Gen. Cone lays out TRADOC strategies at annual Maneuver Conference  

Video: GEN Cone Speaks at 2011 Maneuver Conference   by Nicole Randall, Fort Benning TV

By Kristin Molinaro  

COLUMBUS, Ga. - Today's Army faces challenges on several fronts, from hybrid threats to budget cuts, and change at the doctrinal level is necessary to meet the demands of the future, the commander of the Army's Training and Doctrine Command said Tuesday.  

Adaptive Soldiers, leaders and units are needed to face the uncertainties of future security challenges, Gen. Robert Cone said.  

"The world as we know it, as we have known it for 10 years, as the Soldiers on the wings of this auditorium have seen it, will change," he said. "If we do not capture the imagination and energy of this generation's leaders and get them invigorated ... we are going to have some significant degradation to our force." 

The general touched on Doctrine 2015, the Profession of Arms and squad initiatives during his hour-long presentation Tuesday as the keynote speaker at the 2011 Maneuver Conference in Columbus, Ga.  

The conference -- formerly known as the Infantry Warfighting Conference -- draws leaders from across the military to Fort Benning each September to discuss new technologies and the way ahead.  

TRADOC is undergoing a "revolution" in training, Cone said of Doctrine 2015, as it seeks to create better Soldiers and leaders.  

"We have to make training relevant ... to continue the flow of information," he said. 

Through leveraging technology for 21st Century Maneuver Training, Soldiers gain relevant training with less time spent at the school house.  

Commanders of brigade, battalion and company level units highlighted some of the successes they've experienced through integration of live, virtual, constructive and gaming concepts.  

"Over the last 12 months, based on realignments in doctrine, our team has worked hard to transition home station training scenarios to span the entirety of today's conflicts," said Col. Michael Getchell, commander of 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.  

The brigade's training missions revolve around virtual and constructive gaming to prepare Soldiers for combat. The most notable benefit has been to the Soldiers, who can execute missions as they've done on the battlefield, he said.  

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Brown provides Maneuver Center update during the 2011 Maneuver Conference

Maneuver Center update

By Ms Shelley L Szafraniec (TRADOC) 

COLUMBUS Ga., Sept. 13, 2011 - With eyes on the future, Maj. Gen. Robert Brown, Commanding General of the Maneuver Center of Excellence, updated Army leaders at the first Maneuver Conference in Columbus, Ga., on the many changes realized at Fort Benning since the Base Realignment and Closure Commission's decision in 2005 to move the Armor School to Fort Benning.  

The work at Harmony Church is unbelievable, Brown said. Soldiers have what they need for training; it is effective and it is efficient.  

With all of the Armor courses now at Fort Benning, although construction will continue through 2016, the many requirements to create the Maneuver Center of Excellence have been completed. In addition, some of the courses for Infantry and Armor Soldiers have been combined to include the Maneuver Captains Career Course, the NCO Academy and the Maneuver Pre-Command Course.  

According to Brown, combined teams also are in place and updating the doctrine to reflect the merging of the training. And, more changes are down the road as leaders continue to look at how and where it is possible to merge even more training together.   

One example is the Army Reconnaissance Course and Reconnaissance Surveillance Course which have 117 tasks that Infantry and Armor complete. Leaders are looking to see if it is possible for the tasks to be completed as a combined team. "We are not lowering the quality," Brown said. "We want to make it more effective and even better."  

The training reform at Fort Benning is just one of many Army initiatives the Maneuver Center of Excellence is at the forefront of as it seeks to bring innovation and change in the reshaping of the training, doctrine and requirements for the Maneuver Force.  

In addition to developing the baseline requirements and model of 21st Century Maneuver Training for the operational maneuver force, other initiatives of the Maneuver Center of Excellence include the Squad as a Strategic Formation, the Brigade Combat Team 2020 and 21st Century Leader Development.  

With the two commandants of the Infantry and Armor Schools also at the Maneuver Center of Excellence, according to Brown, the commandants are actively engaged in the processes and the Maneuver Center of Excellence can really get at some of the key things affecting the maneuver force.

Blended training model relevant to Squad: Foundation of the Decisive Force

By Shelley L. Szafraniec, TRADOC

COLUMBUS Ga., Sept. 13, 2011 -- Squad: Foundation of the Decisive Force is something Soldiers will continue to hear about in the future said Maj. Gen Robert Brown, commanding general of the Maneuver Center of Excellence, during the Maneuver Center update at the first Maneuver Conference in Columbus, Ga.

Originally dubbed the Squad as a Strategic Formation to stimulate conversation throughout the force, the initiative is creating as much synergy as the effort to revitalize home station unit training throughout the Army. At the conference, top Army leaders are looking at the baseline requirements for 21st Century Maneuver Training; trying to determine what the right balance is as they seek to incorporate live, virtual, constructive and gaming elements to create complex and realistic training environments at every Army echelon.

Nowhere is this challenging and realistic training needed more than at the squad level, Brown said, and with the Foundation of the Decisive Force initiative, the training developed for this critical team will be measured in its effectiveness of the formation.

Army leaders at the Maneuver Center of Excellence began focusing on the tactical small unit approximately 10 months ago, looking at its capabilities and identifying gaps. Brown said initially the team at Fort Benning spent a lot of time trying to determining at what level is the small tactical unit?

"We realized we are fortunate to have incredible junior leaders who have always carried the day," Brown said. "(The squad) is the only place on the battlefield where we do not have clear overmatch."

