
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\n Maj. Chris Koochel, operations officer for the 35th Infantry Division Artillery Brigade, briefs the division staff and other participating brigades at the combined arms rehearsal, a critical event during the combined command post exercise held with the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kan. August 9-23. The CPX included participants not only from two division headquarters from both the active and National Guard components, but also from four of the 35th Infantry Division\u2019s seven aligned brigades from the Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee National Guards.
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\n Lt. Col. Jordan Clark, 35th Infantry Division aviation officer, reviews aviation products with participants from the 1st Infantry Division ahead of the simulation portion of the combined command post exercise held at Fort Riley August 9-23. The CPX included participants not only from two division headquarters from both the active and National Guard components, but also from four of the 35th Infantry Division\u2019s seven aligned brigades from the Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee National Guards.
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FORT RILEY, Kansas \u2013 Soldiers from the National Guard\u2019s 35th Infantry Division loaded up their equipment and convoyed the 125 miles from Leavenworth to Fort Riley, Kan. June 9-23 to embark upon an unprecedented training event for the division: a combined command post exercise with the 1st Infantry Division.<\/p>\n

The two divisions generated the concept of a combined CPX in response to the shift in the priorities of the Army, which has identified the division as the new unit of action in support of the National Defense Strategy.<\/p>\n

Just a few years ago, the National Guard\u2019s eight divisions were divisions in name only, with most being comprised of a headquarters element without being assigned any subordinate brigades like their active-duty counterparts. But that\u2019s since changed with the establishment of the National Guard\u2019s division operational alignment, which seeks to build those division headquarters out by establishing aligned relationships with brigade combat teams, aviation brigades, sustainment brigades and other support elements you would typically find in a traditional division structure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Director of the Army National Guard\u2019s priority right now is to develop eight, multi-capable divisions that are ready to fight and win in large-scale combat operations; we\u2019re one of those eight divisions,\u201d said Col. Larry Leupold, 35th Inf. Div. chief of staff.<\/p>\n

In order to prepare the 35th Inf. Div. for this role, staff developed an exercise that was unique in several ways, combining not only two division headquarters – the Army National Guard\u2019s 35th Inf. Div. and the active component\u2019s 1st Inf. Div. – but also National Guard Soldiers from four of the 35th Inf. Div.\u2019s seven aligned brigades: the 35th Division Artillery Brigade from Kansas, the 110th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade from Missouri, the 230th Sustainment Brigade from Tennessee, and 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

\u201cInteroperability is the number one commander\u2019s training objective,\u201d said Leupold. \u201cPeople, processes and systems, and equipment – but there\u2019s really a relationship component too. In a LSCO environment, we would not be out there alone; there\u2019s going to be corps with multiple divisions side by side on the same battlefield.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maj. Mike Anderson, operations officer for 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division said the coordination between the two units leading up to the exercise went smoothly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had great open lines of communication prior to the event,\u201d said Anderson. \u201cWe received the 35th Inf. Div. planning standard operating procedures and tactical standard operating procedures beforehand, so we understood some of their specific terminology and the way they do business. Seeing the division staff talk it and put it onto a piece of terrain has been pretty invaluable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson said that although he has had opportunities to train with National Guard units in the past, it was not in a command post exercise of this capacity.<\/p>\n

Because the active component lacks some of the military occupational specialties and organizations that are required to support the total Army force, Anderson said, it is critical that the active component trains with the National Guard and Reserve components to achieve total Army readiness.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that we rely on the other components,\u201d said Anderson. \u201cAnd the last place that we want to do it for the first time \u2013 to understand the personalities and to understand the capabilities – is in combat.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to allowing division headquarters the opportunity to practice operating together, Anderson explained that training events like this CPX are important because they give leadership at multiple echelons the opportunity to give and receive feedback.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we come up with a plan, and are not our own worst critics,\u201d said Anderson. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to get the feedback without a subordinate unit saying, \u2018hey, this is my detailed planning two echelons below you, and these are the impacts I see that might desynchronize your higher headquarters\u2019 plan.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The importance of being able to practice synchronizing at echelon was echoed by 35th Division Artillery Brigade Operations Officer, Maj. Chris Koochel.<\/p>\n

