The Origins and Development of the National Training Center, 1976-1984
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 369 659 SO 022 787 AUTHOR Chapman, Anne W. TITLE The Origins and Development of the National Training Center, 1976-1984. TRADOC Historical Monograph Series. INSTITUTION Army Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Monroe, VA. Office of the Command Historian. PUB DATE 92 NOTE 193p. PUB TYPE Historical Materials (060) Reports Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Armed Forces; *Federal Government; Military Personnel; *Military Training; Postsecondary Education; *Simulation; Site Analysis; *Site Development; Site Selection; Skill Development; Team Training; Training Methods; Training Objectives; United States History; War IDENTIFIERS Military History; *United States National Training Center CA ABSTRACT Focusing on the development of the United States Army's National Training Center (NTC) from conceptualization and initial implementation in 1981 to the end of the first phase of development in 1984, this monograph provides a documented historical analysis of how and why the landmark event in army training was launched and examines attendant policy issues, funding, instrumentation, and training problems involved in bringing the project from conception to reality. Soldiers stationed in the continental United States trained for war at the NTC at Fort Irwin, California in a setting as close as possible to the reality of combat. Chapters 1-4 focus on the initial conceptualization, the choice of Fort Irwin, and the early problems. Descriptions of the training evaluation and instrumentation system utilized at the Center precede explanations of the NTC experience and are detailed in chapters 5 and 6. Chapter 7 presents information on the lessons learned, and chapter 8 describes the United States Air Force presence at the National Training Cente:.. Charts, tables, maps, and photographs support the information in the text and provide further detail. By 1984 the National Training Center appeared to reach a break-even point between what had been an excellent but unproven concept in the mid 1970s to the reality of a facility that, by the close of 1984, offered the best possible training short of war. A majority of the combat troops in operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield gained experience in desert warfare at the NTC. A list of military acronyms and abbreviations appear at the end of the document. (CK) ****************** **isA**;.****;::******************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. * *************************************1.::**.' C:C ***************** (MADOC Historical-gdotwgraph Series en THE ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL TRAININGCENTER 1976-1984 by Anne W. Chapman S DEPARTMENT CC EDuCAT1ON Once of Ed./modal Il*Warch sad Impiety...mpg EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER 'ERIC] document has been reisreduCIO ss mired horn Me person Or orgendalion adynairma C Minor changes nave Peon made to improve reCHOduAlliOn Outility Pornts ol very or opinions Staled in this duct,- rnent do nol necessarily diprefenl Orticial DEAl posibon or 'okay II I "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MA ERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY D M A TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." car BEST COPYAVAILABLE Office of the Command Historian 'United States Army Trainimi,and Doctrine Command 2 TRADOC Historical Monograph Series THE ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER 1976-1984 by Anne W. Chapman Office of the Command Historian United States Army Training and Doctrine Command Fort Monroe, Virginia 1992 3 U.S. ARMY TRAINING AND DOCTRINE COMMAND General Frederick M. Franks, Jr. Commander Major General Donald M. Lionetti Chief of Staff Dr. Henry 0. Malone, Jr. Chief Historian Mr. John L. Romjue Chief, Historical Studies and Publication TRADOC HISTORICAL MONOGRAPH SERIES Henry 0. Malone and John L. Romjue, General Editors TRADOC Historical Monographs are published by the Office of the Command Historian, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. These studies of training and leader development, and doctrinal and combat developments subjects provide historical perspective to support the Command's mission of preparing the Army for war and charting its future. 4 , Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chapman, Anne W. The origins and development of the National Training Center, 1976-1984 / by Anne W. Chapman. p. cm. (TRADOC historical monograph series) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. United States.Dept. of the Anny. National Training CenterHistory. 