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Chiefs provide Armor, Infantry updates

Armor Branch Update

Infantry Branch Updat

By Vince Little, The Bayonet

COLUMBUS, Ga., Sept. 14, 2011 -- The chiefs of Armor and Infantry delivered updates on their respective branches Tuesday at the Maneuver Conference.

Col. Walter Piatt, the Infantry School commandant, and Col. Tom James, who heads the Armor School, spoke about the outcomes-based training taking place within each schoolhouse at Fort Benning's Maneuver Center of Excellence. They said building a combined-arms team for decisive action is a major facet of 21st-century maneuver training.

"It's about Armor and Infantry working together, with Cavalry eyes on the objective," James said during his speech at the Columbus Georgia Convention and Trade Center. "For us, it's about supporting the Infantry in that last 100 yards. It's getting positional advantage to dominate our enemy, and the combination is unstoppable."

The 46th chief of Armor praised the efforts that went into moving the Armor School to Fort Benning after a seven-decade stint at Fort Knox, Ky. He said the "functional training" opportunities under the MCoE are boundless.

"We've put ourselves in a neat position on the maneuver team," he said. "We're excited to be a part of it."

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Blended training: Best of both worlds

By Lori Egan 

Maj. Gen. Michael Tucker, 2nd Infantry Division commanding general, addresses the crowd during the 2011 Maneuver Conference.

COLUMBUS, Ga. - The inaugural Maneuver Conference kicked off Tuesday morning; its theme 21st Century Maneuver Training.  

Maj. Gen. Michael Tucker, commander of 2nd Infantry Division in Korea, spoke about how the division uses live, virtual, constructive and gaming training to replicate its real-world mission.  

The division uses blended training, Tucker said, because commanders must manage training resources, they must aggressively pursue cost-effective training techniques to meet combat readiness requirements. Using LVC-G, the division does this.

Every unit needs its own DA 350-1, Army Training and Leader Development, the general said. The division adapted DA 350-1 to meet its core competencies -- mission command, combined arms maneuver and precision gunnery.

Using staff rides, readiness exercises and technology, the 2nd Infantry Division maintains its mission readiness, Tucker said. Examples included Heartbreak Ridge and gunnery ranges -- and the speed armor companies can accomplish the Table 8 range using a digital multipurpose range complex for gunnery.

Another high-yield, low-cost training method is the staff ride -- professional development where Soldiers learn about the Army and unit by visiting historic battlefields. Staff rides were lost because of the optempo, he said, but 2ID uses it to teach unit legacy.
Readiness exercises are another low-cost, high pay-off training aid, Tucker said the division uses to maintain the edge.

It's imperative to train on the terrain you fight on, Tucker said, and to leverage blended training to maintain the edge.

Infantrymen, Tankers, and Cavalrymen recognized at first Maneuver Conference

By Jennifer Gunn

Click here to view Doughboy and Gold Medallion ceremony photos 

COLUMBUS, Ga. -- The Infantry and Armor communities recognized distinguished leaders of their respective branches during the Doughboy and Gold Medallion ceremony Sept. 13; part of the first Maneuver Conference hosted by the Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning, Ga.  

This year's Doughboy and Gold Medallion ceremony is the first to collocate the two awards presentations since the 2005 BRAC decision to move the Armor School from Fort Knox, Ky., to Fort Benning. 

"This is a precedent," said Bill Hansen, a retired colonel and recipient of the Order of Saint George Gold Medallion, "to have both the Maneuver Conference, which comprises both the Armor and the Infantry, and to have this shared event."

The Doughboy Award is the highest honor the Chief of Infantry bestows on an individual. The award is given annually on behalf of all Infantrymen past and present to individuals who have made substantial, lasting contributions to the Infantry.

The Order of Saint George Gold Medallion was established in 1986 by the U.S. Armor Association to recognize the best tankers and Cavalrymen. The reason the Medallion is so special, said retired Command Sgt. Maj. William Gainey, one of Tuesday's recipients, is that your fellow sergeants major - who are already members of the Gold Order - nominate you for it.

Other Order of Saint George Gold Medallion recipients are retired Gens. Ronald Griffith and John Tilelli Jr.

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. William H. Acebes never dreamed he would be selected as a recipient of the Doughboy Award.

"It's great to be here with all the folks you've served for or with," he said. "Some of the sergeants major here were my privates. I have really enjoyed seeing them move up in the Army."

Acebes said some of those NCOs have created today's lessons learned from current operations.

"Non-commissioned officers now are rotating in and out of combat so quickly that the lessons they are learning are from what happens day-to-day in combat." When these conflicts end, they will write the doctrine that will guide future generations, he said.

Other Doughboy Award recipients include retired Gen. Edward C.Meyer, and Mr. Joe L. Galloway.

"I learned long ago to emulate my heroes," Galloway said. "So I don't see this as much about me as it is the great Soldiers that I've stood alongside in battle. It's about the great Soldiers we have in the Army today."

This sentiment was echoed by Order of Saint George Gold Medallion recipient, Tilelli who said his honor could be attributed to "those who allowed him to succeed in spite of himself."

"Leaders help you succeed, not cause you to fail. And there are a lot leaders here today who helped me succeed through their mentorship and counseling," he said.

The inaugural Maneuver conference continues through Wednesday with presentations and panel discussions on 21st century maneuver training.

Maneuver Futures presentation by Mr. Don Sando 

Maneuver Futures

Fort Lewis Brigade Blended Training

COL Getchell discusses Blended Training at Fort Lewis at the Brigade level.