The 35th DIVARTY is a brand new unit, which will celebrate it\u2019s official activation at a ceremony in September.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerally, DIVARTYs go hand in hand with their division,\u201d said Koochel. \u201cAs a new organization to the 35th Inf. Div., our main focus was integrating – figuring out how we delineate between the division fires cell and DIVARTY. That comes in many forms, whether it be targeting processes, or product development, the Military Decision Making Process, and distinguishing what the roles and responsibilities are by organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are an executor of the division\u2019s plan, so the more we know about the division\u2019s processes, the better off we\u2019ll be as we continue to work together,\u201d said Koochel.<\/p>\n

Koochel said the exercise was fast-paced, with a lot of learning on the fly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe condensed a lot of planning processes into a few days,\u201d said Koochel. \u201cAnd then we executed those plans through the air tasking order through a 48-72 hour \u2018fight.\u2019 I think now we have a much better shared understanding, but there\u2019s always room for improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 35th DIVARTY, which is co-located with the division headquarters in Leavenworth, said that a continued relationship with the 35th Inf. Div. following the CPX will be integral to the success of the division.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were able to begin building the scaffolding and infrastructure for our standard operating procedures,\u201d said Koochel. \u201cAnd then as we progress into the future, getting more repetitions through other exercises, plans, and operations orders that we\u2019ll receive over the next several months, we\u2019ll continue to validate that scaffolding and build on it to codify our standards and processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the close of the exercise, 35th Inf. Div. leadership said they count the combined CPX as a major accomplishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s significant is that the 35th Inf. Div. is transitioning from a unit lifecycle standpoint: we are making that pivot from the modernization year to training year one,\u201d said Leupold. \u201cSo we are very early in the readiness build to be engaging in a CPX of this level with a component one division.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leupold said the CPX provided an opportunity for the division staff to not only create a learning environment where the two divisions could share best practices, but also served as a critical step in the 35th Inf. Div.\u2019s overall training plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring this CPX, we\u2019re getting additional practice on MDMP and orders production, as well as actually rehearsing through key events that we\u2019ll be expected to conduct during the enhanced response cell when we go on to support 36th Inf. Div. for Warfighter 25-5,\u201d said Leupold.<\/p>\n

Leupold said that ultimately, the 35th Inf. Div.\u2019s goal is to build the foundation early on with quality \u201csets and reps\u201d as the division prepares for their own validating exercise, Warfighter 26-4, and follow-on operational assignments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking to not only be able to perform a task, but to master the craft and get to that band of excellence as we move through the readiness build,\u201d said Leupold. \u201cYou can\u2019t just show up to a warfighter and say, \u2018ok, now we\u2019re at this culminating event and we\u2019re going to do really great.\u2019 We all know that starts now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maj. Gen. John Rueger, 35th Inf. Div. commanding general, said starting now means taking the lessons learned from the CPX and all the partner organizations involved as we move forward.<\/p>\n

“This exercise was unprecedented for the 35th,\u201d said Rueger. “We’ve innovated to drive our training. This CPX helped us see ourselves, and I don’t think we could have gotten this level of training any other way. Now we need to take the input and identify what things we need to work on over the next several months into the next CPX, and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 Maj. Mike Anderson, operations officer for 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division (left), discusses the ongoing exercise simulation with 35th Infantry Division operations officer, Col. Darren Koberlein (right) and Capt. Lukas Esterle, observer, coach, trainer with 177th Armored Brigade, 1st Army Division East (center) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268332,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-268330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=268330"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":268336,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268330\/revisions\/268336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/268332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=268330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=268330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=268330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}