Military Review English Edition January-February 2014 | Page 81

H A R M O N Y I N B AT T L E

Request for close combat attack assets is transmitted during the FSCX. (U.S. Army)

Each company went through a day iteration
(offense) and a night iteration (defense) to exercise both important muscle groups. Development
of the offensive “play book” options exercised
each unit’s specific mission essential tasks. For
example, infantry companies executed a dismounted attack. The cavalry squadron executed
a mounted screen live fire exercise where they
withdrew under pressure. The brigade special
troops battalion’s engineer platoon performed
a deliberate breech with their military police
platoon in overwatch. Every logistics company
across the BCT executed a mounted combat logistics patrol with multiple react-to-contact battle
drills. The offensive iterations were consistently
a challenge for companies to execute given the
inherent difficulty of synchronizing effects on the
move and under pressure. The performance of
every company improved through night defense
iterations, since the lessons of the day iterations
were incorporated and the static scenario was
more manageable.
MILITARY REVIEW

January-February 2014

The Imperative of Retraining to
Standard
We remained steadfast in our commitment to
retraining, and yet it still proved a struggle to implement because timelines were tight: 20 companysized units in 12 days. Consequently, the BCT
fenced one day of retraining at mid cycle (day 6)
and allocated another retraining day at the end of
the cycle (day 12).
In the midst of the FSCX we identified two
companies that required retraining with brigade
oversight. One company failed to properly utilize
their 60mm mortars to cover maneuver, while the
other company failed to implement an officer/noncommissioned officer (NCO) partnered approach to
execution. The company with 60mm mortar team
challenges had a certified section and demonstrated
acumen in providing indirect fires from a static
position. However, they did not maneuver alongside
their company in the “direct lay” mode or deliver
the volume of mortar fires required to support the
close fight tactical scenario they encountered. We
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