TRAINING FOR WAR COLLECTIVE TRAINING IN CANADA’S ARMY RESERVE UNITS Brigadier-General (Retired) Ernest Beno, OMM, CD and Colonel Eppo van Weelderen, CD TRAINING FOR WAR COLLECTIVE TRAINING IN CANADA’S ARMY RESERVE UNITS Training for War – Collective Training in Canada’s Army Reserve Units Copyright © E. B. Beno and E. van Weelderen, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 26 January 2017 Training for War – Collective Training in Canada’s Army Reserve Units CONTENTS FORWARD ....................................................................................................... 1 A WORD OF THANKS ....................................................................................... 3 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 5 Aim ...................................................................................................................... 6 Leadership ............................................................................................................ 7 PART 1: THE CITIZEN-SOLDIER......................................................................... 8 The Role of the Army Reserve ............................................................................. 8 The Citizen-Soldier ............................................................................................... 9 The Army Reserve Unit ...................................................................................... 12 A Typical Training Year ....................................................................................... 13 PART 2: TRAINING FUNDAMENTALS ............................................................. 16 Collective Training .............................................................................................. 16 The Doctrinal Base ............................................................................................. 17 Training Progression .......................................................................................... 18 Levels of Training ............................................................................................... 18 Stages of Training ............................................................................................... 19 Individual Battle Task Standards ........................................................................ 22 Collective Battle Task Standards ........................................................................ 23 All-Arms Training................................................................................................ 24 Combined-Arms Training ................................................................................... 25 Training Responsibility ....................................................................................... 26 Brigade Commander .......................................................................................... 27 Commanding Officer .......................................................................................... 29 Company Commander ....................................................................................... 30 Platoon Commander .......................................................................................... 31 Section Commander .......................................................................................... 31 Staff Officers ...................................................................................................... 32 Command Teams ............................................................................................... 33 The Desired End-State ....................................................................................... 33 Training Contract ............................................................................................... 34 PART 3: TRAINING DESIGN............................................................................ 36 Army Reserve Unit Training Cycle ...................................................................... 36 Planning Training ............................................................................................... 38 Training Battle Procedure .................................................................................. 39 Training for War – Collective Training in Canada’s Army Reserve Units Direction ............................................................................................................ 40 Consideration ..................................................................................................... 40 Decision .............................................................................................................. 41 Execution ........................................................................................................... 41 The Training Estimate ........................................................................................ 42 Types of Training Exercises and Events .............................................................. 44 Division or Brigade Training Events ................................................................... 44 Command Post Exercises ................................................................................... 44 Corps-specific Field Training Exercises ............................................................... 45 All-Arms Field Training Exercises ....................................................................... 46 Brigade Training Direction ................................................................................. 49 Training Planning Cycle ...................................................................................... 50 Brigade and Unit Operating Plans ...................................................................... 51 Commanding Officer’s Confirmatory Planning Guidance .................................. 52 Backbriefs ........................................................................................................... 52 Operation Orders ............................................................................................... 53 PART 4: BOTTOM TO TOP – CREATING A LEARNING ORGANIZATION ........... 54 Observer/Controller Team ................................................................................. 54 After-Action Review ........................................................................................... 55 Confirmation ...................................................................................................... 56 Commander’s Visit ............................................................................................. 57 PART 5: TRAINING CONSIDERATIONS ........................................................... 60 Focus .................................................................................................................. 60 Command Relationships .................................................................................... 61 The Tactical Reserve .......................................................................................... 61 Training the Echelons ......................................................................................... 62 Use of Advance and Rear Parties ....................................................................... 63 Training to Win .................................................................................................. 65 Professional Development ................................................................................. 66 Small-Unit Exchanges ......................................................................................... 66 Tactical Exercises Without Troops ..................................................................... 67 Battlefield Studies .............................................................................................. 68 Simulation .......................................................................................................... 69 Training Safety ................................................................................................... 69 How Much Is Enough? ....................................................................................... 70 PART 6: LEADERSHIP TRAINING .................................................................... 71 The Commander Training and Developing Himself ........................................... 71 Developing, Nurturing and Leveraging the Trainers .......................................... 72 Training for War – Collective Training in Canada’s Army Reserve Units Training Trainers ................................................................................................ 72 Creating a Learning Environment ...................................................................... 73 Record Lessons Learned and Note the State of Efficiency ................................. 73 Accountability .................................................................................................... 74 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 75 LIST OF COMMON ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ................................... 76 Appendix 1: Model of Collective Training Progression for an Army Reserve Unit .................................................................................. 77 Appendix 2: Model of Training Progression for a 9-Day Brigade Milcon ....... 78 Appendix 3: Model of Training Progression for a 16-Day Brigade Milcon ..... 79 Appendix 4: Sample