ARRC JOURNAL
SURVIVE TO COMMAND
AND INNOVATION
Lt Col Martin Bever (GBR-A)
In supporting the ISAF deployment, HQ ARRC has, for many years, been operating
in the counter insurgency environment. As new threats have emerged the likelihood
of undertaking operations against a technically matched enemy has increased. EX
ARRCADE FUSION 17 saw the ARRC returning to a warfighting focus, more familiar to
those who served in the headquarters in the mid to late 1990s.
Although the mission is similar,
advances in technology now enable the
Commander to command the Corps in
a very different manner. The traditional
approach of Commanding from a large
forward-deployed Main Headquarters
with a Rear Support Command sustaining
the Corps and a small “Tac” deployed to
a subordinate division as required was
regarded as inappropriate. The large
headquarters would be identifiable and
therefore relatively simple to target using
precision guided weapons.
Survive to Command
The Concept. The Commander was
clear: if we are to win we have to fight,
to fight we have to command and to
command we have to survive. This led
to a review of all staff functions and roles
within the Headquarters to determine
who needed to be co-located within
the Commander in a forward location.
The remainder would support the
Commander from Main Headquarters.
Main Headquarters. In a warfighting
environment the requirement for a Main
Headquarters to carry out the Operational
Staff Work (OSW) is clear. It is imperative
that this “engine room” be located in
as secure a location as possible and
under the cover of Theatre Ballistic
Missile Defence. As the photo above
demonstrates, it would be an easy target
to hit and therefore placing it out of easy
reach of the enemy would be prudent.
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ALLIED RAPID REACTION CORPS
ARRC Main Headquarters at Innsworth on ARRCADE FUSION 18
Forward Headquarters. It is also
evident that the Commander will still wish
to Command the Corps from the front,
engaging face-to-face with his Divisional
Commanders and conducting key leader
engagement as required. By being within
the environment he can fully understand
it. The Maps below provide an idea of
how the Forward Headquarters would
deploy. The distance of 150Km is
realistic and taken from the recent
EX ARRCADE FUSION 17 scenario.
The G3 requirement aims to provide
the commander with a light, mobile
command post using the environment
as cover. His decisions will be based on
his own observations reinforced by staff
work from Main Headquarters.