Decisive Action Training Environment at the Joint Readiness Training Center, Vol.14: Company-Level Combined Arms Maneuver

The Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) turned to decisive action training with what was called, at the time, a full spectrum operations (FSO) rotation in October 2010. The shift to a decisive action training environment (DATE) did not lessen the challenges of FSO; it merely placed them inside DATE as a more accurate depiction of unified land operations. Regardless of rotational design (FSO versus DATE), company-level leaders find decisive action a challenge for themselves, their Soldiers, and their units. As the opposition force (OPFOR) in the DATE, 1st Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment (Geronimo) made the DATE rotation at the JRTC a school of hard knocks. For those company-level leaders, a JRTC DATE rotation was combined arms maneuver (CAM) centric. This newsletter is about company-level CAM, concentrating on basics for company leaders and their units. When reading it, think home-station training. Units that get after the basics discussed here during home-station training fare better against Geronimo. Those that do not will prove themselves a meal ready-to-eat for the Geronimo personnel. The following 14 chapters, by various authors from the JRTC, include a recent article from Infantry magazine about an infantry brigade combat teams lessons learned at the JRTC. This newsletter also contains an appendix listing specific recommendations for company commanders in determining how to man and operate command posts. Newsletter , 01 Jan 0001, 01 Jan 0001,