2. United States. ArmyManeuversIlistory-20th century.I. Title. Series. UA26.F665C43 1992 355.5'0973dc20 92-12450 CIP 5 iv Table of Contents Foreword ix Author's Preface xi Introduction 1 Chapter I - Roots of the Concept 5 The Training Problem 6 Historical Currents 8 Chapter II - Concept Development and Approval 13 6 Background 13 Toward Establishment of an NTC or NTCs 18 Chapter III - The Choice of Fort Irwin 25 The Site Selection Process 25 The Environmental Impact Statement 30 Chapter IV - Ironing Out the Early Problems 33 The Question of Responsibility 33 Funding and Budgets 37 "Start-up" Difficuilles 41 Chapter V - Training Evaluation and the Instrumentation System 57 Development, Testing, and Delivery 57 The Instrumentation System Design 63 The Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System 68 Observer-Controllers 71 The Live-fire Range 73 The Indirect Fire Problem 75 Chapter VI - The NTC Experience 81 Preparation and Deployment 81 The Training Program 84 The Opposing Force 85 Instrumented Force-on-Force Maneuvers 90 Live Fire Exercises 98 6 After Action Reviews and Take Home Packages 101 NTC Observations 106 Chapter VII - Data Analysis and Lessons Learned 111 The Early Difficulties of NTC Lesson Learning 111 The Question of Reliability 116 Dissemination of Lessons Learned 118 Toward a More Responsive System 120 Chapter VIII - The United States Air Force at the NTC 129 Establishing a Program for NTC Air Support 129 The Air Force Presence at Fort Irwin: The Early Difficulties 133 A Laser Engagement System for the Air Force? 135 Conclusion 141 Epilogue 145 Li3c of Acronyms and Abbreviations 149 Selected Bibliography 153 Index 159 Charts I. Battlefield Operating Systems 58 2. National Training Center Development Implementation Strategy 59 3. National Training Center Instrumentation System 65 4. National Training Center Position Location System 67 5. National Training Center Live Fire System Range Control Unit 76 6. Organization of Training Analysis and Feedback Task Force Analyst Unit 92 7. NTC Operations Center Graphics Display 94 8. Live-Firc Defense Facility 99 9. Live-Fire Offense Facility 100 10. Aftcr Action Review Chart 104 Tables I. National Training Center Organization 35 2. National Training Center Final Planning Organization 42 7 v i 3. NTC Primary Staff 43 4. NTC Major Units 45 5. NTC TRADOC Operations Group, Early Organization 1982-1984 46 6. National Training Center, IA Functional Structure 61 7. National Training Center Phase I Instrumentation System Hierarchy 64 Maps I. Fort Irwin and Associated Installations 27 2. Fort Irwin Artillery Impact Areas 29 Photograph sections follow pages 32, 80, and 110. All illustrations arc U.S. Army photo- graphs. CourtesyArmy Trainer magazine,Army Training Support Center and Public Affairs Office, Headquarters Army Training and Doctrine Command. Cover Photo: An OPFOR (Opposing Forces) column heads for battle in vehicles visually modified to portray Soviet tanks. 8 vii FOREWORD Few developments in Army training have been of such broad scope and long-tcrm significance as the National Training Center (NTC), established in October 1980 at Fort Irwin in the Mojave Desert of California. This instrumented training facility, for armorarid mechanized infantry battalions of Army divisions based in the United States, represented a major and unprecedented initiative in bringingrealistic simulated-fire, force-on-force train- ing to the battalion level. The NTC thus served the countrywell in helping to produce a ready fighting force for the deserts of Southwest Asia in early 1991. This monograph, prepared by Dr. Anne W. Chapman, Research Historian in the Office of the Command Historian, surveys the TRADOC role in the development of theNational Training Center from its origin in the 1976 concept through the end of the first phase of operation in 1984. It provides a documented historical analysis of how andwhy such a landmark event in Army training was launched, examii ; attendant policy issues, funding, instrumentation, and training problems involved in brii.oing the project from concept to reality. The work also furnishes a record of how a major defense project was brought online, making it valuable as a case study. HENRY 0. MALONE, JR., Ph.D. Chief Historian Training and Doctrine Command ix The Author Anne Wcst Chapman, a native of Altavista, Virginia, received the A.B., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in History from the College of William and Mary at Williamsburg, VirginiaDr. Chapman taught for several school systems in the State of Virginia andat the College of William and Mary before entering Federal Civil Service in 1986. Since then she has served as a Research Historian in the Office of the Command Historian at Headquarters, US Army Training and Doctrine Command. She writes the training chapters in TRADOC's annual command history and prepares historical studies and monographson the subject of Army training. Dr. Chapman is the author of The Army's Training Revolution 1973-1990An Overview. She has also written articles and reviews