MAGAZINE
SPRING 2020
McChrystal used his Team of Teams to not only build the trust needed between highly specialized interdisciplinary teams ( e . g ., Navy Seals , Army Special Forces , and CIA ), but also to fight a complex network in Afghanistan . LANDCOM leverages its Team of Teams to build deep relationships — horizontal and vertical — among member nations , internal and external among its divisions , to fight and win in the Land Domain . G9 contributes to this fight by synchronizing CIMIC activities conveying the civilian situation , mitigating civilian risk to mission , and recommending mission opportunities in support of the commander ’ s priorities . The goal of this article is to show how the G9 team approached
The goal of this article is to show how the G9 team approached the leadership challenge through developing and executing a training plan .
the leadership challenge through developing and executing a training plan . In addition , G9 sought to assist other teams with the conceptual blocks to build their own training plans to meet their goals , and provided CIMIC practitioners with some critical concepts to aid their development with Article V operations . The first section addresses the purpose of each of the four phases of the training plan . The second covers how each branch integrated lessons from LOBO 19-2 into the first two phases of the training plan with some noteworthy results . The third section deals with the design and the execution of a threeday Tabletop Exercise ( TTE ) with some key points . The final section addresses insights from Phases I and II with recommendations reflecting the views from the G9 perspective .
The Training Plan To forge a training plan , G9 used a bottom up approach based on the initiative of many of their soldiers . These motivated soldiers designed the training plan to overcome G9 ’ s identified internal challenges and meet the external goals for LANDCOM . German Army Colonel Ferdi Akaltin , G9 Assistant Chief of Staff ( ACOS ), enabled G9 ’ s leaders to develop and to execute a six month training plan with four phases , preparing G9 for upcoming 2020 exercises that included LOBO 20-1 ( February 10-21 ), and a second round of Trident Jupiter ( March 23 – April 2 ). His goal was for G9 not only prepare the division itself , but also understand how to add reciprocal value in other teams such as the G2 , G3 , Fires , Public Affairs , and Strategic Communications ( STRATCOM ). Additional goals of the training plan included cross training the entire G9 division in CIMIC and Civil Affairs ( CA ) to help all personnel , regardless of level and breadth of experience , in understanding the importance of civilians on the battlefield , understand the value of the international community to an operation , and developing options to provide to the commander for achieving the mission ’ s objectives .
Phase I : Preparation ( November 1 – December 31 , 2019 ) This phase focused on understanding the systems and system inputs / outputs of the battle rhythm and their relationship to commanders decision-making process . It entailed reviewing the standard operating procedures ( SOPs ) to incorporate lessons learned from prior exercises , ensuring that G9 ’ s internal and LANDCOM ’ s external SOPs adhered to current practices . Reflecting on experiences revealed a gap existed within the Information Operations ( IO ) support capabilities in which G9 was a strong contributing member . G9 resolved the gap by creating a Standard Operating Instruction ( SOI ) aimed at capturing G9 ’ s actions towards IO with the eventual goal of becoming a new SOP owned by the S3 , highlighting the importance of recognizing an existing organizational problem . As the organization evolves , current practices must be updated , particularly as LANDCOM continues to expand through the adaptation process . Also , shifts in the operational environment determine operational changes , as in near-peer competition and Hybrid warfare . These changes will force G9 to relook at how the team functions and supports LANDCOM activities and operations .
Phase II : Crawl ( January 1 – February 10 , 2020 ) This phase applied knowledge of the system through wargaming . In this phase , leaders presented classes from an internal view of G9 addressing how each branch functions during exercises , overcoming friction points experienced during LOBO 19-2 , and covered essential topics to enable success . Other teams from other LANDCOM divisions described their roles and how G9 contributes to key events nested in the commander ’ s decisionmaking cycle , all through the lens of a TTE focused on civilian population interjections designed to replicate possible events during the exercise . In turn , each branch head , each key event , and the G9 provided their perspectives and actions in response to scenario injects on different days . Through intense wargaming , G9 flattened silos to forge information sharing , resulting in a shared consciousness of the Common Operational Picture ( COP ). Collective views like this enable branch heads to refine plans and focus on cross-communication , compelling important questions such as , ( a ) what do other teams need horizontally in the organization and ( b ) what do other teams require vertically from supported units and the higher headquarters ?
Phase III : Walk ( February 10 – April 1 , 2020 ) By the time this phase concludes , G9 will conduct an analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the plan ’ s execution from LOBO 20-1 and refined during TRJU . We will have a small window between exercises to incorporate lessons learned into institutional knowledge and practices . For example , G9 deliberately experiments with integrating STRATCOM and non-lethal targeting to exploit windows of opportunity with an influence campaign to enable NATO military objectives and understanding how to mitigate civilian risk to mission . For instance , the goal is to maximize the civilian unity
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